Shoulder pain agonising at night

[Barney16]

I have had right shoulder pain for about three months and I'm really starting to wilt from the inability to get a decent night's sleep. During the day it's manageable if limiting but nighttime it's absolutely awful. I go to sleep but wake up after about two hours and I can't seem to find a comfy position. I'm reduced to sitting almost upright on the sofa balancing a hot water bottle on it and swearing. I have a GP appointment and I'm going to ask for painkillers because at night ibuprofen isn't helping but does anyone have any tips for sleeping? I'm used to side sleeping on the same side as my knackered shoulder so that's not helping but I would do literally anything to just get some uninterrupted sleep.

I had this problem. The GP injected a steroid into my shoulder which really helped. Ultimately I had to have surgery which worked brilliantly.

I would ask for the injection and also some stronger painkillers, like Naproxen, codeine or tramadol. You can also take paracetamol.

Thank you for your reply. I will ask about the steroid injection. Not sleeping is awful.

I’ve had a dodgey right shoulder pain a couple of times. Partly why I am still awake right now.

first time it happened it was a rotor (?)cuff injury. I had the steroid but had a bad reaction to it. Literally climbing the wall with pain a few hours after the injection. Had to go back to doctor same day and was given liquid morphine. After a few days of morphine the steroid must have worked because that was the end of the pain.

My current bad shoulder. I had a seizure Christmas Eve but was sitting on the bed. Recovered to find myself laying on right side on bed. Chuffed at the time thinking no injuries. However, next day pain in shoulder. I don’t think it’s arthritis as it’s slowly improved over the months. I’m thinking it’s a frozen shoulder but not been to doctors about it as would definitely not want another steroid after what happened the last time. I’ve had injections in other joints before and since with no complications but don’t trust that shoulder again.

Do you have pins and needles radiating down your arm and fingers as well? It’s potentially a pinched nerve which is agonising:

https://www.healthline.com/health/pinched-nerve-shoulder-pain#signs

I got it in October 2024 and started feeling better in February 2025. At one point I phoned 111 and they sent me to a walk in centre (around Christmas time) where I was given a prescription for stronger drugs (Zapain, naproxen, and amitriptaline) which were much more effective. They were reviewed by my GP after a month and more were prescribed. I was also given an appointment with a physio (within 2 weeks) and the exercises he gave me really helped. You can find YouTube videos of exercises for painful shoulder nerves easily and they’re all pretty similar and non invasive.

Before getting the stronger drugs I found taking 2 ibuprofen and 2 paracetamol together at the same time every 4 hours was much more effective than just one type of pain relief. I also got one of these heat pads on the recommendation of a friend who had shoulder pain and it was really soothing:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIZA100-Heating-Technology-Washable-Shoulder/dp/B07XP2RQHY/ref=mp_s_a_1_3_pp?crid=3FTQTE5WJXD7Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6hRcYbDoUNpjtVbxtYTACxa04lOgJCLySr5Pyd0J7FDNxj9Qz8jmGZ6a3e4G_NYu27GeL88l99GcwTDVNMeKqA1nRTXAH7qh-lsW-9syq2upUlrXGnmA3FcETzSR04c4VmHHqUKZw9o98ldTr1cKEOJ_ELEskMayLtT1UgjzNYo_OkR75QnztCTr-Bl83NDlSWlKaZTixcq6JkYnyTZLaw.xPcqfDamX5pRMnq7zGBWdiCdee6aWWH0z9uty0IJR3o&dib_tag=se&keywords=heat+pad&qid=1745374874&sprefix=heat+pad%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-3

I found long, hot, showers helped to release some of the shoulder tension that made it worse. The good news is that it seemed to improve quite quickly after 4 months (I think estimates are 3-6 months) so you could be at the tail end of it. I’m amazed you’re coping on ibuprofen to be honest! At 6 months I still have some numbness and stiffness but I’ll happily take that - it’s nothing compared to what went before. If you know someone willing to give you a gentle shoulder massage encourage it 😊

Oh yes, and I slept on 3 pillows with the heat pad ver the shoulder - a firm on at the base and then two softer ones. I like sleeping on that shoulder side and the high pillows relieved the pressure a lot.

My doctor is sending me for a steriod shot for my shoulder. I have not had one before but my brother has, for his back. He said it causes you to feel a lot worse for about a week and then you feel great.
I sleep propped up, with a pillow under each arm for support. (Both of my shoulders and collarbone are messed up)I put a heating pad underneath my shoulders and pull my electric blanket up to my chin and it is soothing. Sometimes cold packs help. My pain goes down the underside of my arm and a cold pack is more soothing for that.

I just booked a physio consultation, hopefully some sort of treatment or brace will help my shoulders.

I had a bad shoulder and would wake up with pain etc. wasn’t significant pain but enough to keep me awake. It wasn’t frozen shoulder as someone else could lift it even though I couldn’t move myself. If it’s frozen shoulder no one would be able to lift it for you.

Mine was ligaments/tendons and physio really helped. I couldn’t life much past my chest and struggled washing hair, driving, changing gear etc…

Go online and try a few stretches in the short term. Hope you get an appointment soon

I have arthritis/frozen shoulder and on a bad night I find a,triangular support pillow can help me find a more comfortable position.

I'm fascinated by your experience! I have frozen shoulder and can't move them myself (uses the muscles) but somebody else can lift them if they take the weight, it's horrific pain. It feels like toothache of the arms.

