My shoulders hurt from sleeping on my side

Shoulder pain is very common among middle-aged and elderly people. There are many reasons for shoulder pain, including wear and tear, overwork, and incorrect sleeping posture. Many people like to sleep on their side, which will put pressure on their shoulders. If you sleep on your side for a long time, the burden on your shoulders will be very heavy, and you will find that your shoulders are very painful when you wake up. But shoulder pain also affects our work, so let’s take a look at some ways to relieve it.

1. Causes of shoulder pain when sleeping sideways

1. Slow circulation and pressure on muscles

When a person is in a sleeping state, the organs and muscles of the whole body are in a state of relaxation and rest, and the heartbeat will also slow down with the sleeping state. Therefore, the blood circulation is relatively slow when sleeping.

In this case, if you have an incorrect sleeping posture and put pressure on your shoulders, your muscles will be in a state of tension, that is, stiffness, which will cause blood circulation to be blocked. If you stay in this state for several hours, the muscles in your shoulders and neck will naturally be numb and painful when you wake up the next morning.

2. Neck and back muscle spasms

May include cervical osteoarthritis, hypertrophic cervical spondylitis, cervical radiculitis, and cervical disc herniation. Due to long-term strain of the cervical spine, bone hyperplasia, or herniated disc, ligament thickening, the cervical spinal cord, nerve roots or vertebral arteries are compressed, resulting in functional disorders.

2. What to do if your shoulders hurt when you sleep on your side?

1. Apply a salt pack

Salt packs can promote blood circulation, accelerate blood circulation, increase local skin temperature, relax muscles, dispel cold and relieve pain, and thus enhance local resistance. For people with pain in the shoulder and neck, applying a salt pack can effectively relieve discomfort.

2. Improve the bedding

When sleeping on your side, do not bend your head too much. If you sleep like this, when you wake up the next day and straighten your neck, it will be very painful. The mattress should not be too soft or too hard, and the pillow should be of an appropriate height. In short, it should be done as long as you feel comfortable.

3. Do shoulder and neck exercises

Usually, you should pay attention to maintaining a correct standing and sitting posture, try to keep the spine straight, strengthen the training of the neck and shoulder muscles, and do flexion, extension and rotation exercises of the head and upper limbs during breaks or after work. This can not only relieve fatigue, but also develop muscles and enhance toughness, which is conducive to making the shoulders and neck better able to adapt to sudden changes.