If you suffer from rotator cuff pain, you’re well aware of the fact that it’s often worse at night. We need our 7-9 hours of sleep in order to function properly, but if pain is keeping you up, your day is impacted. Fortunately, there are things that you can do in order to get better sleep even with rotator cuff pain.

What Is Your Rotator Cuff?

Your arm is kept in the shoulder socket by your rotator cuff. Your rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that come together as tendons to make a covering around the head of the humerus. It attaches the humerus to the shoulder blade and helps to lift and rotate your arm. 

The bursa (lubricating sac) between the rotator cuff and bone on top of the shoulder allows tendons to glide when you move your arm. This can become painful/inflamed when the tendons are damaged.

What Causes Rotator Cuff Pain?

When the tendons pull away from the bone, either partially or completely, this is a tear. The pain can be acute or chronic. It’s most common in the dominant arm. If you have a tear in one shoulder, it’s more likely for you to suffer from rotator cuff pain in the other shoulder too.

Rotator cuff pain is more common in adults over the age of 40, due to age-related wear and tear, decreased blood flow, and bone spurs. 

However, it can also occur in younger people, especially those who use their arms a lot or who are injured. This can happen due to poor posture, smoking, family history, certain occupations, and certain sports. 

Symptoms Of Rotator Cuff Pain

Throughout the day, you may experience:

• Difficulty raising the affected arm
• Popping/clicking sounds in the shoulder
• Shoulder weakness
• Pain at rest
• Worsened pain at night

Night-time rotator cuff pain is worsened if you lie on the affected shoulder. It’s important to seek out treatment if you suffer from this, as ignoring it and continuing to use the shoulder makes it worse.

Why Is Rotator Cuff Pain Worse At Night?

It’s very common for pain in your shoulder to be worse at night. Why this is is still a bit of a mystery, but healthcare professionals have their theories. 

Some of the theories for why your pain is worse at night include:

• Inflammation from the injury
• The area is compressed when you lie down
• Your body is quieter at night, making you more likely to feel pain and aches
• Sleeping positions and gravity increase pulling/tugging on the tear
• Blood flor
• Muscle tension

Indeed, some people don’t even feel that much pain during the day, but then feel excruciating pain at night. Regardless of whether the pain is majorly impacting your life or it’s just keeping you from getting better sleep, seeking treatment is a must. Your doctor will diagnose the problem and recommend appropriate treatment methods for you, such as chiropractic care, avoiding activities that aggravate the shoulder, steroids, and surgery in the worst of cases.

How To Get Better Sleep With Rotator Cuff Pain

While you’re looking into treatment, there are some different things that you can try in order to get better sleep. These are as follows.

Try A Different Sleeping Position

A different sleeping position, like on your opposite side or reclined, may help. Avoid sleeping on your stomach, flat on your back, or on the side with the injury, as these all increase the strain on your shoulder.

Prop The Shoulder Up

Try sleeping with your shoulder propped up, by pillows or folded blankets, as this helps prevent strain on the shoulder.

Build A Pillow Wall

If you’re someone who moves around when you sleep, try building a wall out of blankets or pillows to keep yourself from rolling onto the side with the injury. 

Stretch Before Bed

Stretching helps with the healing process. It can be helpful to stretch and loosen up your body before you go to bed. Ask your doctor or chiropractor for exercises to help you. 

Plus, stretching and strengthening exercises can prevent future tears. This is because the more flexible your muscles and tendons are, the less likely they are to tear. Stiffness = more pain. 

Try Hot/Cold Therapy

Cold is better for acute tears and injuries while warmth is better for chronic pain from wear and tear. Try doing this for 15-20 minutes before going to bed. Ensure that you wrap what you use in a towel in order to avoid damaging your skin. 

Try Painkillers

Painkillers can manage swelling and ease pain. Check with your doctor before taking any medication. Painkillers aren’t typically meant to be taken on a daily basis, as taking them too often can lead to side effects and other problems. So, if you find yourself reaching for them more often than not, talk to your doctor about the right options for you.

Try A New Mattress Or Pillow

Your mattress and pillows play a significant role in your sleep. If they are not supportive, this can prevent you from getting better sleep by increasing the stress on your body. 

Exercise Regularly

If you suffer from rotator cuff pain, you may think it’s best to avoid exercise. In general, regular exercise helps blood circulation and sleep time and quality. However, you don’t want to do any exercises that would worsen your pain. Talk to your doctor or chiropractor about appropriate exercises for you.

See A Chiropractor

Chiropractors help with rehabilitation, joint mobility, pain management, and symptom relief. They can recommend sleeping strategies for better sleep and alleviating your pain.

If you’re suffering from shoulder pain, Ogden Chiropractic is here to help! Contact us today to schedule a consultation and let us find the best treatment method for you.

Sleep is your body’s superpower. It gives you energy, mental clarity, and improves both your physical and mental health. As such, not getting enough sleep impacts your day a great deal. Many people assume that you can make up for sleep deprivation with caffeine, but this isn’t the case. 

