Pillow Talk: Is Your Pillow Damaging Your Health?

This month, Apex Clinic Founder and Spinal & Headache Physiotherapy Specialist, Rebecca Nelson shares the secrets on pillows and discusses the Apex Sleepwell Pillow range, her own orthopaedic pillow collection, clinically proven to reduce or clear neck pain and headaches in the majority of cases.

The wrong pillow can have catastrophic consequences

Did you know that sleeping on the wrong pillow can mean much more than simply just a bad night’s sleep? For more than 25 years I have been treating patients suffering from neck and shoulder pain, as well as headaches and migraines, and for many of these people their sleep is disturbed due to their pain. It’s commonly unknown that soft or flat pillows can actually increase or even trigger the onset of neck pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, stiffness, pins and needles/ numbness in the hands and arms, painful headaches, migraines and even vertigo or dizziness.

Winning the war against poor pillows

To combat the awful effects that poor pillows have on our health, the Apex Sleepwell Pillow range is my own collection of orthopaedic pillows, uniquely designed in thickness and firmness to match the individual needs of sleepers according to their build. Each pillow has been technologically innovated to include the latest high-density core that unlike other pillows on the market, runs throughout the pillow’s entire width. This central core plays an important role in ensuring the precise level of support needed for the optimum sleeping position for a healthy and pain-free neck, head and shoulders.

Prevention is always better than the cure

At Apex Clinic, we firmly believe that prevention is always better than cure.  So, for adults or teens who are fortunate enough to have never suffered neck pain or headaches, the Apex Sleepwell Pillow is highly recommended to help prevent the onset of neck related pains in later life. Sleeping on a pillow which is too soft or flat causes the neck joints to be compressed and placed under excessive load by the weight of the head. When lying down, the optimum neck position can be achieved by lifting the head very slightly upwards to an angle of between 30 to 45° from the horizontal. This allows the neck joints to open up and is physiologically the best sleeping position for a healthy neck and spine.

Choosing your perfect pillow

When it comes to choosing your pillow it’s essential that your pillow fits your body shape and size to ensure your neck is at the correct angle while you sleep. The Apex Sleepwell range does just that perfectly.

Our two pillow types are dependent on the height/thickness of the pillow. The H2 pillow is suitable for lightly built adults and teenagers, or for those who don’t like their pillow to be too fat. The H3 pillow is for average and larger builds, or simply for those who prefer a slightly fatter pillow.

Begin the road to recovery now with the Apex Sleepwell Pillow

It’s amazing how quickly a simple change of pillow can put people on the road to recovery from neck pain, neck stiffness, headaches, migraines, vertigo or pains in the shoulders and arms. To purchase an Apex Sleepwell Pillow, please call Apex Clinic on 028 9048 4153 or alternatively pop into our Belfast clinic in the Stormont area of Belfast.