Shoulder Replacement Recovery: Dressing, Washing and Sleeping

After a shoulder replacement, the first few weeks are mostly about protecting the new joint while you do everyday things with one arm. Your operated arm will usually be in a sling for several weeks, and you will be told not to lift, push or take weight through it. That means dressing, washing, sleeping, getting out of a chair and making a cup of tea all need a slightly different method for a while.

The short version: dress the operated arm first and undress it last, sleep propped up rather than flat, let your legs do the work when you stand, keep the wound dry until you are told otherwise, and do not drive until your surgeon says so. Above everything else in this article, your surgeon's and physiotherapist's instructions come first. There are different types of shoulder replacement (anatomic, reverse and partial), and the rules for each can differ. If anything here contradicts what your team told you, follow your team.

The sling: what it is for and how to live with it

The sling rests the muscles and soft tissues around the new joint while they heal. Most people are asked to wear it day and night for the first few weeks, taking it off only for washing, dressing and the exercises the physiotherapist gives you. How long you wear it depends on your operation and your surgeon, so ask before you go home and write the answer down.

Some practical points that help:

• Get shown how to put it on and take it off before you leave hospital, and ideally show whoever is helping you too. Fiddly straps are much harder at home, on your own, one-handed.
• A small folded flannel or soft pad under the neck strap can stop it rubbing.
• Keep your hand and wrist moving if your team has said this is fine. Squeezing a soft ball and moving your fingers and wrist helps with swelling and stiffness in the hand.
• Check your armpit on the operated side. It gets hot and sweaty in a sling, and the skin can get sore. Gentle washing and drying (see below) helps.

Getting dressed with one arm

The rule people remember is simple: operated arm in first, out last. When dressing, let the operated arm hang loosely by your side or rest on your lap, slide the sleeve up it without lifting the arm, then bring the garment round your back and put your good arm in. When undressing, take the good arm out first, then slide the garment off the operated side.

Sit down to dress, on a firm chair or the edge of the bed, so you are not balancing at the same time.

Clothes that make life easier

• Loose, front-opening tops: cardigans, shirts and zip-up tops, ideally a size up. Pulling anything over your head is hard work in the early weeks.
• Bras: front-fastening styles, or soft stretchy ones you can step into and pull up, are easier than back fastenings. Some people simply go without for a few weeks, or wear a soft vest.
• Elastic-waisted trousers and skirts, so there are no buttons or zips to wrestle with one-handed.
• Slip-on shoes with a closed back, or trainers with elastic or curly laces that never need tying. A long-handled shoe horn helps if bending is hard.
• Socks are often the fiddliest job. Looser socks are easier, and many people find a helper is needed for this one at first.

Practise before your operation. Try dressing one-handed with your operated-side arm tucked into your top. You will quickly find out which clothes are hopeless. Our guide to dressing aids and easier ways to get dressed covers the gadgets in more detail.

If your team has said avoid reaching behind your back

Many teams, particularly after a reverse shoulder replacement, ask you not to put the operated hand behind your back for a period. That affects tucking in shirts, fastening things at the back and, importantly, wiping after using the toilet. Plan to use your other hand for these jobs. If that is your non-dominant hand, practise before surgery. It feels odd at first and is much easier to learn when you are not sore.

Washing and keeping clean

Your team will tell you how long to keep the wound dry and whether you can shower with a waterproof dressing. Until then, a strip wash at the sink is the safest option.

• Sit down on a stool or chair at the sink if you can.
• Use a long-handled sponge for your back, legs and feet, and the other side of your body you cannot reach.
• Washing the armpit on the operated side: some teams teach you to lean forward slightly so the arm hangs away from your body, then wash underneath it with your good hand. Only do this if you have been shown it and told it is safe.
• Swap towels for a towelling dressing gown. Putting it on and sitting for a few minutes dries you without the one-handed towel wrestle.
• Pump-action bottles for soap and shampoo are far easier than squeezy bottles and flip-top lids with one hand.

When you are allowed to shower, a shower chair or stool means you are not standing and balancing with one arm. A non-slip mat inside and outside the shower matters even more than usual, because you cannot easily save yourself with your arms if you slip.

