Do you know there is a relation between shoulder pain and sleeping position? I hope you are aware of it.
If you don’t have any history of severe injury, that might cause your shoulder pain. Then I suggest you should rethink your sleeping posture. And gradually adapt to the best sleeping position for shoulder pain.
Usually, one of every five suffers from shoulder pain at some point in life. Injury is the main cause of young people’s shoulder pain most of the time. While for older the cause of shoulder pain could be many. Causes may include deficiency of essential nutrition, body posture in daily life, sleeping posture, aging issues, and of course injury.
Those who suffer from shoulder or neck pain know how painful and severe it can be. Sometimes it causes a sleepless night. Any discomfort of your body, especially shoulder and neck pain must not be left untreated. Consult with your physician and follow the advice.
Along with medication, you can try to adapt to the best sleeping position to reduce shoulder pain. Study shows the right sleeping position can reduce your pain. Some special types of pillows may help you to sleep better while suffering shoulder and neck pain.
Now, we should focus on getting familiar with different sleeping positions. And sort out which position is the best suited for shoulder pain.
For your convenience, we discuss some best sleep positions, which could reduce your shoulder pain and improve your sleep quality.
Best Sleeping Position
Sleeping on your back with your hands at your sides is considered to be the best sleeping posture. This posture is similar to the Savasana pose in yoga. It’s the perfect position to rest the spine, neck, and arms.
Here is a video from Brightside explaining different sleeping positions along with their health benefits. Watch the video and practice to be habituated with the right sleeping posture, if you are not.
Types of shoulder pain
Before we start our discussion on the best sleeping position for shoulder pain let us see the types of shoulder pain. These are:
- Local pain- that means the cause of pain is limited under the shoulder joint and the surrounding tissues.
- Referred pain- that comes via nerves and felt at the shoulder.
Some common causes of shoulder pain:
- Cervical Spondylosis, Ribs, and osteoarthritis.
- Cervical canal stenosis or spinal canal becomes narrower.
- Sleep or insomnia in unusual positions.
- High blood pressure and heart disease.
- Fibromyalgia etc.
Shoulder Pain While Sleeping
Shoulder pain is a very common problem. If it continues for a long time, then it is a matter of concern. But this pain can be remedied indiscriminately in the right position of sleeping. For your convenience, here we discuss some of the best sleeping positions for neck pain.
You can also try these sleeping positions to get relief from shoulder pain. Let’s start.
1. Take the right support for resting head on the shoulder
You should use support like a pillow under your head during sleep or nap time. It will give your body a proper alignment. Pillow will work as the right support and give comfort to your shoulder as much as possible. So try to add support like a pillow or any other soft things under your neck.
2. Use a down shoulder support pillow
It is the best sleeping position for neck pain or a stiff neck. As we said earlier, a pillow can be proper support for the shoulder. And relatively, down pillows are able to reduce your shoulder and neck stress. If you are suffering consistent pain in your shoulder, collarbone, neck, or upper back area then a down pillow can be a great solution. You can use an orthopedic pillow also. Soft and flat pillows give to support the head better. It raises the comfort level in the neck and back area and reduces excess stress.
3. Keep a pillow under the leg and sleep on the back
Plenty of studies show that sleeping on the back with a pillow under the leg helps to maintain the lower back curve. It makes a perfect balance among the head, neck, shoulder, back, and leg. This position is one kind of remedy for shoulder and back pain. If you can’t arrange soft down pillows; take a soft towel and give it a round shape by rolling up. You can use it as an alternative pillow. But try to find out a pillow for shoulder pain if you want to sleep comfortably.
4. Try to avoid sleeping on your front
You may habituate sleeping on your front and think that another position will not be comfortable for you. Don’t be panic to hear that sleeping on the front can pull your shoulder out or broke the alignment and make the position unstable. So, try to sleep on your back. It will keep the shoulder in a stable and right alignment. It is also another best sleeping position for stiff neck and shoulder.
5. Sleep on the opposite side of the affected shoulder
If you are suffering from shoulder stress and a soft down pillow and sleep on the back aren’t work completely then this position can be helpful for you. So, try to sleep on the opposite side of the affected shoulder. For this position, use a pillow to give support to your affected shoulder. You can take the support of a pillow at your underarm area of the shoulder pain while sleeping.
6. Sleep on your stomach for neck and shoulder pain
Stomach sleeping is also another best sleeping position for shoulder pain. Usually, it is a common position to reduce the stress of the back, and almost all people who are suffering from back and shoulder pain try this position. The simple thing about this position is that you are sleeping on your stomach to reduce pressure on your back. To get a surprise result take a pillow under your lower abdomen area and take the support of another pillow under your painful shoulder.
7. Try to use a full-length body pillow
A full-length body pillow is quite helpful if you feel pain with a single movement during sleep. This pillow will let not turn your night restless. It provides support while you move. It is also comfortable.
8. Try different sleep position and tips
Continuing shoulder pain is very frustrating. That’s why affected people want to get relief from it as soon as possible. If any specific sleeping position does not work perfectly then you should consider some other position. You can try another position listed above. Actually, the study shows that sleeping in a particular position for a long time can become the cause of your shoulder pain. One specific position of sleep can an imbalance of your posture. When it occurs for a long time, then the result is back and shoulder pain. So try to use different positions changing by turn if one does not work well for your consistent pain.
Bottom Line
When we talk about bone, joint and muscular pain, the right position of sleep can play a vital role. The best sleeping position for shoulder pain can give you relief from this pain. We have discussed some sleeping positions above. If you are a sufferer of shoulder pain; this information is for your help. Hope it will work amazingly and you will be surprised after wake up in the morning!
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