Sleeping Position with a broken leg
December 19, 2020 7:19 PM Subscribe
In November, I broke my left Fibia hiking, needed ORIF and am now waiting through the period when I cannot walk. I have a six inch plus titanium plate in my leg. I'm finding ways to be comfortable at night and am sleeping pretty well but now something I'm doing in my sleeping position is causing me to wake up with pretty nasty right shoulder pain.
If I sleep on my back, it causes my foot to ache. I think what's happening is I'm staying on my right side much longer during the night because that's the least painful position. I must be pinning my harm under me or under the pillow in such a way that it's straining my shoulder. It seems likely I'll keep migrating to this position, so I'm looking for a way to side sleep without hurting my shoulder.
Side sleepers of MetaFilter, any ideas? Any kind of special pillow which could help?
If I sleep on my back, it causes my foot to ache. I think what's happening is I'm staying on my right side much longer during the night because that's the least painful position. I must be pinning my harm under me or under the pillow in such a way that it's straining my shoulder. It seems likely I'll keep migrating to this position, so I'm looking for a way to side sleep without hurting my shoulder.
Side sleepers of MetaFilter, any ideas? Any kind of special pillow which could help?
I’ve been in your position, right down to the plate in my leg. Are you in a brace/immobilizer? I actually found that more helpful while sleeping, to keep me in a specific position. I’d suggest trying to stick with back sleeping, as that was definitely easiest. I propped my leg up on lots of pillows, and used the painkillers to facilitate sleep, even after I was done using them during the day.
posted by bluloo at 7:34 PM on December 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by bluloo at 7:34 PM on December 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
I had something not dissimilar happen. It was like a had a golf ball-sized pain lump in my shoulder, pain when I breathed, and tingling in my arm, for months and moths. A few sessions of very intense trigger point massage provided a lot of relief (after the major discomfort of the treatment itself), but I think what really fixed it was getting new, much firmer pillows. Mine had been too soft, so my shoulder and neck spend hours and hours sort of squished and pinched together. Lie on your side like you do when you sleep: Is your spine more or less straight and parallel to the mattress? If not, you probably a taller, firmer pillow, and very possibly one between or you ankles and or knees.
posted by mostlymartha at 12:19 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by mostlymartha at 12:19 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
When I broke my leg, I found a large body pillow helped tremendously.
posted by jessica fletcher did it at 6:44 AM on December 20, 2020
posted by jessica fletcher did it at 6:44 AM on December 20, 2020
I am a side sleeper who sleeps with a pillow between my knees, a large pillow to hug, and a substantial (but squishy so I can form it to my liking) pillow under my head. I used to sleep with just one pillow and a physical therapist explained that I needed those other pillows to align my spine. And I was doing something weird to my shoulder as well and changing my pillow use and pillow type helped a lot. Good luck!
posted by Bella Donna at 6:45 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Bella Donna at 6:45 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Nthing the body pillow. I sleep with one anyway, but I upgraded mine to a poofier one and it proved a GODSEND during the early "I can't sleep comfortably" phase after fracturing my patella.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:34 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:34 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I had bi-lateral talus fracture in March this year with ORIF, and like everyone is saying the answer is myriad pillows - prop up the bad leg with a pillow between it and the other leg so the weight is distributed and also pillows around your torso. Try on your back again with the bad leg in various pillow cradle positions to keep it stable without blankets on top of it (if it gets hot it probably swells and hurts so try to let the bad leg get colder with less cover), and wrap it snugly with an ACE bandage or light compression wrap or whatever your doctor recommended before bed time. Just keep trying stuff and remember you probably only need to get through about three to four more weeks of this max and sleeping will become significantly more comfortable especially as you start to progress to a walking boot and doing PT during the day. It really sucked for me too for about the first two to three weeks then got better.
Also do what you can to relieve the shoulder that is taking weight when you sleep with stretching in the opposite direction, stabilization and strengthening during the day. You want a program similar to one aimed at people with bad computer posture where you train the shoulders to sit with the shoulder blades more back by working the back muscles, and stretch the shortened muscles on the front of the chest; this can be accomplished with some stretches bracing the arm on the bad side in a doorway and facepulls with a theraband (they probably gave or will give you one for exercises for your leg). Don't neglect your upper body and core as you recover, it will make a difference.
Recovery from this kind of thing is an annoyingly long process but there is an end, do your PT and hang in there.
posted by slow graffiti at 9:07 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also do what you can to relieve the shoulder that is taking weight when you sleep with stretching in the opposite direction, stabilization and strengthening during the day. You want a program similar to one aimed at people with bad computer posture where you train the shoulders to sit with the shoulder blades more back by working the back muscles, and stretch the shortened muscles on the front of the chest; this can be accomplished with some stretches bracing the arm on the bad side in a doorway and facepulls with a theraband (they probably gave or will give you one for exercises for your leg). Don't neglect your upper body and core as you recover, it will make a difference.
Recovery from this kind of thing is an annoyingly long process but there is an end, do your PT and hang in there.
posted by slow graffiti at 9:07 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
oh also I remember adopting a halfway to stomach sleeping position that was pillow assisted and that helped unpin the shoulder. basically stomach sleep at an angle with pillows under the torso so the left side of your body is still angled up more but the right arm is out to the side instead of curled under, and use a very flat pillow or no pillow to relieve the angle of the neck created by stomach sleeping. I don't sleep like this any more and not before I hurt my ankle but it worked for a while.
posted by slow graffiti at 9:13 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by slow graffiti at 9:13 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I hate memory foam pillows for my head, but a memory foam body pillow is so much more substantial than polyfilled, and a bit more contort-able for unusual support angles, that you may want to go that route for a body pillow. You may also want some squish pillows to help position your leg and torso.
The other use for a body pillow is to retrain your arms to hold it - like a snuggle or spoon - when you're sleeping on your side so that your arms are out and not T-Rex'd up into your body, shoulders, and neck.
And then you need enough stack on your pillows to hold your neck at a normal height relative to your shoulder when you're on your side. Lay down on your side with no pillow at all, holding your neck straight, and feel how much of a handspan is between your ear and the mattress. It may be more than one, you may actually need to put your elbow on the mattress and measure along your forearm to your ear to see how much lift you need. That is a fiddly height - you need that amount of support after your head squishes the pillow, and if it's wrong it is very uncomfortable.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:32 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
The other use for a body pillow is to retrain your arms to hold it - like a snuggle or spoon - when you're sleeping on your side so that your arms are out and not T-Rex'd up into your body, shoulders, and neck.
And then you need enough stack on your pillows to hold your neck at a normal height relative to your shoulder when you're on your side. Lay down on your side with no pillow at all, holding your neck straight, and feel how much of a handspan is between your ear and the mattress. It may be more than one, you may actually need to put your elbow on the mattress and measure along your forearm to your ear to see how much lift you need. That is a fiddly height - you need that amount of support after your head squishes the pillow, and if it's wrong it is very uncomfortable.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:32 AM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Maybe a wedge for the leg, but still sleep on your back?
posted by kschang at 5:28 PM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by kschang at 5:28 PM on December 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the answers, everyone. I think I have figured out what I'm doing-- it seems that when I side sleep, I curl the pillow in my arm to raise it slightly for my head. I tried adding extra pillows, but that doesn't seem to scratch whatever itch is causing that. Based on this feed, I've ordered an ergonomic side body pillow to hug and I'll see if that helps. Unfortunately, given the location of the break, back sleeping gives me the most discomfort. I'll keep working on it.
posted by frumiousb at 9:02 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by frumiousb at 9:02 PM on December 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by leslies at 7:29 PM on December 19, 2020 [1 favorite]