Shoulder Pain After Sleeping

There are multiple reasons why many people don’t get enough sleep at night. One of the main reasons is physical discomfort, which can be due to inadequate neck support or a room temperature that’s too warm or too cold. Often, the cause of lack of sleep due to physical discomfort is shoulder pain.

There are several conditions that can cause shoulder pain during and after sleeping. One common cause is an injury to the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that are attached to the bones of the shoulder joint. These muscles and tendons allow you to move your shoulder while at the same time keeping it stable. An injury to the rotator cuff can be caused by tendonitis, strains, or partial or complete tears.

Tendonitis occurs when muscles in the shoulder are injured or overused, causing inflammation. An inflamed shoulder is painful. The pain can be felt during the day, at night, or both. Tendonitis is caused by keeping the arm in the same position for long periods of time, such as sitting at a computer all day. Another cause is sleeping on your side at night, which can cause your arm to fall asleep. Other causes of tendonitis are sports injuries, poor posture, tears, and aging.

Rotator cuff tears can be caused by a single event or by repeated motion over time that eventually results in a small tear that can grow bigger over time – think of baseball pitchers and their repetitive arm motion. Besides rotator cuff injuries, other conditions that cause shoulder pain are osteoarthritis, bursitis, and shoulder impingement:

In this condition, the cartilage — the material that provides cushioning to the ends of bones — degrades. Degradation of cartilage in the shoulder joint causes shoulder pain over time. Osteoarthritis occurs with age as well as from trauma and injury. Symptoms include a decreased range of motion in the shoulder joint and stiffness and pain with movement. You may also hear clicking or grinding sounds in your shoulder when you move it.

Bursae are fluid-filled sacs that cushion tissues around joints. Shoulder bursitis occurs when the bursae around the shoulder joint become inflamed or irritated. Symptoms include redness and stiffness in the shoulder, local tenderness, and increased pain from movement or pressure.

Shoulder impingement occurs when the tissues that surround the rotator cuff grind or rub against adjacent bones and tissues. This rubbing can eventually lead to bursitis, tendonitis, or bone spurs. This condition is characterized by weakness in the shoulder and pain at the top or outer part of the shoulder.

The duration of your shoulder pain from sleeping depends on your sleeping posture, as well as on your underlying medical conditions. Here are some things you can do to prevent waking up with a sore shoulder:

Applying heat and cold is a natural way to relieve pain in your shoulder after sleep.

• If you have osteoarthritis, apply moist heat to the shoulder joint to ease stiffness and relax muscles.
• For a strained shoulder, first apply ice to reduce inflammation and pain, then apply heat to reduce stiffness.
• If you have tendonitis in your shoulder, apply ice to reduce inflammation and pain.
• If heat and cold don’t relieve your shoulder pain, you can consider taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for temporary pain relief, such as acetaminophen, NSAIDs, or Naproxen.

For most people, shoulder pain after sleeping resolves within 48 hours. For some people, however, the pain becomes persistent. If self-help measures don’t work, it’s time to see a physiotherapist.

If your shoulder hurts longer than a few weeks, if you have additional pain or limited movement, and if you regularly wake up at night because of your shoulder pain, it’s time to consult your doctor.

Other signs that indicate a need for medical attention are grinding, snapping, clicking, or popping noises in your shoulder; visible growths or masses in your shoulder; and an inability to perform your regular tasks of daily living.