As some of you may know i have has some issues with sleeping for some time. This is due to injury to the lumbar spine , cervical spine , and shoulder and associated surgery to rectify some of the issues. Since the injury i have had to sleep in particular positions what have not been that fantastic for my condition , but have provided some mild relief from the pain i have been experiencing.
Position being used: Fetal position with pillows elevating head to touch shoulder and arms between the knees (sometimes pillow between the knees).
This has not been great for my neck long term increasing daily neck pain and headaches, but after years of this it seems like a tough habit to break and laying on 'other' positions just causes more pain and lack of sleep. However, if we want to change then we must make a change in what we are doing.
I was gifted this pillow a while back and just never got to using it as it seemed pretty low for my head setting and pretty gimmiky to be honest, but you never know if you dont try it right ? So i have pulled it out and am trialing it as we speak. last night was my first time using it and it was most certainly an interesting experience.
The first thing i had to contend with wan not being able to have my head elevated at the level im used to, i was tempted to use other pillows to get my elevation back... but ultimately fought the urge to do so. Next was the fact that i could no longer use 'my old position' to attain comfort (although i did try), but the pillow it too low to cushion my head without causing pain.
A less used back up position for my back pain is pictured below, this takes w ahile to set up properly and comfort dosent last long for me, so its a 'sometimes food' for trying to get some sleep. Sometimes this gives a break from fetal position (right and left facing) through out the night. This is what i ended up settling with for using the new memory foam pillow.
The sensation of using the pillow itself was interesting. It almost feels like you head is levitated and touching 'nothing', i fond myself tensing my neck and shoulders as my brain was telling me i needed to support my head.... friggen brain, lol. My brain aside it did feel as though my head was well supported, when i relaxed enough.
The 'cooling' gel is a little bit weird to get used to, its effect is quite strong even through a thick pillowcase it can be felt, this could be a good thing in summer, but we will see how it goes as we are coming into winter at the moment.
The pillow itself is quite dense and has a considerable amount of weight to it when compared to other pillows, this made for an interesting 'in the dark' moment when after getting used to the weight of this pillow a lifted another pillow on my bed with 'much more force' and almost vaulted it through the ceiling.
All in all i think its ok so far, i will continue to use this set up and get used to it before i pass too much judgment on it. I have quite a few habits to break and am dealing with pain as well so i do want to make sure this bias is well under control before i give any kind of final verdict on if this is a good decision for me.
That being said it is important for us to understand that we are all different and what works for one person may not work for another, and what one person thinks does not work may do wonders for another person. With this in mind anyone reading this, or any other data i post of my findings, should take it with a grain of salt and consider if this is something that coul work for you. Bottom line, if we are searching for pain relief and attempting to attain more sleep then all we can do is try what is available, then apply what works for us.