Best Pillow For Shoulder Bursitis

Author, Freya Baskeyfield, M.Ost, 2016 BSO grad

There are a number of potential causes for shoulder pain.

A common one is Shoulder Bursitis. Bursae are little fat pads that sit between soft tissue and bone to prevent friction that would injure muscles and tendons.

The suffix -itis refers to inflammation, so bursitis is in inflammation of those fat pads. The shoulder has a number of bursae around the ball and socket joint, and below the collarbone.

Any one of these can become inflamed. Repetitive motions and overstrain injuries are commonly part of the issue.

Because of the inflammation, bursitis tends to respond well to a cool compress, but really doesn't like friction or pressure.

This can be a problem for front or side sleepers who may sleep best in a position that puts pressure directly on the bursa for hours at a time.

Bursitis can be quite a persistent, potentially chronic condition. When sleep worsens pain, and pain disturbs sleep, you have to deal with a vicious cycle.

Why Shoulder Bursitis Is Often Worse At Night

General aches and pains are often worse overnight when we lack the distraction that we have during the day. When inflammation is involved, pain is worse with rest anyway.

You might notice that days when you've been more active and demanded more of the shoulder cause more uncomfortable nights.

Position is, of course, a significant factor too. We've mentioned above that sleeping on your front or your side can cause direct pressure, but any position could encourage your shoulder to roll forwards and compress the bursa.

This can be especially true for people who sleep with one hand under the pillow, potentially putting compression through the affected bursa.

We have to consider the adaptations the body makes too. When you have shoulder pain you might find that you begin to hold the shoulder in a protective posture, or maybe your head tilts and the muscles in the side of the neck become tense.

This compensation can cause you to lay in a position that is suboptimal for your shoulder. You're not in total control of your positioning overnight, so if your body decides to protect the shoulder you might find that you're putting extra strain through the neck or upper back.

Alongside seeking treatment to resolve the bursitis itself, it makes sense to think about ways to improve your sleep.

This goes beyond the benefit of sleeping in the best position for the shoulder, because if you're better rested, you're in a better position to heal quicker.

Patients with shoulder or neck pain sometimes ask if they need to go and get a new mattress, but an easier and more cost effective solution might be to change the pillow instead.

The Best Pillow Setup For Back Sleepers

Arguably the best position to sleep in generally is flat on your back.

This offers a level of symmetry that other positions cannot match.

Unsurprisingly, back sleeping can also be the most comfortable position for shoulder bursitis, not least because most of the irritable bursae are on the front or side of the shoulder.

You might need to play around with different combinations of pillows to find what suits you best.

As a general rule, you want a thinner pillow when laying flat on your back to avoid bringing your head forwards and straining the back of the neck.

Pillows like the Groove Adjustable Pillow fit the specification, and are versatile enough to still be useful once your pain has resolved, and you potentially move into a different position overnight.

For some people this one change will be enough, but you may find that you also need some support to take pressure off the shoulder, particularly if your usual posture involves some rounding of the shoulders.

The Groove Combination Pillow would be a good option to try for arm support. You might prefer to place it under the shoulder itself, or under the elbow instead.

Don't be too worried about moving off the pillow in the night, if the pain wakes you just get back into position.

Moving into what might seem to be “suboptimal” positions through the night might actually be more beneficial for you than staying still and allowing that inflammation to rebuild overnight.

Supporting the Shoulder When Side Sleeping

If you prefer to sleep on one side and one side only, and that side happens to be the painful one, it can be quite tricky to train yourself to sleep on the other side. If you find that you keep rolling over or swapping sides in your sleep it can help to have a big pillow in front of you to minimise rolling. A body pillow could be helpful even if you're naturally sleeping on the non-painful side as it discourages you from switching to your front or bringing the arm forwards.

Why Arm Elevation Helps Shoulder Bursitis

The shoulder complex is just that: complex.

It would be very unusual for the bursitis to exist in isolation, most likely there will be a handful of structures involved. This might be as simple as a tight muscle that caused the original friction, or perhaps there's some osteoarthritis in one of the joints, maybe some damage to the cartilage around the edge of the shoulder socket, or something to cause instability like a rotator cuff tear.

With these potential complications in mind you will want to reduce the pressure on your shoulder as much as possible overnight. Shoulder braces and other supports might be a bit of a heavy-handed approach, whereas finding the right support from pillows is a lot more personalised and allows you mobility overnight.

That might be the difference between waking up in pain or not.

Do I Need A New Pillow For Shoulder Buristis?

If your bursitis wakes you in the night, or is worse beyond the first 30 mins in the morning, your pillow set-up may be aggravating it.

If your symptoms are progressing, and you’re developing pins and needles, neck pain, or headaches, firstly consult a healthcare professional, but also have a think about your pillows.

Does anything from above resonate? If so, click here to see the range of pillows Groove has to offer