What kind of pillow is good for the cervical spine?

Many people may experience stiff neck at ordinary times. This is because you do not take good care of your cervical spine when you sleep. Therefore, the comfort of the pillow not only affects the quality of sleep, but is also directly related to the health of your cervical spine. But in fact, many people are not very good at choosing pillows, so this will cause many problems, especially for the elderly and children with fragile cervical vertebrae.

High pillows can easily cause cervical spondylosis

The ancients said sleep soundly and have no worries. However, Lu Kuiyuan, director of the orthopedics department of the Beijing Hospital of the Ministry of Health, told reporters that many patients with stiff necks clinically suffer from sleeping with pillows that are too high. If the pillow you sleep on is too high, it will change the normal physiological curvature of the cervical spine, causing muscle fatigue injury and ligament strain, resulting in cramps, inflammation, etc., and symptoms such as neck and shoulder pain, hand numbness, and dizziness. Clinically, high pillows are one of the common causes of stiff neck and cervical spondylosis.

Low pillow causes uneven blood supply

A high pillow is not good, so would it be better to use a low pillow or simply no pillow? Director Lu said that a pillow that is too low or no pillow is also bad for health. Some people who suffer from cervical spondylosis believe that not using a pillow will help their recovery. In fact, this idea is unscientific.

Without a pillow, people will lean back too much when lying on their backs, which makes them prone to mouth breathing, resulting in dry mouth, dry tongue, sore throat and snoring. If you sleep on your side without a pillow, the neck muscles on one side will spasm and cause pain due to overstretching and fatigue, resulting in a "stiff neck".

A pillow that is too low will also result in an unbalanced blood supply, which can easily cause congestion and swelling of the nasal mucosa. The nasal mucosa is very sensitive, and swelling will affect breathing. If your neck and shoulders feel sore after waking up, it may be caused by the pillow being too low or not using a pillow.

When choosing a pillow, the hardness should be moderate. A pillow that is too hard will have a small contact area with the head, which will increase the pressure and make the scalp uncomfortable. On the contrary, a pillow that is too soft will be difficult to maintain a certain height, causing the neck muscles to fatigue and not conducive to sleep. The pillow should also have a certain degree of elasticity so that the head can adapt to sleep, which will also be helpful for people who suffer from insomnia at night.