How to Choose a Pillow for Neck Pain

Sleeping should be a time of recovery for your mind and body. Waking up with neck pain can be extremely frustrating and demoralizing.

One of the first things to consider when you wake up with neck pain is your sleeping position and its impact on your spine.

But another major factor contributing to chronic neck pain could actually be your pillow.

In this post, Dr. Jeanett Tapia, an expert chiropractor at Intouch Chiropractic in San Diego, will cover a few recommendations for how to choose the right pillow if you are experiencing neck pain as a result of sleep.

Choosing the Best Pillow to Avoid Neck Pain

It’s tough to figure out which is the best pillow to relieve chronic neck pain. With many factors to take into consideration, I did my own research to find the best solutions for you.

A good night’s sleep can be evasive with the wrong pillow. Even if you manage to fall asleep, sometimes you are woken up by the pain without the proper support.

My best advice is that you choose a pillow that keeps your spine in a natural and neutral position throughout the night. You never want your neck bent in any direction: head forward, head back, or tilted.

Figuring out which type of pillow is best for you starts with knowing your sleep positions.

Are you a back sleeper, side sleeper, or stomach sleeper?

The Right Pillow for Each Sleeping Position

In this section, we’ll make pillow recommendations for each sleeping type.

Do You Sleep on Your Stomach?

Some experts state that sleep positions don’t matter if you have the right pillow. True…for the most part…except stomach sleeping.

As head and neck doctors, we never recommend stomach sleeping. We have found over the years that sleeping on your stomach is one of the most detrimental things you can do to your head, neck and spine.

Consider it a micro-trauma. Over and over again, night after night, you torque your neck when you sleep on your stomach. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the upper neck potentially creating health problems.

Plus, you don’t hold your chiropractic adjustments as well when you sleep on your stomach making it difficult to stay in alignment. Similar findings have been reported to us by the many patients we see at Intouch Chiropractic.

Stomach sleepers must turn their head to one side to be able to breathe. Over time, this stresses the neck muscles, causing chronic neck pain and stiffness. It’s a hard habit to break it, but your health is worth it.

So, instead of making a pillow recommendation for stomach sleepers, here is another recommendation: stop sleeping on your stomach!

Do You Sleep on Your Side?

Side sleeping is much healthier for your spine than stomach sleeping. The main factor to keep in mind when choosing a pillow for side sleeping is pillow height. Pillow height is absolutely critical for side sleepers.

It’s important that your spine remain in a neutral position and that your head isn’t kinked to one side. If your pillow is too thin, your head collapses and doesn’t have enough support and kinks your neck towards the mattress. Over time, this can cause chronic neck pain.

Or your pillow can be too thick and provide too much support. If your pillow is too thick, your head is kinked away from the mattress and can also cause chronic neck and back pain.

Neither option is good for spinal health. Having the appropriate height pillow is very important in order to keep your head and neck in a neutral position.

Continue to the final section below to see the exact pillow recommendation I make for side sleepers.

Do You Sleep on Your Back?

Sleeping on your back is the healthiest position for your spine. Like side sleeping, the pillow thickness for people who sleep on their back is very important.

This sleeping position requires the most flat type of pillow. Make sure your shoulders are not on your pillow, as this may jam your shoulder joints. Make sure you don’t sleep on a thick pillow or a stack of pillows, as this puts unnecessary pressure on your neck all night long.

Down pillows work for most people sleeping on their back, as the feathers naturally flatten. However, as soon as you turn on your side, down pillows tend to be too flat and provide zero support for side sleeping.

Over the years I have found that for patients with degenerative changes in their neck, down pillows do not provide sufficient support, and an orthopedic pillow is best.

Finally, let’s close the post by covering a pillow recommendation that accommodates most sleeping types and helps to prevent neck pain as a result of sleeping poorly.

Dr. Jeanett Tapia’s Best Pillow Recommendation for Neck Pain

I happen to have a very sensitive neck. So… I have personally tested dozens upon dozens of pillows. Cheap, expensive, foam, feathers, polyester… you name it. There’s been much trial and error.

At one point I even started developing rotator cuff issues because of my choice of pillow. I switched to a down pillow for a couple of months, and my body screamed at me. It sounds extreme… and it was… and very painful… but, it’s 100% true.

I have degenerative changes from old whiplash injuries, and honestly don’t know where I would be without the type of care that we offer at Intouch Chiropractic.

However, we spend many hours in bed, day after day, and having the proper support for those hours is critical. So, I decided to take the advice of many upper cervical doctors and try out the Therapeutica pillow recently.

When I first started using it, I woke up often. I didn’t like that part. However, that only lasted for a few days. It’s not fluffy and yummy like I usually like my pillows, but I have gotten the hang of it.

Therapeutica is a soft foam pillow that needs to be measured for your body size. It’s an orthopedic pillow that comes in 5 sizes, and is available on Amazon.

We considered carrying it in-house, but decided against it due to return issues. If you are interested in trying it out, we can size you and you can purchase it on your own! Just come in and ask us when you are in the office.

For now, this is the best pillow that I have found for neck pain, shoulder pain, or lingering whiplash symptoms… even if under excellent chiropractic care.

If you do happen to try a Therapeutica pillow, let me know your thoughts!

Don’t wait to feel paralyzed with neck pain, give us a call today at (619) 756-7510 to schedule a consultation.