Certain sleep positions can cause more stress and strain on your muscles, joints and ligaments than others.
Ideal Sleeping positions:
- Lying on your back with a bent knee position supported by pillows.
- Lying on your side with your arms folded resting in front of your body and a pillow between your knees.
Not ideal Sleeping position:
- Lying on your stomach this causes increase neck strain and increase back strain due to the pillows under your head.
Listed below are common patient questions about sleeping:
How many pillows should I sleep with?
Typically one pillow is best. When lying on a pillow, you want your spine to be level. You can gauge this by looking at your head position in comparison to your body. You want your neck to be in line with your body position at a zero degree angle.
Where should I put my arms when I sleep?
Ideally you want your arms in front of your body to avoid strain on your shoulder. Never have your arms above your head. This can compress the nerves that innervate your arm leading to numbness and or shoulder impingement.
If you continue to wake up in the morning with pain, it is most likely due to your sleeping habits. Call Harbor Physical Therapy and make an appointment with one of our doctorate level physical therapists to learn how to decrease your pain by changing your sleeping position.