How to Get Good Sleep and Rest When You Have a Shoulder Injury

If you’ve ever dealt with an injured shoulder, you know just how much it can affect your life. From pushing a shopping cart to tying your shoes, this kind of injury can make everything feel like it's adding on to your pain, stiffness, and discomfort, rather than reducing it. 

You probably know already that rest is essential to heal from this kind of issue, however you may also be wondering how it's even possible to rest if the injury is making it hard to get a good night's sleep. The good news is, it's certainly possible! In this guide, we’ll explain how a shoulder injury can impact the quality of your rest, provide tips on how to sleep when you have a shoulder injury, and offer a path forward to help you leave such issues in the past.

Why Sleeping with a Shoulder Injury is So Difficult

Dealing with an injured shoulder is hard enough in your waking life. Lifting up your kids, reaching into a cupboard, or even typing at your desk can all cause pain and stiffness in the shoulders, neck, and back. And when it comes to bedtime, matters get even worse when it feels impossible to get comfortable. 

Resting with a shoulder injury can be more difficult depending on the position you usually sleep in. It limits the number of comfortable positions you can sleep in, leading many people to toss and turn through sleepless night after sleepless night.

The end result? A shoulder that’s just as sore as it was yesterday (if not worse), plus all the effects of exhaustion building up day after day. This not only makes it hard to function normally, but it also slows down your recovery time, leading many people into a difficult sleep-pain cycle. So what’s the solution?

The Best Sleeping Positions for Shoulder Pain

Many people find it hard or impossible to sleep in an unusual position. That’s why we suggest making adaptations to your usual sleep habits when possible, helping you get a better rest while promoting a quick recovery from the injury.

For Back-Sleepers:

Sleeping on your back is by far the best position to promote healing after a shoulder injury. This minimizes the pressure, stress, and strain placed on the shoulders and surrounding areas, helping the tissues relax and heal while you sleep. For best results, we suggest resting the injured arm on a pillow beside you, or resting in more of a recliner position and placing a pillow underneath the injured arm. This will help the shoulder relax even more.

For Side-Sleepers:

Do your best to sleep on the uninjured side. While many people switch sides throughout the night, the more time you spend on the uninjured shoulder, the faster your recovery will be. Sleeping on your uninjured side with a pillow on top of your body to elevate the injured arm is a good way to keep pressure off the problem shoulder.

For Front-Sleepers:

Unfortunately, this is the worst position to sleep if you have a shoulder injury. It’s impossible to sleep on your front without putting at least some strain on your neck and shoulders, leading to longer recovery times and more pain and stiffness in the morning. 

Do your very best to get accustomed to sleeping on your back or side until you recover. You can start by making adjustments to the pillows you use for sleeping. For example, by placing a full-body pillow beside you, this can help you transition to the side-sleeping position, or at least provide enough comfort and prevent you from rolling back on to your stomach. 

If your body isn't quite tolerating a full transition to side-lying, try to emphasize the recovery position with your knee up and a pillow under the stomach. Alternating sides can also help initially when transitioning, at least until you get used to certain positions (remember not to sleep on the injured side!).

Tips for Getting a Better Sleep After a Shoulder Injury

Beyond your sleeping position, there are a few other strategies to reduce the pain of your shoulder injury and improve the quality of your sleep. While everyone’s resting habits and preferences are different, following a few general pieces of advice can make your recovery journey and even life a lot easier. 

There are three main parts of the sleep-pain cycle to consider: your pain levels, the position you sleep in, and your lifestyle when you’re awake. We’ve already looked at the positions, so let’s explore how to improve recovery through lifestyle and pain management.

Tips for Controlling Shoulder Pain

Odds are, you experience less pain during the day while your mind is occupied with other tasks. You’ll likely feel some discomfort from time to time, especially while doing anything strenuous that puts pressure on the injury. But overall, most people find it easier to distract themselves while handling their day-to-day lives. It’s a different story at night, where there’s nothing to distract you from the pain of your injury. This can cause long, sleepless nights, perpetuating the sleep-pain cycle. To help, it’s important to do what you can to manage the pain of your injury. 

Depending on the injury, applying heat or cold can help reduce discomfort long enough to get to sleep. Use an ice pack for inflammation and a heat pad or hot water bottle for muscle strains.

Of course, there’s also the option of using over-the-counter, mild methods to help reduce your pain long enough to sleep. We suggest sticking to ibuprofen or acetaminophen whenever possible, taking the lowest effective dose possible, and ensuring you take them at the right time so that they remain effective as you go to sleep. Only use stronger pain relief medications under your doctor’s orders and according to your prescription.

Lifestyle Changes

The other piece of improving rest during a shoulder injury happens in your daily life. One important habit is the idea of sleep hygiene, which helps solidify routines about sleep in your brain and body.

This includes avoiding scrolling on your phone right before bed, only getting in your bed at bedtime, and winding down with an analog activity like reading in the last 30 minutes before you go to sleep. This helps calm the brain and make it easier to sleep, even if you’re dealing with shoulder pain. You should also try to regulate your sleep routine, sleeping and waking at the same time each day. This helps your body sleep when it needs it, even if you’re dealing with discomfort from an injury.

One more lifestyle change worth mentioning is where you get some sleep. It's normal to have to transition from sleeping in your bed to sleeping on the couch or in a reclining chair. This is a temporary yet necessary lifestyle change to make until your shoulder has recovered more. These pieces of furniture can help encourage the body to transition to the back-sleeping or recliner-sleeping positions with greater ease.

Get the Relief You Need

If you’re tired of a painful shoulder keeping you up all night, and changes to your sleep hygiene and pain management aren’t helping, it’s time to get some extra support. At Triumph Physio and Wellness, our expert team regularly helps clients work through shoulder injuries of all kinds. We create detailed, personalized treatment plans that help reduce pain, increase mobility, and improve the quality of your rest, helping to speed up your recovery.

Contact us today if you're ready to get help and break the sleep-pain cycle!

Disclaimer: This BLOG content is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The creators of this BLOG are not liable for any actions or decisions taken by individuals based on the information presented herein. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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