Counting down the four WORST positions to sleep in with a painful shoulder, and what you should be doing instead! Fix your sleeping position to minimize your shoulder pain and sleep better through the night. Simple tips from a physical therapist to help you get a more restful, pain-free night’s sleep and experience less shoulder pain when you wake up.
The only thing worse than shoulder pain is shoulder pain that wakes you up in the middle of the night.
We all know that sleep is important for healing; it’s the body’s time to recharge, recover, and repair. But when your sleep gets interrupted by the very thing it’s trying to heal… well… that’s a recipe for disaster.
Most often the shoulder pain that you’re experiencing in the night or in the morning is due to your sleeping position with that shoulder. Most people unknowingly put too much pressure on it or hold it in such a position that stress is placed on already-impaired structures.
If you suffer from shoulder pain that is waking you up at night or hurts so bad you can barely move it in the morning DO NOT despair! One of the best things you can do for it is to make some simple adjustments to HOW you’re sleeping to get a better night’s rest free from shoulder pain.
In this video I’m sharing four simple tips to eliminate your nighttime shoulder pain. These are different fixes for your sleeping positions to decrease stress on your shoulder and help you to sleep better.
I’ll present this in a “Top Four” format - we’ll countdown the four worst sleeping positions for your shoulder and I’ll give you some simple tips on what you can do instead to make for a more restful, comfortable night.
WORST SLEEP POSITIONS FOR SHOULDER PAIN - AND WHAT TO DO INSTEAD!
4. ON YOUR BACK WITH YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD - it’s better to bring that arm down to your side, but even then it’s still in an extended position and can put stress on the front of your shoulder. Instead lay on back and supported under your your elbow
3. ON YOUR NON-PAINFUL SIDE, INJURED SIDE UP - Grab two pillows to hold it up (2 pillows better than one). Prop one under your elbow and the other in front of your body.
2. ON YOUR PAINFUL SIDE, INJURED SIDE DOWN - Best thing to do is unload it. Grab two pillows and put one about 6 inches below the other. This creates a canal to unload the shoulder as you have one supporting your torso and the other supporting your head/neck.
1. ON YOUR STOMACH WITH YOUR ARMS UNDER YOUR HEAD Honestly the fix here is just don’t do it. If you want to fix your shoulder pain, neck pain, upper back pain, and lower back pain - you need to stop sleeping on your stomach. I hope those tips help you to sleep better with your shoulder pain. I give those to my physical therapy patients regularly and I know they can be super effective. I hope you find them helpful in alleviating your pain as well.
If you are experiencing shoulder pain, one of the best ways to relieve it is with the proper home rehabilitation exercises. These videos are some of my best stretching and strengthening routines you can do at home to alleviate shoulder pain:
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