For years, this road warrior’s right shoulder decided how his days went, and how his nights went too. Some mornings he’d wake up and couldn’t lift his arm past shoulder height. As a side sleeper, he dreaded bedtime. He’d shift around for hours and wake up five or six times a night with tingling, numbness, and at times pretty intense pain. By morning, he was running on empty, and the constant drowsiness followed him everywhere.

He saw a doctor and got an injection. It helped, but the pain came back shortly after. Then came the worst stretch: times when the shoulder pain when lifting his arm got so bad he couldn’t do his job. A bone and joint doctor took X-rays and gave him the news he’d been dreading. Surgery was his only option.

Up to that point, he hadn’t tried much else. He mostly babied his shoulders, avoiding anything that put his arms over his head or his hands far from his body, and hoped things would improve on their own. They didn’t.

The Turning Point

He’ll admit he had doubts. Other doctors had told him surgery was inevitable, so part of him wondered if he was wasting time. But he wanted to avoid surgery at all costs. He wanted his quality of life back, the freedom to do the things he enjoys during the day, and a real night’s sleep. So he went for it anyway.

The app took a little getting used to, but it wasn’t difficult. Some days his routine changed; other times he repeated the same one for two or three days. He built the habit of going through each day’s exercises, watching the videos, and making sure he did every movement correctly.

Because he’s always traveling, he never knew what equipment would be waiting at his destination. Some places had a gym, others didn’t. The band set his coach recommended became a tremendous help. He packs it and trains right in his hotel room.

Results

• Moves his shoulder in ways he hadn’t been able to for several years.
• More strength in his upper back, between his shoulder blades, and in his shoulder overall.
• Carries a sack of groceries from the car into the house without worrying about straining.
• Sleep went from waking every one to two hours to six or seven hours of good rest.
• No more stacking pillows under his torso to take pressure off his shoulders.
• Keeps up with his program on the road using a simple band set.

What Changed And Why It Worked?

After his initial assessment, his coach made sleep the priority. Right shoulder pain at night was wrecking his recovery, and when you’re running on poor sleep, nothing else you do works the way it should.

The shift didn’t happen overnight, or even in the first week or two. But a few weeks in, he woke up and thought, “Holy cow, I slept well last night.”

Education was the other big piece. He had no idea how complex the shoulder is, with so many motions, muscle groups, and nerves running through bone and tissue. His issues included some biceps aggravation and nerve compression coming down from the neck, which explained the numbness and tingling. Once he understood how all the pieces needed to work together, the exercises finally made sense.

What He’d Tell Someone With the Same Shoulder Issues

“Trust the process.” Listen and learn which movements your shoulder needs and how to improve that mobility. The program is actually quite simple and only takes 15 to 20 minutes a day. Just dedicate the time to it.

For anyone losing sleep to right shoulder pain at night and being told surgery is the only answer, his story shows real shoulder pain relief is possible. He did it from hotel rooms with a set of bands, and he says it makes the difference between night and day.