March 20, 2012
Fluffy pillows. Foam pillows. Feather pillows. Ahhh. The relaxation…or not. Is your pillow a pain in the neck?
Have you ever woken with neck pain and wondered if your pillow could be the culprit, causing or contributing to your neck pain? Certainly, your chiropractor at Johnson Chiropractic is aware of this possibility and is ready to discuss this important issue with you. And if you have neck pain due to pillow-related or other causes of neck pain, your Richmond chiropractor at Johnson Chiropractic is here to help!
Now, your Richmond chiropractor knows that poor pillow choice causes poor sleep quality, low pillow comfort, and waking symptoms like neck pain. In one pillow-pain study, 106 volunteers compared their own pillows to five trial pillows. For one week on each pillow, the pillow study participants recorded...
- any painful areas before going to sleep and any waking symptoms
- sleep-quality
- pillow-comfort ratings
The pillow-pain study results are that
- 42.5% reported no waking symptoms with their own pillows.
- With their own pillows, 50% reported regular waking symptoms, failure to relieve pre-sleeping symptoms, uncomfortable pillows, and/or poor-quality sleep.
- 100% of those who reported poor sleep quality also reported poor pillow comfort.
- Pillow-comfort reports were not related to any waking symptom report.
- Poor sleep quality was significantly related to waking neck stiffness and shoulder pain.
- Feather pillow users provided consistently low reports of pillow comfort and sleep quality.
So, this study concludes that many participants appear to have made poor pillow choices for themselves as poor sleep quality, low pillow comfort, and waking symptoms were common. (1)
Don’t let your pillow hurt you anymore! Talk with your Richmond chiropractic partner about Richmond pillow choices that may give you a better night’s rest, leading to better mornings without neck pain.
Check out the details of the pillow-pain study, then contact Johnson Chiropractic for neck pain relief and a pillow consultation.