The Shoulder Sleeper Story
The Shoulder Sleeper Pillow was invented and created out of necessity. In 2021, one of our co-founders, Sam Jacobsak, underwent shoulder surgery after years of suffering from shoulder pain while pitching professionally. Shoulder Sleeper co-founder, Mike Scaduto, was his physical therapist in charge of his post-operative rehab. Sam and Mike had worked together professionally for about 4 years at this point.
During the rehab process, Sam expressed difficulty getting comfortable in bed and sleeping throughout the night. Sam dreaded sleeping in the sling because it was uncomfortable. He asked Mike what he could do to improve his sleep quality and comfort. The solution seemed simple: utilizing pillows to support his arm in a comfortable position. It seemed so simple that Mike scoured the internet to find a product that already existed to solve Sam's problem. Surprisingly, a suitable product didn't exist.
Sam and Mike spent the next year designing The Shoulder Sleeper Pillow. The team created multiple versions of prototypes, continuing to focus on perfecting the design of the pillow. The first version of the pillow was cut by hand and glued together with hot glue!
The team sent prototypes of the pillows to product testers all over the country. The testers included orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, friends, and family. The testers provided feedback and the team changed the design to meet the needs of the clients.
Mike and Sam worked to protect their product by applying for design and utility patents. From there, the duo worked to find a manufacturer capable of producing the foam pillow and cover with strapping system.
The Shoulder Sleeper Team is dedicated to helping solve the problem of poor sleep for people with shoulder pain and for those recovering from shoulder surgery. We are very excited to launch our product, The Shoulder Sleeper Pillow, in 2023!
