Did it work satisfactorily?

I tried both and the recliner was the preferred method. It will help keep your 'slinged' arm in a better and less painful position, as well as making it difficult to move around in your sleep (tossing, turning). At the beginning of the fourth week post-op I tried sleeping in the bed again. I lined the operative side of my body with pillows to keep me from rolling onto the joint. But...I'm back in the recliner for now. It definitely made a difference in my sleep pattern - I did not wake up as frequently and was pain-free when I did awaken. The only problem I had was my pup could not sleep with me! He was quite put out about that of course. LOL!