Hard to sleep

[Olliecollie]

Hi, I have thoracic scoliosis which has caused osteoarthritis in my T - spine. Couple this with tennis elbow and I'm finding it vwry difficult to sleep comfortably. Any suggestions?

[PainConcernHelpline Moderator Community Champion Pain Concern]

Hi Olliecollie ,

Sorry to hear about your trouble with sleeping comfortably.

I understand that your conditions make it difficult to find a sleeping position that works for you. Fortunately, there are some techniques to aid good sleep - we have a leaflet on this on our website which you can access here: painconcern.org.uk/getting-...

I recommend Pain Concern's other online resources if you ever want to read up on pain management or topics relevant to the conditions you listed.

Hope this helps! Best wishes,

Moderator 3 on behalf of Pain concern

[KJMiller]

I too have adult scoliosis with terrible thoracic pain due to the spasms and now nerve pain. There are muscle relaxers to try. Baclophen and Tizanadine. I didn’t have luck w them but I know some ppl who have.

In addition, Celebrex can bring the inflammation down from the osteo arthritis.

I personally have to use Ativan daily. It relaxes the central nervous system and is the only way I’m able to function. You can become dependent on it so I am careful to only take it once a day.

I also sleep one my side holding a pillow. This prevents me from moving too much in my sleep. Movement =pain for me.

With your tennis elbow I would rest that arm on top of the pillow while sleeping to give it support. I’ve had that too! The only thing for this is completely testing it. I actually wore a sling for awhile to keep it stable and iced it 3-4x a day. Ice made a huge difference. Be pTient it does take awhile to heal.

I feel your pain. Do you have a pain doctor. I’m getting a few epidural injection this week. I have discs that have herniated badly bc of the scoliosis.

Do you have this problem as well?