Shoulder Pain When Sleeping: Possible Causes, Prevention and Remedies

Shoulder pain, being the first thing you experience upon waking up, isn’t very pleasant. It not only restricts your movement but also makes seemingly simple activities, such as brushing your teeth or combing your hair, really challenging.

Being concerned about shoulder pain when sleeping may make you seek treatment, look into its negative effects, and find solutions to rectify sleeping habits.

Shoulder pain and sleeping positions are closely linked. According to a study’s findings, about 67% of the people who sleep on the same side experience shoulder pain.

While sleeping positions cause pain, some underlying conditions could also be the culprit. Let’s learn about the possible causes, prevention, and remedies for shoulder pain when sleeping.

Possible Causes of Shoulder Pain When Sleeping

Let’s break down the possible causes of shoulder pain when sleeping to help you fix this common problem.

Sleeping Positions

On some days, you may wake up wondering, how did I hurt my shoulder in my sleep? The shoulder can hurt from sleeping on the same side every night.

Sleeping on the side not only compresses the shoulder joint but also puts a strain on the rotator cuff tendons, restricting blood flow.

You can start sleeping on your back for even weight distribution. This position relieves the pressure from the shoulder. However, if you prefer to sleep on the side, keep a pillow between your arms to keep the shoulders aligned.

Bicep Tendonitis

The bicep tendon connects your muscles to the bones in the shoulder joint. Repetitive strain injury resulting from repetitive movements causes bicep tendonitis.

The tendons lose elasticity and become less flexible. They also become inflamed. When you lie down on the side, the pressure makes biceps tendonitis worse, causing shoulder pain when sleeping on the side.

Rotator Cuff Injuries

Another reason for shoulder pain when sleeping on your side results from a rotator cuff injury. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons of the shoulder. They connect the upper arm bone to the shoulder blade called the scapula.

This group of muscles and tendons stabilizes your shoulder joint. Any trauma or injury to the rotator cuff causes inflammation and swelling. When you sleep on the side, the pressure on the rotator cuff causes intense pain.

Frozen Shoulder

If you’ve been experiencing dull, aching pain during the day, which only gets worse after sleeping, the chances are that you have a frozen shoulder.

A frozen shoulder causes stiffness and inflammation of the shoulder joint. The persistent pain reduces joint movements.

When you sleep on your side, the pressure on the shoulder causes more pain. Therefore, you may wake up with intense shoulder stiffness and pain.

Best Sleeping Position to Treat Shoulder Pain

While shoulder pain may not always result from a poor sleeping position, bad posture can aggravate the pain from underlying causes. The optimal sleeping positions relieve the pressure on the shoulder joint, reducing pain and discomfort.

Sleeping on your back is the best way to distribute your body weight evenly. This keeps your shoulder and spine aligned, reducing pain.

Make sure that your mattress does not sag under your body weight as it puts pressure on the lower back, making things worse.

Prevention Tips for Shoulder Pain When Sleeping

A few tips and tricks can prevent shoulder pain from sleeping.

1. Adjust Your Sleeping Posture

For back sleepers waking up with pain, it is recommended to avoid sleeping with the arm over the head.

Instead, rest your arm on a low-lying pillow on the side. This reduces the strain on the shoulder.

For side sleepers, it’s best to lie down on the side with a pillow to keep your pelvis, shoulder, and arm in a straight line. In this neutral position, your arm bone should align with the ribs on your sides.

If you sleep on the stomach, face towards the side of the shoulder, that hurts. This reduces the pressure on the shoulder joint.

2. Change Your Mattress

If your sleeping position isn’t the culprit behind shoulder pain when sleeping, then it’s time to change your mattress.

According to a study, medium-firm mattresses reduce musculoskeletal pain. A mattress that is too hard or too soft worsens body aches because it affects spine and shoulder alignment.

For example, hard mattresses put excessive pressure on the shoulder joint and your spine, especially if you are sleeping on the side. The compressed shoulder joint with restricted blood flow starts to hurt in the morning.

On the other hand, if your mattress is too soft, it is going to sag under your body weight, resulting in poor spinal alignment.

Side sleepers experience shoulder pain when sleeping due to the collapsing of the shoulder. When the shoulder sags inward on the mattress, the increased strain causes pain.

3. Stretch Before Bed

We often forget the importance of stretching regularly. Stretching your arms over your head and performing shoulder shrugs and shoulder rolls are some of the easiest ways of relieving pain.

Gentle stretching exercises increase the range of motion and reduce the stiffness of the joint. Therefore, stretching makes a huge difference.

Here are some exercises you should do before going to bed.

• Shrug your shoulders up and down.
• Roll the shoulders forward and backward.
• Stretch your arms over the head and interlock your hands.
• Stand close to a wall, place your hands against the wall as high as you can, and hold.

4. Avoid Leaning on Your Shoulder

When you wake up with shoulder pain, it’s best to avoid leaning on it. Leaning on your cranky shoulder only makes the pain worse. You should avoid using chairs with armrests so you don’t lean on them.

When driving a car, you should always hold the steering wheel with both of your hands to avoid leaning against one. Also, avoid most of the activities that put extra pressure on the shoulder, such as playing sports or lifting weights.

Remedies for Shoulder Pain When Sleeping

There are a few things you can try at home for relieving shoulder pain. Let’s look into the remedies.

• Take anti-inflammatory medicines such as naproxen, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen
• Use an ergonomic chair.
• Apply cold compresses to numb the pain.
• Take a break from strenuous activities.
• Wear a shoulder brace to maintain posture.
• Consider physiotherapy.
• Perform gentle exercises.
• Don’t overuse your shoulder.

Wrap Up

If the shoulder pain when sleeping on the side, adjusting your posture, and using a firm mattress still persists, you should consult an orthopedic specialist.

They can diagnose your condition and look for underlying medical causes for the best line of treatment. The specialist may evaluate your shoulder with an MRI or X-ray to find out underlying problems.

Non-surgical interventions are activity modifications and physiotherapy with NSAIDs for pain relief. If you don’t notice any improvement, surgical interventions may help.