Night-time sling use improves sleep, pain, and anxiety early after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: a retrospective...

Postoperative sleep disturbance is common after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR). Although abduction braces are routinely used to protect the repair, they may impair sleep and comfort. This study evaluated whether replacing the brace with a simple sling at night was associated with improved early postoperative outcomes.

This retrospective comparative study included 92 patients undergoing ARCR. Patients were classified according to routine postoperative immobilization: continuous abduction-brace use (brace group, n = 46) or daytime brace use with a simple sling during habitual overnight sleep (sling group, n = 46). Sleep quality was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) and the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS-SS), pain using a numerical rating scale (NRS), anxiety using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), and shoulder function using the Constant-Murley Score (CMS). Patient satisfaction was also evaluated.

The sling group had better sleep VAS scores at postoperative night 3, week 1, and week 6 (all p < .001). At week 6, the sling group had longer sleep duration (7.02 vs. 6.61 hours, p = .023), lower MOS-SS 10-item composite scores (31.98 vs. 35.20, p < .001), lower pain NRS scores (1.46 vs. 2.22, p < .001), and lower HAMA scores (4.89 vs. 6.20, p < .001). CMS values were comparable between groups throughout follow-up, while satisfaction was higher in the sling group (100% vs. 78.26%, p < .001).

Nighttime sling use after ARCR was associated with better early sleep, less pain and anxiety, and greater satisfaction without an observed difference in functional recovery. Because treatment allocation was nonrandom and structural healing was not assessed, these findings should be interpreted cautiously.