Why Can’t You Sleep in Bed After Shoulder Surgery?

You actually can.

This has been passed down for generations, and people are concerned about it. We get a lot of questions like this about the bed and the recliner.

You can sleep in your bed or right after the shoulder surgery. I recommend laying on your back with one or two pillows up behind your back and then one or two pillows underneath your shoulder so that you can lie on your side on your back. People kind of like to sleep on their side.

In general people are like, “Oh, I don’t sleep on my back.” Nobody does. That’s like that’s how you sleep when you are dead. But on your side so that you can be like on your side, but not totally, your arms are protected, and you’re not laying on that operative side.

Again, you need to find whatever position is comfortable for you, figure out a way, and sleep that way. But you do not need to sleep in a recliner, ever. In general, I think it’s the worst way to sleep. If you want to try it, do so. But most of our patients hate it, and they’re very freaked out about having to do it. It’s a huge relief when I tell them they don’t.