Have you been suffering from shoulder blade pain recently? Have you noticed your sleep quality getting worse? You’re not on your own!
Fixing your sleeping position can make a big difference in pain relief. This article delves into the bits and pieces of the best sleeping positions for shoulder blade pain.
So, what are the most helpful types? How can you integrate them into your routine? Find all the answers below.
What’s the Best Sleeping Position for Shoulder Blade Pain?
We’ll begin with a straight answer. If you’re dealing with shoulder blade or scapular pain, you might want to try sleeping on your back or your non-painful side. These positions might help ease your pain and maintain better sleep posture.
Before discussing these positions separately, let’s keep something in mind. It’s crucial to understand that simply changing how you sleep may not eliminate your shoulder blade pain.
Good sleeping habits may indeed be a good step toward relief. However, they may not cure your pain. If you’re having any uncertainties or your pain persists, we encourage you to seek your doctor’s opinion.
Let’s now discuss how the supine and side-sleeping positions can impact your shoulder blade pain.
The Supine Position: Sleeping on Your Back
The supine sleeping position means sleeping on your back. It’s one of the three most popular sleeping positions. The other two include the prone position (sleeping on your stomach) and side sleeping. All three can come in peculiar names and variations, such as the starfish, fetus, soldier, free faller, etc.
Sleeping on your back can assist in:
- Dealing with pain from one or both shoulder blades
- Aligning your head, neck, and back
A straight alignment can help you maintain the spine's natural curve and fix your posture.
- Preventing tension headaches
Neck problems often cause tension headaches. A straight, supine posture keeps the cervical or neck part of the spine stable. This ability may keep neck-related headaches at bay.
- Preventing irritation of your face
Friction between your pillow and face can irritate the skin on your face. Irritation may lead to acne, marks, or impurities.
Sleeping on your back might seem difficult at first. For some people, this position might even feel forced and uncomfortable. The good news is that you can train yourself to sleep on your back. It’s easy if done right! Here’s a how-to guide:
- Put a small pillow between your shoulder blades when lying on your back.
- Pick a comfy pillow and mattress that can support your position. Your pillow should provide a good base for your head and neck.
- Place a pillow or towel under your elbow on the painful side. The pillow can lift the elbow, providing a better position for the shoulder joint.
- Try also adding pillows under your knees and lower back.
- Ensure your bed is wide enough for your body, arms, and legs.
- Prevent turning on any side by putting pillows on all sides of the body.
- In addition, don’t lie flat on your back. Propping your head with pillows helps prevent sinus mucus buildup and a stuffy nose.
Sleeping on Your Side
Side sleeping is sometimes called the decubitus position. It’s a pretty common way that people sleep. Aside from being so beloved, can it also somehow be beneficial against shoulder blade pain? Yes, but only if you’re sleeping on your non-painful side.
Side sleeping means simply lying on your left or right or taking up a fetal or provocative position.
In the fetal position, your legs are bent and aligned. One leg supports the other. Although the fetal variation may be comfortable if you’re pregnant or have back pain, it can still add to your shoulder pain when you’re lying on your painful side. A provocative position, on the other hand, implies your hips are twisted while your legs are misaligned.
Science backs the association between pain and side sleeping, too. A 2012 study found a link between shoulder pain and sleeping on the side of the painful shoulder. Additionally, there might be an association between shoulder blade back pain and the provocative position.
So, how can you guarantee you’ll make a habit of changing your sleeping side? We’ve got you! Try the following pillow-full tips:
- When lying on your side, put a pillow behind your back. The pillow can prevent you from rolling onto your painful shoulder and shoulder blade.
- Put a pillow in front of you and hug it! Besides making you feel more secure and comfy, the pillow can prevent you from changing sides while sleeping.
- Place a flat pillow between your knees, which can align your spine and hip position. This maneuver avoids a provocative position.
- Opt for a weighted blanket that applies light pressure to your body.
How Should I Sleep if My Shoulder Blade Hurts?
Correcting your sleeping position may significantly improve your sleep quality and relieve shoulder pain. But there’s much more to getting a good night’s sleep than simply maintaining good posture. So, how exactly should you sleep with shoulder pain? Consider the following advice:
- Find the right mattress, pillows, and bedding.
A medium-firm mattress works best for most people. A hard mattress can provide more support for the head and neck, but this may irritate your skin and soft tissues. It may also result in sore lower back muscles. A soft mattress, on the other hand, can make your hips sink and misalign your spine. - Improve your sleep schedule.
Experts recommend that adults get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. Make a habit of sleeping and waking at about the same time every day. - Ensure the room you’re sleeping in is dark and quiet.
Window blinders and earplugs may come in handy. - Avoid standing in front of a screen (such as a phone screen) at least two hours before sleep.
