Side sleeping and association with shoulder impingement syndrome

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of side sleeping and its association with shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2024 and October 2025 among patients with chronic shoulder pain attending Ahad Rufaidah Hospital in Aseer Province, Southern Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using the medical records and patients with musculoskeletal disorders, orthopedic metastatic cancer, or traumatic shoulder pain were excluded. Results: Among 110 participants (mean age 43.9±15.1 years; 52.7% male), 82.7% had chronic diseases (diabetes 37.3%, hypertension 33.6%). Side sleeping was reported by 75.5% of participants, but there was no significant relationship with the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) scores, the side on which pain was felt, or the specific location of the pain. In contrast, a longer duration of pain was linked to older age (p-value≤0.012), the presence of chronic diseases (p-value≤0.010), diabetes (p-value≤0.004), hypertension (p-value≤0.030), the fetal sleeping position (p-value≤0.030), and short sleep duration (less than 6 hours, p-value≤0.024). Patients who underwent surgery had significantly lower pain (median 21 vs. 30, p-value≤0.004) and disability scores (median 25 vs. 45.5, p-value