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# How to get a shirt on when one shoulder says no
- URL: https://the-health-brief.ghost.io/how-to-get-a-shirt-on-when-one-shoulder-says-no/
- Published: 2026-09-17T14:00:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-17T14:00:40.000Z
- Description: Sore arm in first, good arm out first. And what to do with the pillows.
- Author: Walt Brennan

| Live well It was not the reaching that beat me that winter. It was the shirt. Carol came in one morning and found me on the edge of the bed with one arm in a sleeve and a look on my face. Nobody warns you about the small jobs. The shirt, the coat, the seat belt, the back pocket, the far corner of a bed sheet. So today is the small jobs. And the night, which is the worst of them. A quick question · tap to answer Can you fasten a seat belt without wincing? Tap one. A ready-to-send reply opens, just press send. [Yes](mailto:hello@thehealthbriefdaily.com?subject=Seat%20belt%3A%20yes&body=Yes.) [With a wince](mailto:hello@thehealthbriefdaily.com?subject=Seat%20belt%3A%20wince&body=With%20a%20wince.) [I use the other hand](mailto:hello@thehealthbriefdaily.com?subject=Seat%20belt%3A%20other%20hand&body=I%20use%20the%20other%20hand.) [No](mailto:hello@thehealthbriefdaily.com?subject=Seat%20belt%3A%20no&body=No.) Dressing One rule covers most of it. Sore arm into the sleeve first. Good arm out of the sleeve first. Going in, the sore arm meets a sleeve that is open and loose, with no fabric fighting it. Coming out, the good arm leaves first and gives the sore one room to follow. Then stop reaching behind your back. Bring the shirt round to the front, get both arms in, and pull it over your head after. Buttons up the front beat a sweater over the head. A coat one size up beats the right size. A long shoe horn costs a couple of dollars and saves you a reach to the floor. The night Lying on the bad side presses the sore gap under the weight of your own shoulder. Most people work that out for themselves, painfully, at about three in the morning. What matters more is what you do with the arm once you are off that side. On your back, slide a folded towel or a thin pillow under the upper arm, so the arm is held up and not hanging back behind the line of your body. If you are on your good side, hug a pillow. That stops the sore arm dropping forward across you, which seems to be the position it hates most. Some people simply do better propped up. A recliner, or pillows stacked behind the back. It is not elegant… it works for enough people that it is worth one night to find out. What I will not dress up There is very little decent trial evidence behind any of that. The night pain itself is well documented, and so is what it costs. Sleep is one of the first things a bad shoulder takes, and one of the first things that comes back when the shoulder does. But nobody has run a proper trial on pillow positions, and I am not going to hand you a habit and call it a finding. Anyway, take these for what they are. Cheap, undoable… and worth a night each to find out. The dressing rule Sore arm in first. Good arm out first. Round the front rather than behind your back. Buttons beat pullovers, and a coat a size up beats the right size. The pillow setup On your back, a thin pillow under the upper arm so it is not hanging behind you. On your good side, hug a pillow so the sore arm cannot fall across your chest. Or try propped up for one night. There is one thing I would not do, and I did it. Do not stop moving the arm to protect the nights. A shoulder left still for a few weeks goes stiff on top of sore… and stiff takes a great deal longer to undo than sore. Wednesday's dose still stands on a bad night. Just do it earlier in the day. When to stop and call your doctor Night pain in a shoulder is common and usually settles with the shoulder. Get seen quickly if night pain comes with weight loss, fever, a lump, or a history of cancer. And see your doctor if you cannot lift the arm at all after a fall, if the arm weakens over days, if the joint is hot and swollen, or if you have numbness or pins and needles down the arm. Quick poll · tap to answer How do you sleep now? Tap one and just press send. [On my back](mailto:hello@thehealthbriefdaily.com?subject=Shoulder%20sleep%3A%20back&body=On%20my%20back.) [On my good side](mailto:hello@thehealthbriefdaily.com?subject=Shoulder%20sleep%3A%20good%20side&body=On%20my%20good%20side.) [Propped up](mailto:hello@thehealthbriefdaily.com?subject=Shoulder%20sleep%3A%20propped&body=Propped%20up.) [However I can](mailto:hello@thehealthbriefdaily.com?subject=Shoulder%20sleep%3A%20any&body=However%20I%20can.) I read every reply. Here is to one good night,**Walt** |
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