Electronic, bright screens lead to more eye-straining and visual impulses. These can activate brain functions instead of relaxing them before sleep.
- Avoid a big meal, alcohol, or coffee for 2-3 hours before sleeping.
Eating a meal or having a beer or coffee before sleep may interfere with sleep. If you can’t do without eating or drinking something, go for a light snack or fruit.>>>
- Perform gentle exercises (such as shoulder blade stretches) before sleep.
Tight muscles represent a common reason behind shoulder blade pain. Thus, shoulder stretches before sleep can benefit the surrounding back, shoulder, and neck muscles. It may take some pressure off them and ease the pain a little. Shoulder rolls are an easy and great way to start. To do shoulder rolls:- Stand upright with your chin slightly tucked.
- Imagine that a string at the top of your head is pulling you straight up.
- Keep your arms relaxed. All motion will be in your shoulder blades.
- Shrug your shoulders up toward your ears, then up and back.
- Move your shoulders around in a circle to loosen up the shoulder.
- Do at least 2-4 such circles.
- Give mind-body techniques a shot.
By mind-body techniques, we mean mindfulness, yoga, or tai chai. These techniques can help you relax your mind and build awareness of your body. They can also improve sleep quality.
How Should I Sleep With Nerve Pain in My Shoulder?
Nerve pain in the shoulder blade can result from a damaged local nerve. But a neck injury or disorder may also be the responsible culprit. Thus, consider sleeping on your non-painful side when dealing with nerve pain. Sleeping on your back can put extra pressure on the nerve by compressing your neck.
You might suspect nerve damage if your shoulder blade pain appears with the following symptoms:
- Numbness in the shoulder that spreads to the arm and hand
- Tingling
- Weakness
What Sleeping Positions Cause Shoulder Blade Pain?
Different sleeping positions may affect the shoulder blades in different ways. Understandably, some positions may put more pressure on them than others, causing pain.
A 2018 study analyzed various sleep positions and their association with shoulder joint pain. It found a connection between the prone position and shoulder (glenohumeral) joint pain. The prone position means sleeping on your stomach or belly.
Sleeping on your painful side can be another potential cause of shoulder blade pain. Direct pressure on the painful shoulder blade may add to the underlying inflammation and muscle or nerve damage.
Can Sleeping on My Stomach Cause Shoulder Blade Pain?
Shoulder blade pain can have many possible causes and risks. As mentioned, sleeping on your stomach can be a contributing factor.
Sleeping on the stomach, or prone sleeping, is one of the more popular sleeping positions. As with other examples, prone sleeping has a few variations.
The problem with sleeping on your stomach is that it forces an unnatural body posture for long periods of time. Imagine keeping your neck twisted to one side and your shoulders rounded for hours! It’s no wonder pain-associated problems can appear. Sleeping on your stomach may also negatively affect the way you breathe while sleeping.
Hence, if you’re experiencing shoulder blade pain, try to avoid sleeping on your stomach as much as you can.
Why Do I Wake Up With Shoulder Blade Pain?
So far, we’ve mentioned that certain sleeping positions at night can disturb your sleep and lead to waking shoulder-related symptoms.
Below, we’ll list some of the most common causes of shoulder blade pain that may lead to symptoms upon waking:
- Poor posture that tightens muscles and overworks joints
- Heavy lifting and overuse injuries
- Traumatic injuries (after accidents, such as falls)
- Osteoporosis (a bone disease that weakens bones, which may lead to fractures)
- Herniated or slipped spinal discs that cause sharp pain
- Dislocated or displaced ribs
- Heart-related problems
Note: Shoulder blade pain may rarely be a symptom of heart disease, such as a heart attack, pericarditis, or aortic dissection. Heart-related disorders usually present with chest pain, breathlessness, dizziness, vomiting, or sweating. The pain may also spread to the shoulder, shoulder blade, and back. If these symptoms seem familiar, seek urgent medical care.
Takeaway
If you’re dealing with shoulder blade or scapular pain, try sleeping on your back or your non-painful side.
The supine sleeping position means sleeping on your back. Other common sleeping positions include sleeping on your stomach and side sleeping. They can come in different variations, which may cause pain in different body parts.
Sleeping on your stomach or your painful side may give rise to shoulder blade pain. These positions put extra pressure on your shoulder blades. They may also force unnatural postures for long periods of time.
Sleeping on your stomach can also affect your breathing while sleeping.
Shoulder blade pain may arise from various causes. These range from poor daytime or night posture to bone and heart-related disorders.
Changing the way you sleep may not always cure your shoulder blade pain. If you’re having any uncertainties or your pain persists, we encourage you to seek your doctor’s opinion.
Seek urgent medical care if your shoulder blade pain goes along with chest pain, breathlessness, or dizziness.
