15th June 22
Hey everyone, it’s Rhys here – most of you will know me as the Director and Lead Physiotherapist of The Carter & George Practice. But, I’m also a dad, an avid cricketer and I like to play some golf.
Running a business can be tiring and stressful, and in turn can affect our sleep – and just like a big chunk of our patients, I also suffer from neck pain from time to time.
Neck pain can be caused by many factors such as poor posture, age related degenerative changes, workstations that are set up incorrectly, carrying a bag on your shoulder, tucking your ear on your shoulder when using your phone, sleeping in awkward postures, prolonged static postures and of course trauma such as car accidents.
My neck pain has been causing me a bit of grief over the last few months and I realised my issue may stem from the way I sleep. I thought I’d test out sleeping with an orthopaedic pillow for 2 weeks and see what happens – based on the advice of numerous patients who suggested they prefer firmer pillows when they are suffering with pain.
It is the most common question we get about neck pain – ‘what pillow should I be sleeping with to help my neck?’
On average we spend 25 years of our lives tucked up in bed, so even if you don’t suffer from neck pain, making the change to your sleep positioning and quality will only benefit you in the future and potentially prevent neck pain from occurring.
I tried a few different pillows, but the one I stumbled upon that I liked the most was called ‘The Groove Pillow’. The Groove pillow is designed with an ergonomic dip to fully support your neck and spine, whether you sleep on your back or if you’re a side sleeper – the shape of the pillow will help to guide your entire upper body into a comfortable position and neutral spine alignment.
Anything that strains or overloads your upper body muscles will cause pain, or make pain worse. That’s what happens with most pillows. Because they’re soft, your muscles need to work all night to support your body and they can never fully relax. The Groove Pillow removes this strain by providing full support to your head, neck and back. I personally have experienced relief for neck pain, shoulder pain, and pain between the shoulder blades since using the pillow.
So, it may not be for everyone – but from my personal perspective, this really helped me. If you want to give it a try, let me know – as we are considering stocking them in the clinics based on my result!
.
.
.
.
.
Please note this does not constitute medical advice and is purely the opinion of the author.
.
.
.
.
.