Pillows for Your Neck
- Posted on: Jul 30 2021
We all have neck pain at times. It could be stress. Could be that we tweaked a muscle when turning our head too quickly. Or it could be from the night before’s awkward sleep.
Maybe you need a new pillow that provides the kind of support your neck needs when you’re sleeping. Let’s get into choosing the right pillow for your neck in July’s second blog for Dr. Tinley at DFW Center for Spinal Disorders.
Types of neck pillows
Common types of special neck pillows:
- Neck rolls
- D-core with a D-shaped dent in the middle for your head
- Standard contour that looks like one big wave, with a lengthwise indentation for your head
- Horseshoe-shaped
How do you sleep?
The best pillow for your neck depends on how you sleep. Sleeping on your back or side are the best positions for your neck. The goal is to support the natural shape of your cervical spine (your neck).
- Back sleepers — You want to support your neck, but you don’t want it propped up. Consider a contoured model designed for back sleeping. Or try a roll-shaped one at your neck, with a soft, flat one to support your head.
- Side sleepers — You want to keep your spine straight, so you will want a thicker pillow that keeps neck straight when sleeping on your side. These pillows need to be firm enough so your head doesn’t sink in.
- Stomach sleepers — Good luck avoiding neck pain if you sleep the most on your stomach. Our anatomy just is not meant for this position. If you do sleep on your stomach, it’s best to probably skip the pillow, or else go with a very thin option to try and keep your spine as straight as possible.
- Sleeping on the go — If you are able to sleep on a plane or in the car on a road trip, try a horseshoe-shaped pillow. These support your neck even when your head drops to the side or down when you’re sleeping.
If your neck is still hurting despite your new neck pillow, it could be more like cervical spinal stenosis than your pillow. Give Dr. Tinley a call at (817) 916-4685 to set up an appointment so he can see what’s going on with your cervical spine.
Posted in: Spinal Disorders