Getting in and out of a bath normally means pushing up with both arms, which you must not do. For the early weeks, most people should avoid the bath altogether. If your only shower is over the bath, talk to your hospital team before you go home about whether a bath board or other equipment is suitable, or whether a strip wash is better for now.

Hair washing one-handed is tricky. A short-term solution is to have someone help over the sink, use dry shampoo, or book a hairdresser. Some people get their hair cut shorter before the operation.

Sleeping after shoulder surgery

This is often the thing people find hardest. Lying flat tends to let the operated arm drop back behind the line of your body, which pulls on the healing joint and hurts. Most people sleep better propped up, at least for the first weeks.

• Build a slope of pillows behind you, or use a wedge pillow, so you are semi-upright.
• Put a pillow under the elbow and forearm of the operated arm so it is supported slightly forward, not sagging backwards. Your physio may show you exactly where.
• Many people sleep in a reclining armchair for a while. This is common and perfectly reasonable if it is comfortable and your team is happy.
• Lying on your side: most people are advised not to lie on the operated side for some weeks. If lying on the other side is allowed, hugging a pillow in front of you supports the operated arm.
• Wear the sling at night if you have been told to. It is tempting to take it off, but rolling in your sleep is exactly what it protects against.

Keep a phone, water, any tablets you have been prescribed and a light within reach of your good hand. A plug-in night light makes getting up to the toilet safer.

Getting in and out of bed and chairs

The principle is the same for both: let your legs do the work, and do not push up through the operated arm.

Chairs

Choose a firm chair with arms at a height where your feet are flat on the floor and your knees are roughly level with or slightly below your hips. Low, soft sofas are the enemy, because getting out of them means pushing with both arms. To stand, shuffle forward to the edge of the seat, put your feet back slightly, lean forward ('nose over toes') and stand using your legs, with only your good hand on the chair arm.

Bed

Many people find it easier to get out of bed on the side that lets the good arm help. Bend your knees, roll gently onto your side (not onto the operated arm), let your legs go over the edge and use your good arm to push yourself up to sitting. Go back in by reversing the steps. If your bed is very low, it is harder; raising it is something an occupational therapist can advise on.

Toilets

A low toilet means pushing up with your arms. A raised toilet seat, or a toilet frame you can use with one hand, can make a real difference for a few weeks. Ask the hospital team whether these can be lent to you.

The kitchen, one-handed

You should not lift anything heavy with the operated arm, and in the early weeks that usually means nothing more than very light items, if anything. The kitchen becomes a one-handed workplace.

• Batch-cook and freeze meals before surgery in single portions, in containers you can open with one hand.
• Move everyday items to counter height: mugs, plates, tea, coffee, cereal. No stretching for high cupboards and no bending to low ones holding a heavy pan.
• Fill the kettle only as much as you need, or use a small, light kettle. A kettle tipper (a cradle that lets you tilt the kettle without lifting it) helps some people.
• A non-slip mat on the worktop stops bowls and chopping boards sliding about when you only have one hand to hold them steady.
• Use prepared ingredients: ready-chopped vegetables, grated cheese, pre-sliced bread. This is not the time for culinary pride.
• A rocker knife or a spike board (a chopping board with prongs to hold food still) helps if you do need to cut.
• An electric can opener and a wall-mounted jar opener deal with lids.
• A kitchen trolley lets you move food and drinks from the kitchen to the table without carrying them.
• A perching stool lets you sit at the worktop while you prepare food.

There is more on this in our guide to kitchen aids and meal-time independence.

Driving

Do not drive until your surgeon says you can. There is no single fixed number of weeks that applies to everyone. You must be able to control the car safely, including in an emergency, and you cannot do that with your arm in a sling. Driving while not fit to do so can also affect your insurance.

Before you drive again, check with your surgeon, tell your insurer you have had surgery, and check the GOV.UK guidance on health conditions and driving to see whether you need to tell the DVLA. For most people recovering from a joint replacement this is a short-term issue, but check rather than assume. Plan lifts, taxis or community transport for follow-up appointments before your operation.

