Shoulder pain after sleeping is a common problem that can be caused by various factors, including poor sleeping position, injuries, and underlying medical conditions. Understanding the underlying cause is important to finding the appropriate treatment.
You wake up with a sharp pain in your shoulder. You're not sure what happened, but you can't do anything without it hurting. No matter how hard you try to relieve the stress on your shoulders by adjusting your posture as you sit at work or lying down at night, nothing helps. The ache is worse when you reach for things or lift heavy objects. It's starting to affect other parts of your life: the gym, housework, and even spending time with friends and family because sitting upright is painful after too long of an outing.
Having a sore shoulder is annoying, but waking up with one is an even worse way to start the day. In this article, we will outline the causes of sore shoulders in the morning and what you can do about it.
If you are waking up with shoulder pain, there is a good chance it is due to your sleeping position. If you're a side sleeper, this can lead to pinching within your rotator cuff tendons or bursae of the shoulder joint. This may not hurt right away, but after several hours of sleeping in this position, an inflammatory response will occur. It is the inflammation that leads to pain when waking up from sleeping on one's shoulder.
You should take comfort in knowing that for most people, symptoms will decrease within the first 48 hours. But don't worry if you are one of those unlucky few who still experience persistent shoulder pain - a consultation with an experienced Physiotherapist can help.
The majority of people sleep in one position. It's not always easy to change how you sleep, but it may be required for those with shoulder pain. If you follow these simple tips, your sleep will be much more comfortable.
If you're consistently waking up with severe shoulder pain, then you should consider switching the position you sleep in. Try sleeping on your back or on the other side, sleeping on your stomach usually means your shoulders are above your head, which can cause stress on your rotator cuff - so avoid this when possible.
Having too many pillows on your bed can lead to hyperflexion of the head and neck, which stretches the ligaments and muscles in the neck, causing shoulder pain in the morning. While having too few pillows, or just one thin pillow can increase the pressure on your shoulders.
Sleeping in a position where your elbow is closer to the top of your bed than your shoulder may be increasing your risk of waking up with pain. When this happens and the muscles are at rest, rotator cuff tendons and sensitive bursae can get pinched between the socket or cup of one's shoulders and upper arm bones. If you stay like that for long periods or damage occurs, then there will likely be pain as well as problems developing over time.
There are many reasons you could be experiencing persistent shoulder pain. If your symptoms persist for more than 48 hours and do not respond to sleep position changes, they may indicate other more significant problems that should be evaluated by your doctor. Some possible causes include:
Frozen shoulder happens when the connective tissue in your shoulder joint thickens, which can restrict movement in your shoulder. This condition can happen if your shoulder has been immobilized for a long time due to things like recovery from injury or surgery. It also might happen if you have diabetes, though it usually comes out of nowhere.
The symptoms of frozen shoulder come in three stages: freezing, where there is pain with movement and less range of motion; frozen, where pain lessens but your arm becomes stiffer and it is difficult to move; thawing, where gradually you gain more range of motion.
The thoracic spine, or mid-back, aids in the mobility of your shoulder while it moves. If you have stiffness or tightness in this region, the muscles that support your shoulders will go through more work and are likely to become fatigued quickly. This can lead to neck and upper back pain as well as shoulder pain and overuse.
Rotator cuff tendinitis is a condition in which the rotator cuff tendon breaks down, usually caused by repetitive movements of your shoulder or sleeping on an arm. It also can be affected by poor shoulder mechanics and general health factors that affect soft tissue resiliency.
Scapular dyskinesis is a condition where the abnormal formation of the shoulder blade causes pain in the shoulder. The scapula is a large bone that overlies part of the back and attaches to the upper arm bone. When this joint doesn't work properly, it can cause muscles and other tissues to be too tight or too loose, which leads to chronic pain. It is usually caused by a repetitive movement pattern that leads to inflammation of the muscles and tendons around the shoulder blade. This could be from something like years of using your arm incorrectly for cleaning, painting, or other tasks. It can also come about due to an injury such as falling on your outstretched hand - which may cause swelling in tissues around the collarbone and upper back region.
If you're waking up with shoulder pain, it's important to take a look at what may be causing the problem. If your symptoms persist beyond 48 hours and do not respond to sleep position changes, they may indicate other more significant problems that should be evaluated by your doctor. In most cases, addressing these issues will require some form of physical therapy in order to prevent future injury from occurring. Get in touch with one of our Physiotherapists today to discuss your shoulder pain!
