Should I use a pillow when sleeping for cervical herniation?

Cervical spondylosis is a disease with a relatively high incidence rate at present. Generally speaking, if some symptoms of cervical spondylosis appear in the body, most of the time the cervical spondylosis is already quite serious and needs to be taken seriously. In fact, there are many ways to relieve cervical spondylosis, but people with cervical spondylosis need to use a pillow when sleeping, otherwise it will cause cervical injury.

Can cervical spondylosis be cured without a pillow?

1. Sleeping without a pillow can cause cervical vertebrae injuries. The cervical spine is located at the top of the human spine, wrapped in the neck, and consists of 7 vertebrae. The so-called physiological curvature is a smooth, forward-facing arc formed by these seven vertebrae. The function of the pillow is to maintain this normal physiological curve. If you don't use a pillow for a long time, the cervical vertebra that should be bent will become straight, which will cause hunchback, cause damage to the cervical vertebrae, and affect the health of the entire spine.

2. The neck is generally not a good option, because cervical spondylosis patients basically have variations in the curvature of the neck, so if you want to treat it, you should start by improving the natural curvature of the neck. The position of the head is lower than the heart, which will cause more blood to flow into the head, affecting blood circulation in the head, filling the blood vessels, and putting pressure on the blood vessel walls. After waking up, you will feel dizzy and have swollen eyelids, which seriously affects the quality of sleep. Moreover, when you sleep with your head elevated, your chest will also be slightly raised. This way, blood in the lower body can flow smoothly, reducing the burden on the heart.

3. From a medical point of view, "pillow" should be more appropriately called "neck pillow". Because a pillow should not be used to support the head, but to support the neck. The correct position for the pillow should be behind the neck, not on the back of the head. Only by using this as a fulcrum can the neck be placed in a slightly reclined position, which is conducive to relaxing the muscles and ligaments in the back of the neck and eliminating fatigue. If you mistakenly place the pillow at the back of your head so that your head remains high while you sleep, it will be similar to the posture of bending over a desk during the day. Not only is it not conducive to relaxing the muscles at the back of the neck, but it will aggravate fatigue and induce cervical spondylosis.

4. The height of the pillow should be the distance between the bed and the space behind the neck when lying on your back plus about 3 cm. If the pillow is too low, it will not be effective. If the pillow is too high, the neck will be over-padded, which will increase the lordosis and stretch the muscles in the front of the neck, affecting the blood supply of the carotid artery to the brain and causing cerebral ischemia.

5. The filling of the pillow should have a certain degree of softness and hardness. In addition, you can use a large clean towel at home, roll it up, adjust it to the appropriate height, and place it under your neck. It is not only effective in treating cervical spondylosis, but also can prevent stiff neck without much expense.