Preparing your home before surgery

The more you do beforehand, the easier the first fortnight is. A checklist:

1. Arrange help for at least the first week or two if you can, especially if it is your dominant arm or you live alone.
2. Move things you use daily to between waist and shoulder height on your good side.
3. Clear walkways, pick up loose rugs and tidy trailing cables. A fall onto a new shoulder is the thing to avoid most.
4. Sort out your sleeping set-up: pillows, a wedge, or a recliner you can get out of easily.
5. Get your clothes ready: front-opening tops, elastic waists, slip-on shoes.
6. Stock the freezer and cupboards, and swap bottles to pump dispensers.
7. Check your chair, toilet and bed heights. If they are low, ask about equipment early.
8. Think about pets, bins and shopping. Walking a strong dog or carrying bags will be off the list for a while.

If you have already been through a lower limb joint replacement, some of this will feel familiar. Our guide to life after a hip replacement follows a similar pattern.

Equipment that helps (and what you can borrow)

You do not need a house full of gadgets. The items people most often find useful after a shoulder replacement are a long-handled sponge, a long-handled shoe horn, a shower chair or stool, a raised toilet seat or toilet frame, a perching stool, a non-slip mat, a kitchen trolley and pillows or a wedge for sleeping.

Hospital occupational therapists often arrange essential items before discharge, and some can be borrowed through your local community equipment service rather than bought. Our guide to borrowing equipment through community equipment services explains how. Ask before you buy, and if you do buy, measure your home first.

When to get medical help

Contact your surgical team, GP or NHS 111 if you notice increasing redness, heat, swelling or leaking from the wound, a high temperature or feeling shivery and unwell, pain that is getting worse rather than better, or new numbness or tingling in your hand. Contact your surgical team urgently the same day if you feel or hear a clunk, suddenly cannot move the arm as before, or have a fall onto it. If you cannot reach them, go to A&E or call NHS 111.

Call 999 if you have chest pain, sudden breathlessness or are coughing up blood, as these can be signs of a blood clot in the lungs. A painful, swollen, warm calf can be a sign of a clot in the leg and needs urgent medical advice the same day.

Where an occupational therapist fits

Your surgeon decides the precautions, how long you wear the sling and when you can drive. Your physiotherapist leads the exercises that get movement and strength back, and that programme is the most important part of your recovery. Do not swap it for anything else.

An occupational therapist looks at the everyday tasks: getting washed and dressed, using the toilet, getting in and out of bed and chairs, managing the kitchen. On the NHS, you may see a hospital OT before surgery or on the ward, who may check what equipment you need. That is often enough.

A private occupational therapist visiting at home can be useful if you want a proper look at your home before the operation, if you live alone, if it is your dominant arm, or if you have other conditions (arthritis in the other hand, poor balance, a previous stroke) that make one-handed living harder. They can watch you try the tricky tasks, suggest different methods and recommend equipment and aids that suit your home. They do not replace your surgical team or physio.

Frequently asked questions

How long does shoulder replacement recovery take?

It varies a lot by person and type of operation. The sling is usually worn for several weeks, and most people gradually return to light everyday tasks after that. Strength and movement often keep improving over many months. Your surgeon and physiotherapist can give you a more realistic picture for your situation.

Can I sleep on my side after shoulder surgery?

Most people are advised not to lie on the operated side for some weeks. Lying on the other side may be allowed, with a pillow in front to support the operated arm. Many people find sleeping propped up on their back, or in a recliner, more comfortable at first. Check with your team.

When can I drive after a shoulder replacement?

Only when your surgeon says so and you can fully control the car, including an emergency stop or swerve. Tell your insurer, and check GOV.UK guidance on whether the DVLA needs to know.

When can I have a shower?

That depends on your wound and dressing, and your team will tell you. Until then, strip wash at the sink. When you can shower, sit on a shower chair or stool and use a non-slip mat.

Do I need to buy equipment before my operation?

Not usually much. Ask the hospital team what they will provide or lend first. Simple items like pillows, a long-handled sponge and pump-action bottles are cheap and worth having ready. Avoid buying bigger items without advice.

Can I manage at home alone after a shoulder replacement?

Some people do, but the first week or two are much easier with help, particularly if it is your dominant arm. Plan meals, shopping and lifts in advance. If you are worried, raise it with the hospital team before discharge, as they may be able to arrange short-term support.

Next steps

If you would like help preparing your home or managing one-handed after surgery, see our home assessment page, or current guide prices, and choose your area below.