What's the Best Pillow For Your Neck?

Often times, patients will ask my about what brand of pillow I recommend. This topic usually happens when they notice neck pain preventing them from a good night’s sleep, more discomfort at the beginning of the morning, or if the pillow just really doesn’t feel comfortable.

Before we go out any buy a lot of materials that might not be necessary, we first need to look at the position you hold while sleeping – I really really really really really don’t recommend sleeping on your stomach. The reason is simple…you aren’t able to sleep in a neutral spine position, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to breathe.

So that leaves us with side-sleeping and back-sleeping…without dancing around the answer too much, there is a challenge of recommending a specific brand for everyone. That’s because each person’s spine is different and each person has different pillow needs.

The big thing is being able to maintain a good alignment with whatever pillow you’re using. So if you’re sleeping on your back, you want to make sure to avoid putting so much support that your chin goes towards your chest too much. And if you’re on your side, you want to avoid putting a tilt in your head one way or the other.

There are a bazillion pillow brands that you could try out, though (not literally.).  Never fear though, because we have a great new article for the best brands to try:

https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-pillows-for-neck-pain.html

If you get a chance to try these pillows out at a local store, pick the one that’s most comfortable for you specifically. But you’ll be on the right track with any of these choices.

What I like best about this article is that it points to where to find those pillows on Amazon. I don’t sell any of them in the office, and don’t see us entering the pillow market any time soon. Amazon can usually get you a better deal for those types of items, and I’m happy to point you in that direction as you and I focus on the actual healing that comes from chiropractic care!

- Dr. Scott Minton