The most common cause of neck pain (and disturbed nights), is “prolonged abnormal posture during sleep”. A soft-filled pillow that quickly loses its shape fails to offer the level of support required to relax the head’s support system of neck muscles and ligaments. Instead, these structures are left unsupported and cause neck strain. Maintaining good spinal posture, especially when sleeping, is one key ingredient to ensuring good spinal health.
Contoured pillows are specially shaped to provide support for the neck and head while sleeping. This is particularly important for chiropractic care, as it helps to support your treatment and enhance recovery.
Common symptoms due to a poor quality pillow include headaches/migraine, neck pain, grinding noises on movement, pins/needles and numbness or pain in the arms and/or fingers.
Advice for a Good Night Sleep on Your New Pillow
A supportive pillow can make a world of difference. That is why we advise you to do the following with your new pillow:
- Like a new pair of shoes, your new pillow needs to be worn in.
- Use your pillow at the beginning of each night.
- If you experience any discomfort, change to your old pillow.
- Continue doing this until your neck posture alters enough to allow prolonged use.
- In some cases, this therapy can take up to 2 weeks.