Here is what you need to know about how sleep impacts your day, what not getting enough sleep does to your body, and how you can address various issues that could interfere with getting a deep, restful slumber.

The Significance Of Sleep For A Good Day

You know how after a good night’s sleep you wake up refreshed, energized, and ready to take on the day? It’s amazing how much good sleep impacts your day for the better! Research shows that sleep is an essential component of being able to achieve your best physical and mental health. 

Some of the ways in which sleep affects your day for the better include:

• Improved memory 
• Better emotional regulation
• Boosted immune system functionality
• Maintaining optimal metabolism
• Improved focus
• Increased energy
• Supporting healthy development and growth
• Decreased risk of health problems
• Increased productivity
• Better mood
• And more!

You know that phrase: “sleep it off”? This stems from how sleep can help your body recover so that you can enjoy improved physical, mental, and emotional health. 

The Alarming Effects Of Sleep Deprivation

When Daylight Savings Time hits, you likely feel the effect of sleep deprivation that can happen merely by losing an hour of sleep in a night. You probably feel fatigued, have more trouble concentrating, and may be more irritable throughout the day. Studies show that car accidents increase in the days immediately following Daylight Savings Time and connect them to the increased amount of drowsy drivers.

This tells you just how much losing even one hour of sleep can negatively affect you. Of course, reading the above section and the positive benefits of how getting enough sleep impacts your day gives you an idea of how sleep deprivation can do the opposite. 

Some of the ways lack of sleep impacts your day include:

• Irritability
• Decreased productivity
• Memory issues
• Mood changes
• Trouble thinking and concentrating
• Weakened immunity
• Increased risk of higher blood pressure
• Increased risk of Type 2 diabetes
• Increased risk of heart disease
• Increased risk of weight gain 
• Lowered sex drive
• Poor balance
• Decreased healing capabilities
• And more

You can feel the effects of how lack of sleep impacts your day even when you miss an hour or two. If you chronically don’t get enough sleep, your body won’t be able to function as well as it should and you won’t be on the same level as your peers who do sleep enough. Your mental health can take a hit and your interpersonal relationships can be affected by your increased moodiness. Impaired judgment increases your risk of being in an accident. 

Many people don’t realize just how badly lack of sleep impacts your day and your overall health. 

What’s Keeping You Up?

Many people know that adults need 7-8 hours of sleep each night. However, many feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done and to get enough sleep. There are a few different reasons for why people don’t get enough sleep.

• Sleep disorders. Problems like insomnia can keep you up even if you’re exhausted and want nothing more than to sleep. If you think that you may have a sleep disorder, talk to your doctor. They may prescribe you sleeping medication or have other solutions. 
• Not prioritizing sleep. If you’re a busy person, you may view sleep as a luxury rather than a necessity. However, sleep is especially important if you’re busy, as it improves your ability to be more productive. 
• Having caffeine later in the day. You want to avoid caffeine after 3pm. It can take 6-8 hours for caffeine to wear off, which inhibits your body’s production of melatonin. It decreases your ability to get enough sleep and can cause the sleep you do get to be less restful.
• Not having a set time for going to bed and waking up. Unless you have the freedom of working from home or setting your own schedule, you probably have set times to wake up and go to bed throughout the work week. However, come the weekend, you may turn off the alarm clock and let yourself sleep in, then go to bed whenever you want. This disrupts your body’s sleeping schedule, which can make it harder to go to bed during the work week. 

• Stress and anxiety. These can both cause your body to release adrenaline, which increases your heart rate and energy levels. If your thoughts are racing, trying to calm them can be difficult. If meditation, breathing exercises, and the like do not help you, you can seek out medical help. 
• Too much light. This tells your body that you’re supposed to be awake, which is why it’s recommended that you avoid using technology within an hour of bedtime. Sunlight can make it difficult for night-shift workers to be able to sleep during the day. 
• Napping too long. Babies, young children, and teenagers all need more sleep than adults do. For them, naps can help them get enough sleep. However, napping too long can negatively affect your sleep patterns for adults, especially if you nap later in the day. 

These are but some of the reasons why you may struggle to get to sleep at night. If this is a chronic problem for you, seeing a doctor can help you. Sleep is vital to your health. It’s important to take what’s keeping you up seriously and to make getting enough sleep a priority. 

How To Help Yourself Get Better Sleep

Knowing how much sleep impacts your day and being able to get enough sleep are two entirely different beasts. People who struggle to get enough sleep because of stress, anxiety, sleep disorders, and more may have an even harder time getting to sleep precisely because they are stressing about their inability to. 

Fortunately, though, there are things that you can do to help yourself fall asleep and get better sleep. 

• Don’t stress about it. Easier said than done, but the more that you fixate on the sleep you’re not getting, the harder it is to get enough sleep.
• Avoid bright lights and screens before bed. Try to dim the lights and do relaxing activities like reading in the hour before you go to sleep, rather than binge-watching that new show on your favorite streaming service. 
• Don’t have caffeine in the afternoon and later. This means sodas, coffees, and green teas. This way, your body will be able to produce enough melatonin to help you be sleepy at night and get restful sleep.
• Give yourself a cool, dark environment to sleep in. Light tells your body it’s time to be awake, so if you are afraid of the dark, try a soft nightlight instead. You don’t want the temperature to be too hot or too cold, as both of these can cause you to wake up throughout the night. You do want it to be cool, though, to mimic how your body temperature drops when you sleep. If you are a night-shift worker, blackout blinds can help create a dark environment so that you can sleep during the day. 

