February 8, 2010

Is My Cervical Neck Pillow Hurting Me?

I’ve had neck/shoulder problems for 5+ years. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t wake up with a stiff neck, stuck joint, or general muscle soreness/tightness. I have a slightly herniated disc at C6-C7.
Every doctor I’ve seen for this, from chiros to pain management guys, have told me to use a cervical neck pillow. I went through several of the cheap ones from Wal-Mart, before going out and investing in a pricy, higher-quality one from Sharper Image. It’s more or less a rebranded Tempurpedic. My pain never really got better, but it wasn’t getting worse.
A few nights a week, I’ve found myself using a good old regular foam pillow, and my pain/joint problems have decreased.
Is it possible the cervical pillows are hurting me? I’m thinking that the structure of my neck doesn’t “match” the hump and groove on the pillow.

Filed under Quality Management