Know How to Select the Best Cervical Pillow to Avoid Neck Pain
A good posture and proper spinal alignment are often overlooked aspects in regards to the management of neck pain. A pillow designed for neck pain helps you achieve just that.
Many people rely on anti-inflammatory medications and pain-relievers, often prescribed by doctors if surgery is out of the question. But, your first move should be choosing the right neck pain relief pillow.
Neck pillows or cervical pillows come in handy when looking to improve sleep that is often disrupted due to neck pains. They are specifically designed to give your neck the support and lift that it needs in order to maintain a neutral position as you sleep.
The task of purchasing a suitable neck pillow can be a rather challenging one. There are numerous cervical pillow designs that have been introduced in the market today. Each of them has its pros and cons.
This guide aims at providing you with the necessary information that you need in order to make an informed choice when it comes to choosing the best pillow for neck pain.
Highly Recommended Best Pillows for Neck Pain
Benefits of a Neck Pain Pillow aka Cervical Pillow
You might think that your old pillow has nothing to do with the fact that you wake up with excruciating neck pain, but it does. When you have a chronic condition, getting a neck pillow is not an option, but a necessity. Stiff pillows are the worst because instead of taking the pressure off your neck, they just add more to it. Here is a list with some of the benefits you might get by using a neck pillow:
What Causes a Neck Pain and How a Right Pillow Can Offset it
Comfortable sleep is not only a factor of our choice of mattress and beddings; it is also influenced by our pillow choice. Our choice of pillow loft to be specific will greatly influence whether or not we wake up with a stiff or sore neck the next morning and every other morning after that.
Depending on your sleeping position of choice, you will either require a high, medium or low loft pillow. Having the wrong pillow height will cause your neck to bend in an awkward position consequently straining your neck muscles and resulting in neck pain.
A choice as simple as changing your pillow to one that is suitable for your sleeping position could go a long way in keeping neck pains at bay.
Buying Guide: Factors to Look for Before Buying a Pillow for Neck Pain
It takes more than just a quick internet search to find the best pillow for neck pain. Considerations such as the material and firmness of the pillow, the ease of use, size of the pillow and your sleeping position all play an important role in ensuring that you arrive at a suitable pillow to help alleviate your neck pain.
7 Best Cervical Pillows for Neck Pain with Reviews
Neck pains resulting from poor sleeping postures, injuries or surgical procedures have necessitated the creation of neck pillows. These pillow's primary purpose is to support the neck and alleviate the neck pain of users as they sleep.
However, with the growing need for the product comes a myriad of options being introduced into the market. We have taken the liberty of listing seven of the best pillows for neck pains, including a review of their advantages and disadvantages.
1. The Oxa Spring Bed Pillow
If you are suffering from neck pains, then comfort and adequate support are two key attributes of any pillow you buy. The Oxa Spring Bed Pillow has been included in this guide due to its ability to provide both support and comfort to it users regardless of their preferred sleeping position. It is designed to be soft and at the same time firm.
The fabric of choice for this pillow’s removable cover is pure cotton while the filler material is polyester micro fibre. To help improve its firmness and fluffiness, the manufacturers have made use of a 3D spacer mesh fabric that holds up to 40 springs. The latter are responsible for giving the inner core of the pillow its adaptive feature. This aids the pillow in providing support whenever you lay your head on it by gently pushing back against the weight of your head.
It measures 26 inches in length and 16.5 inches in width. To help improve this pillow’s comfort, tiny silk fibres, together with the breathable cotton outer cover, helps to enhance its heat dissipation capabilities and thus keep it cool throughout the night.
What’s more, these pillows come with a warranty of a 20 year period from the manufacturer. This helps to inspire confidence in buyers about the quality and longevity of the product.
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2. Cr Sleep Memory Foam Contour Pillow
The Cr Sleep Memory Foam Contour Pillow has been included in this guide due to its ability to provide a chance for its users to attain better sleep and no stiff neck in the morning. By providing support and comfort, it allows your neck muscles to relax and this relaxation effect is attributed to the gel-infused filling of the pillow.
To add to its comfort, the outside of the pillow makes use of a jersey fabric while the inside makes use of gel-infused memory foam. Apart from being comfortable the jersey fabric is also breathable allowing for proper heat dissipation and air circulation within the pillow.
To make it easy to maintain, the pillow comes with a removable and washable cover. Its contoured design makes it ideal for use by both side sleepers and those who sleep on their backs.
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When it comes to brand reputation, Sleep Innovation has created a name for itself in the pillow world. It is this brand’s reputation of manufacturing comfortable and supportive pillows that has earned the Sleep Innovations Contour Memory Foam Pillow a spot on this guide.
