5 Practical Tips To Avoid Shoulder Pain While Sleeping
You’ve never had a problem falling asleep. That said, you keep experiencing shoulder pain throughout the night, forcing you to toss and turn from your back to sleeping on your left side, your stomach, and then on your right side. No matter which position you choose, the shoulder pain returns and almost always makes your morning routine rough. What gives?
Shoulder pain while sleeping is extremely common and can be caused by various factors — from the obvious to things you may not have considered before. In today’s blog post, we'll explore a few and share tips to avoid shoulder pain while sleeping.
First Things First — What’s Causing Shoulder Pain While Sleeping?
Sleeping position — If you naturally sleep on your right or left side, your shoulder pain while sleeping is likely due to additional stress on that body part. Think about it: As you sleep on your side, the bottom shoulder is crunched into the mattress for six to eight hours or more. Meanwhile, the top one automatically lurches downward into an awkward position. And if that weren’t all, your bottom shoulder naturally bears the weight of your torso and will likely be the sorest shoulder when you wake up.
Your mattress — In addition to sleeping on your side, a mattress that’s too firm applies pressure to the shoulder joints and tendons. Conversely, a super soft or plush mattress can alter the natural alignment of the spine and neck to cause additional shoulder pain.
Your pillow — Pillows can be too hard or too soft. Pillows that are “just right” will naturally flatten and lose shape over time. As a result, your head and neck aren’t adequately supported, which leads to new or worsening shoulder pain.
Pain from injuries that are worse at night — Frozen shoulder, bursitis, tendonitis, rotator cuff injuries, and even impingement syndrome tend to swell and become extremely stiff overnight because you haven’t used them for upwards of eight to 10 hours.
Limited blood flow — Did you know your normal blood flow rate slows at night? If you didn’t, you do now. Furthermore, this limited blood supply internally leads to edema and inflammation that worsens shoulder pain while sleeping.
How Can You Avoid Shoulder Pain While Sleeping?
For starters, adjust your sleeping position to minimize joint stress and pressure. If one shoulder is constantly bothering you, sleep on your opposite side. If both are hurting, sleep in a neutral position on your back. Choosing a pillow that creates a neutral shoulder and head position is also important.
Additional tips to avoid shoulder pain while sleeping include but aren’t limited to the following:
Don’t sleep longer than you have to; sleeping for prolonged periods leads to shoulder pain.
Use pillows suited to your sleeping position.
Sleep on your back.
Change out your older mattress and pillows.
Loosen up and exercise your shoulders before bed and in the morning.
Visit with your chiropractor.
Everyone visits the chiropractor for different reasons. Perhaps yours is because of shoulder pain. For someone else, it might be chronic headaches, lower back pain, and old injuries that never healed and have steadily worsened over 5-10 years.
Chiropractors are more than just “back crackers.” We improve how your entire body functions!
At Compassion Family Chiropractic, we rely on gentle and specific adjustments that correct the root issues of your pain and dysfunction throughout your entire spine. Making these gentle, specific, and consistent corrections to your spine results in progress every visit, adding up to better health outcomes in the long term. By staying on top of your spinal health, you can head off any small imbalances at the pass before they become more significant issues down the road.
We have been blessed to see so many health transformations in our office, and we hope you will be the next success story!
Call Compassion Family Chiropractic Today!!
At Compassion Family Chiropractic in Lewisville, TX, our goal is for you and your family to feel like a part of ours. On your first visit, you will be greeted by warm smiles and a whole team that is happy and willing to serve you. We aim to provide you with the most thorough and effective chiropractic care available while treating you with unparalleled service all along the way.
We look forward to the opportunity to become your family’s home for chiropractic care in Lewisville!
Call us today at (469) 240-2322. To learn more about Dr. David Ravdin, click here.
