The continuous hustle-bustle in life lets an uncalled for guest (called ‘stress’) to permeate through the recesses in one’s mind. Mind and body work in tandem with each other. Hence, the disturbance that begins to occur in the mind also causes a certain amount of annihilation in the body. This uneasiness can appear as disparate natures of pain, suffering and similar incongruities in the human body.
Neck pain can usually occur due to such a disagreement between mind and body. The primary reasons for the occurrence of the neck pain may be a lack of sleep (or vice-versa) or stress due to work. Several studies have also pointed that prolonged Neck pain can result into an irreversible disability. Scary, huh!
Neck Pain as a Health Issue
Continuous episodes of Neck pain slows down the pace of life. If not addressed at the right time can result in spondylitis, sleep disorders, headaches, depression, indigestion, etc. It has been observed that women are more likely to get Neck pain (almost 50%-75%) than men. There may be a variety of causes catapulting the occurrence of neck pain, such as ergonomics (or incorrect body posture), long hours of working with laptops, mobiles and other electronic devices, so on and so forth.
The Cure for Acute and/or Chronic Neck Pain
As per the recommendations of doctors, therapists, even surgeons the use of the correct pillow (especially cervical pillows) can help cure Neck pain to a great degree. The role of pillows in inducing a state of relaxation through sleep is kosher. The function of a pillow is to support one’s neck in alignment with the cervical spine in a neutral or unprejudiced position.
How to Prevent Neck Pain?
- Cervical Contour Pillows. Pillows function as a proper support to prevent neck pain. As the name suggests, these pillows are designed to keep the head in alignment with the body in a neutral position. This alignment reduces the release of biochemical sleeping disorders or stresses and thus induces a good sleep for the person in pain.
- Pillow Height. It has been scientifically proven that when the body is in the sleeping position, the cervical vertebrae (neck bones) should be in line with the thoracic vertebrae (spinal bones). A high pillow may disturb this calibration and thus, result in acute and/or chronic neck pain.
- Memory Foam Pillow molded and cooling gel-based. These pillows are therapeutic in nature as they help regulate the body temperature of the person suffering from neck pain and incite a relaxed sleeping pattern. These Pillows enables a person to meet his or her daily sleep requirement of an average 7-8 hours.
- Hypoallergic Memory Foam Pillow. The Memory foam pillow is designed to induce the human to a sound sleep state. It is responsible to keep the air clean and temperature moderate. The Memory Foam Pillow enables the person to attain a comfortable and safe sleeping position and thus helps reduce neck pain to a larger extent. These pillows are made up of Hypoallergic bamboo.
- Pillows with Latex Foam. The conventional pillows stuffed with latex foam keeps the temperature of the pillow moderate, eliminating any heating issues of the pillow while you are asleep.
- Water-based Pillows. These pillows also serve the function of creating a favorable environment for the person suffering from severe neck pain. These pillows are quite soft and bendable and provide a proper support to prevent neck pain.
- Use of Body or Side Pillows to improve sleep posture. As discussed earlier, a wrong adaptation of the sleep posture causes neck pain to a larger extent. During the state of unconsciousness (when you are deep asleep), you may find a comfortable position for yourself, e.g., sleeping on the stomach, or even acquiring a side-lying position. In such cases, using a body or side pillow can completely prevent you from attaining an incorrect posture and thus, helps battle neck pain.
- Visiting a Chiropractor. Chronic neck pain calls for medical aid. A chiropractor is a qualified professional who helps treat the neck pain (also, back pain, and other muscular pains, respectively) via spinal manipulation. Chiropractors help relieve pain by using treatment techniques to correct the positioning of the musculoskeletal structure (spinal coherence) without the use of any oral medication.
The pillow types which may or may not provide resistance to the cause of neck pain and keeps the neck in line with the spine/body are Feather Pillows (Not recommended), Memory Foam Pillows (Recommended), and the Functional pillow (Recommended) respectively.
It is evident that the body posture, stress determinants, sleeping pattern, and by and large the total sleep duration give enough reasons to identify the cause of uncomfortable neck pain. By following a healthy and stress-free lifestyle can take care of such bodily aches and pains quite efficiently. One should strive towards maintaining a balance between, work, health, and diet to eliminate any causes or symptoms of neck pains.