Its contoured design incorporated a recessed centre making the pillow ideal for all sorts of sleepers. By restricting the curve of the neck from being pushed unnaturally forward or backwards, this pillow helps to not only improve alignment and relax the neck muscles; it also helps to open up the airways improving the user’s breathing.
The Sure Temp memory foam used in this pillow allows for a comfortable night’s sleep by adapting to your body’s movements and distributing the weight and pressure evenly across the pillow.
The material of choice for the removable cover is terry cloth. This breathable velour fabric allows for the pillow to stay cool allowing you to sleep comfortably. The fact that the cover is removable makes this pillow easy to clean and maintain.
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4. Memory Foam Neck Pillow - Double Contour - Chiropractor Approved
Comfort and style is what the Perform Memory foam neck pillow brings to the table. The outside of this pillow is made from polyester and bamboo blend. This allows it to be breathable thus comfortable. The inside is filled with special density memory foam that is responsible for ensuring your head and neck receive the support they need.
Another plus for this pillow is the fact that it is devoid of heavy metals, an attribute that makes it environmentally friendly. It is designed to not only provide comfort but help improve overall body posture.
With design contributions from a seasoned chiropractor, this pillow will help support and align the head, neck and back. It comes with a removable bamboo cover that makes it easy to clean and maintain.
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5. Custom Sleeping Cervical Orthopedic Pillow
The versatility of use is always an added advantage for any pillow. The versatility of the Custom Sleeping Cervical Orthopedic pillow is what earns it a place in this guide.
With this pillow, you are able to adjust the fill as desired. This is made possible by an opening at the bottom that not only allows you to adjust the neck support but to spread around or reduce the fill until the pillow takes the desired shape and firmness.
It comes with a removable cover that can be machine washed. To make the task of maintaining the pillow much easier, the pillow itself can be machine washed. To make it comfortable, the manufacturers make use of proprietary gel-memory shredded foam as the material of choice for the pillow’s filling.
Due to the fact that users have the option of adjusting its firmness, this pillow can be used by all types of sleepers. What’s more, it comes in king and queen sizes as well as firmness options.
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6. Mediflow Waterbase Pillow for Neck Pain
Neck pain is a phenomenon that tends to occur in a majority of people’s lives regardless of the sleeping position. The manufacturers of the Mediflow Original Water base Pillow understand this and have thus created a pillow that is compatible with side, back, stomach and all the above types of sleepers.
As the name suggests, this pillow is designed with a water pouch that is situated at the base of the pillow. It has a cotton fibre covering that is stuffed with polyester that adds to the pillows comfort and supportive capabilities.
Thanks to the water base, users can easily adjust the firmness of this pillow as needed. This feature is what gives the pillow its versatility of use. Back and stomach sleepers can reduce the firmness as needed while side sleepers can add water to it to increase its firmness. To make it easy to clean this pillow is made to be easily machine washable.
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7. Xtreme Comfort Shredded Memory Foam Pillow
This guide would be incomplete without the Xtreme Comfort Shredded Memory Foam Pillow. This pillow comes in a variety of sizes and the use of shredded memory foam as a filling makes it easy to adjust its firmness. The latter is particularly helpful since different types of people have different pillow needs.
The shredded foam alongside with the bamboo cover and a micro-vent system make the pillow breathable and give it the ability to remain cool as you sleep. The materials used in the manufacturing of this pillow are toxins free and thus environmentally friendly.
Thanks to the use of shredded foam, you can mould this pillow into a comfortable and supportive shape of your choice. The removable and machine washable cover makes it easy to maintain.
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How to Manage Your Neck Pain and Your Sleep
Neck pain can be as a result of injuries, poor posture, and surgical operations or may be a symptom of an underlying health issue. Neck pains can take the form of a stiff neck that limits your ability to move your head, a localized sharp pain, and soreness and in some extreme cases a travelling pain that spreads down to the rest of your body.
People suffering from neck pains will tend to have trouble sleeping regardless of the level of pain. There are, however, a number of ways in which one can manage their neck pain.
Must Read: Before You Go!
Pillows for neck pain come in many shapes and sizes. While these cervical pillows are useful in making it possible to enjoy a good night’s sleep, it may be useful to combine the use of these pillows with other pain management treatments. With that said, you still need to rest at the end of the day.
There are numerous cervical pillow options to choose from. Depending on the type of sleeper you are and the severity of the pain, some pillows may be suitable while others may just make the situation worse.
Be sure to take these factors into consideration when shopping for the best pillow for neck pain. It helps to take a look at third party reviews. Pillow needs are highly specific and differ from one individual to the other. While there is the possibility of encountering biased reviews, these third party reviews will act as an eye opener to the general performance of the different pillows.
About the Author Jessica Larsen
I am a big advocate that having great sleep is something everyone deserves. With over 10 years of experience in this field, I would love to use this platform as a means to help you achieve a good night's sleep.
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