The Scoop on Contour Pillows

Q:         Over the past few years I’ve seen a number of “contour” pillows for sale. What is the value of a contour pillow, and do you find them helpful?

A:         A contour pillow (aka, cervical pillow) is intended to support the normal curvature of the adult spine. This particular curvature is in the neck. As I touched on in a previous question, there is an inward curve to the low back and a similar one in the neck. It is very common to lose the neck curvature, hence the market for such a supportive pillow.

If one lays an infant down on his belly, it isn’t long before that child is raising his head up off the floor. This is obviously difficult for the youngster at first, but he’ll make it a priority and soon be good at it. Unbeknownst to the infant, there is a goal behind this activity. This is a strengthening process that ultimately develops the backward curvature in the neck that allows us to stand erect. It is truly a reversal of the fetal position. Over the next several years the child will be up and around, rarely finding occasion to sit for any prolonged period other than at school.

As adults we adopt many activities that tend to diminish this curve. Reading while sitting in the chair is a good example of reversing this curvature. Knitting, driving, studying and sitting at the computer also fall into this category. While many of us go about our daily lives never knowing we’ve lost this curvature, its loss can certainly serve to our detriment by increasing the pressure on the discs of the neck, and compromising the ability of the neck to absorb the shock of the head as we walk or drive.

The shape of a contour pillow generally places a roll or hump under the neck of a person lying on his or her back. Not all such pillows are created alike, and I generally take exception to one of the more popular designs. I often see a pillow that has a low hump on one side and a larger one on the other. The low side should accommodate a back-sleeper, while the higher side should allow for side sleeping. While this not only seems troublesome to me (unless you don’t move at night), I find the depth of the pit between the two sides insufficient to actually take advantage of the support. There are several pillows out there that, in my opinion, allow for a truly therapeutic support, and they will generally allow the base of the skull to lie in a fairly shallow indentation. I’ve used one made by Therapeutica for years. I’ll often tell a patient he can simply roll up a bath towel to a sufficient diameter to support the curve and lie on his back with the towel under his neck (my mother does this).

Suffice it to say that if you’ve found a contour pillow that will adequately provide the support that is intended, there is truly a value to it from which most of us could benefit.

 

 

 

Hugh Cradduck, DC