Sympathy, OP, it sounds awful.
i had bursitis before on a shoulder. It was incredibly painful at night.
After probably 2 months of it I hammered it with painkillers for a few days, and it settled.
During Covid I developed excruciating pain in one shoulder/arm. Was wolfing down any drug I could get and nothing touched it. It never eased or settled. Agony all the time. Couldn’t lie down, slept upright, and I use that term loosely, never shut my eyes. After a few days went to A&E and basically said chop it off, knock me out or make it go away.
It was a calcium deposit sitting on a nerve or something, then did an ultrasound,saw the deposit and injected a steroid in. The bloody relief! They gave a wee local and I swear it was heaven. Had a sling and to rest for a few days then right as rain.
So A&E worked for me. You need seen by someone OP, no sleep and that level of pain isn’t good.
Just to remind people that Naproxen, Ibuprofen etc are NSAIDs. Do not take them on an empty stomach, A tablet like omeprazole or esomeprazole should also be taken daily if you’re on them for a few days for pain. They can cause quite substantial damage to your innards in a shorter space of time than you’d think.
Also. Start with paracetamol as the foundation and add further pain relief on, taking it regularly throughout the day is preferable.

JollyJunee I am happy to hear your positive outcome, you gave me hope!
ohreallyIsee Do you have or could you suggest a link to the triangular pillow? Tia.

I’ve had a frozen shoulder and burstitis, so so painful. Also got ‘zingers’ which are a sudden pain lasting a minute or two that nearly dropped me to me knees. I did the shoulder exercises from Bob and Brad on you tube and also went on HRT which seemed to solve it.

I wondered how the doctor could tell it wasn’t frozen shoulder as everyone kept saying that’s what it will be. She said it’s inflamed tendons/ligaments. My sister had FS too and had injections too.

Perhaps it’s a phrase that covers anything shoulder related as technically whatever the true cause, it sure feels frozen. When I looked online and done a bit of research (I was dubious as to the physio but it was great) it said that frozen shoulder is to do with the hardening of something and in some situation people need surgery to loosen it and have it manipulated by force under anaesthetic. There is the wait and see approach and injections help whilst it’s in the midst of it but it does heal itself over time, finally going through goes a ‘thawing’ stage and that can take months/years.

I had shoulder pain - it was a bulging neck disc causing the pain. I had been treating it as rotor cuff as that was how the pain felt, but then it moved to pins and needles. It could be a number of causes so you really need a diagnosis/scan to find the root cause.

Thank you for all your help. I did a combination of suggestions and sort of propped up shoulder with pillows and put a hot water bottle under my shoulder too. Felt very peculiar but I got an uninterrupted night's sleep. Before this I took my shoulders completely for granted. Not anymore. Hoping GP will be useful.

I also had frozen shoulder, did physio, acupuncture, x rays etc, was offered the cortisol injection. I took up running and swimming and it has more or less completely cured it. If I haven’t run or swum in a few days (like today) my shoulder starts to stiffen and get sore. The difference is remarkable.

I had the zingers too with frozen shoulder, never felt pain like it, like whacking your funny bone exceptionally hard 😢

I’ve had frozen shoulder in both shoulders - those zingers were the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. Adhesive capsulitis I believe it’s called, caused by adhesions forming around the muscles in the shoulder and stiffening up . Not exactly sure but that’s how it was explained to me.

Very common in women around 50, which is when I started with mine. OP, if that’s what it is, it will go through stages of freezing (you sound like you’re in that stage), being frozen and then thawing out… can last months/years. Can you lift your arm up? Movement will become so stiff eventually you won’t be able to lift upwards at all - that’s when you’re frozen and get the zingers if you accidentally put your arm in a certain position or knock against something etc.

I had the injections the first time but they did nothing for me tbh. Took a year to get better. Then a few months later, the other one went. Didn't have anything that time, also took a year to heal.

Good luck with GP. They’ll probably send you straight to physio where you can try stretching exercises etc but tbh it gets to a stage where exercising it will be impossible because your shoulder’s frozen and moving your arm at all will cause a zinger (see above). Try the injections too - maybe they’re better these days.

I've had frozen shoulder on both sides. The left side was by far the worst. I would literally cry at night with it. Couldn't bear to have anyone brush against it.

With the right one, the pain wasn't as intense. But it went on for a lot longer. This time round I used ibuprofen and a heat pad. The heat helped a lot. If I wore the pad continuously the pain was very manageable.

I wasn't convinced the right one was frozen shoulder, because it wasn't the same as the first one, but sure enough, from beginning to end, they both took about 3 years to heal.

Does anyone know why women get them around menopausal age?

Mine was a torn labrum.

originally diagnosed as frozen shoulder then rotator cuff impingement

only got to the bottom of it when I paid for a private ultrasound . Needed surgery stitching back together and then further surgery for bone spurs that developed through over healing

Most likely done by overextending on chest flys whilst laying on a step in bodypump

I had frozen shoulders both side. There is a little-known non-invasive treatment that is highly likely to work first time round called hydrodilatation or hydrodistentation. It gives almost immediate results. Saline is in injected into the hardened capsule under high pressure to stretch it and release it. I had this treatment and pretty much full range of movement returned. I had it privately after months of physio/acupuncture.

Frozen shoulder is horrendously painful. I had mine manipulated under GA, which was successful at the time, but in the long term caused problems by frequently dislocating.
Eventually, I had surgery to repair the cuff and re contour the joint, and it's recovered well since.
I'd look at non invasive treatments like acupuncture if I had problems again.

I found the inverted V pillows very helpful to sleep with, as they stop you rolling over on to your painful shoulder. I hope you start to improve soon @Barney16.

Is it in the right shoulder blade? That’s a common symptom for gallbladder issues which are excruciating . Might be worth excluding that ?

My agonising right shoulder pain at night turned out to be acute cholecystitis and I needed to get my gall bladder removed urgently.