• Address your stress and anxiety. If your stress or mental health issues are impacting your sleep, see someone who can help you. This can be a therapist, a doctor, or both. 
• Treat medical issues. If lack of sleep impacts your day, it could be a medical problem. Sleep apnea, physical pain, and more can all prevent you from sleeping. 

These are but some of the ways you can help yourself get enough sleep. If you have physical pain, like back pain or neck pain, seeing a chiropractor can relieve it. When you don’t have to take painkillers but can have the pain healed, you’ll likely be able to sleep much better. 

Is Back Pain Interfering With The Quality Of Your Sleep?

As you can see, sleep impacts your day a great deal. It’s crucial to ensure that you get enough sleep and that the sleep you get is restful. If back pain, neck pain, or another type of ache and pain is interfering with your quality of sleep, Ogden Chiropractic is here to help. 

Our chiropractors stimulate your body’s natural healing processes and bring your body back into alignment. This can relieve your pain in a natural way. When you’re in less pain, you’ll be able to sleep better at night. 

Contact us today to schedule a consultation to see if chiropractic care is right for you. 

Your diet plays an important role in your overall health, so it’s only natural to wonder how much of an impact it has on your spinal health. Can a good diet be the ticket to preventing back pain and potential injuries?

To an extent – yes! Your diet does very much affect your spinal health. What you eat and drink alone can’t stave off back problems, but it can improve the overall health of your spine. The healthier you are, the better you can prevent potential health problems. Healthy eating allows you to enjoy a stronger spine, especially when combined with other strategies, such as maintaining good posture, lifting properly, sleeping in a good position, and more. 

Here’s what you need to know about how much your nutrition can affect your spinal health.

How Much Of A Role Does Your Nutrition Play In Your Spinal Health?

Your body needs proper nutrients in order to function to its fullest potential. While eating healthy can be challenging in our go-go-go world, poor nutrition can lead to many adverse health effects, such as weight gain, weakened muscles and bones, increased inflammation and irritation, and more.

It also impacts your spine.

There’s not a direct pipeline between that slice of pizza and aching back pain. What you eat won’t directly result in back issues – but it is important to eat well and to ensure that you are consuming the nutrients you need for optimal spinal health.

What Nutrients Are Good For Your Spine?

Alright, so, proper nutrition = a stronger spine. Got it – but what nutrients should you watch out for? Different foods provide different benefits, so what types of foods should you incorporate into your diet in order to enjoy optimal benefits for your spine?

• Calcium. Your bones need calcium in order to be both strong and flexible. If you do not consume enough calcium, your bones can end up weakening as they lose density. While dairy is the most commonly known source of calcium, it can also be found in nuts, leafy greens, and more.
• Magnesium. This also helps to build strong bones. Unfortunately, many Americans do not consume as much magnesium as they should, in spite of the fact that about 50% of your body’s magnesium is in your bones. You can find magnesium in nuts, dark chocolate, supplements, and more.
• Iron. Iron is important to the production of collagen and to absorbing Vitamin D. You can find iron in meat and in beans, as well as down the supplement aisle of your local grocery store. 
• Vitamin D.  This nutrient helps to keep your bones, and ergo, your spine, healthy. It is also needed to absorb calcium and to help with cell growth, immune function, and nerve function. You can get this from sunlight, a supplement, eggs, and more.
• Fatty acids. These help to reduce inflammation, which helps with easier mobility. They do this by assisting your connective tissues, body fluids, and bones. You can find them in nuts, salmon, olive oil, produce, and more.
• Protein. Protein is a building block for healthy bones and body structure. It also helps with digestion and your immune system. You can find protein in meat, nuts, and more.

These are but some of the nutrients that can positively affect your spinal health. Depending on your particular body and whether or not you have allergies or food sensitivities, you may need to make adjustments in order to find a diet that works well for you, personally. 

Are There Any Foods You Should Avoid For A Healthy Back?

In truth, there’s no such thing as a “bad” food. Food is just food, and there’s nothing wrong with a treat here and there. Everything can have negative effects when consumed in excess.  

That said, you typically want to limit consumption of overly processed foods. These tend to be low in nutritional value, which leads to your spine not getting the nutrients it needs in order to be healthy. 

You also want to be careful with foods that can trigger inflammation, as this can lead to back pain. Sugar and red meat are two examples of this. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should avoid these foods, unless your doctor tells you to, but just that you want to be careful not to have too much of them. 

The key to a diet that can positively affect your spinal health is creating one that is healthy, balanced, and realistic. If you’re mostly eating healthy foods, chances are that your body is benefiting from all the nutrients you’re giving it. 
Ogden Chiropractic can help you formulate a nutritional plan that works for you and your body. Contact us today to learn more.