Shoulder Issues? Maybe it’s Your Sleep Position

Do you wake up with shoulder pain now or ever have? Do you have chronic shoulder aches? Maybe it’s your sleeping position. Having personal trained so many clients over the past 20 years so many people don’t consider the time in the sleeping position that can be the culprit of shoulder pain.

Check out the pictures below. If you sleep with your hands above your head then you are laterally (externally) rotating your upper arm bone (humerus) causing you to overstretch some muscles and overwork other muscles. Vice versa if you sleep with your hands folded across your chest as pictured in picture 2 below. This is called medial or internal rotation of the humerus.

To counter your pain, you need to strengthen the muscles that are overstretched. To do this you need resistance training to shorten the muscles that need to hold shoulder/ rotator muscles in the proper scapular position.

You will thank me later!

Pic 1

Pic 2

Determine what feels best or makes the pain go away during a band, dumbbell or cable exercise. Try for 15-20 reps if using bands. If using dumbbell for external rotation then use light one such as 1 to 8 pounds and if needed use a towel between your upper arm and side to make sure you have no space between arm and body. Of course stretching in the opposite direction can also be helpful. Be your own best therapist and detective to solve and help reduce pain that just won’t go away. Also think about bad biomechanics that you may be doing everyday, such as using one arm more than the other for grabbing bags, groceries or the position of your head while watching tv or talking on the phone.

Energy Fitness studio in Travelers Rest, SC (relocated town) will be under construction soon. Since you can’t see us onsite….In the meantime you can find Tonya online with Zoom personal training/coaching or hire her to write a program for you with your own personalized 4-6 minute demo of each of your custom workouts included.