We regularly get asked what pillows we recommend and use by our clients, after all we spend a third of our lives on one!
Having a poor (or too old) pillow can cause neck pain, stiffness and headaches in some people.
The most important thing is to make sure you change your pillow about every 2 years. Just imagine if you spent the same amount of time walking in one pair of shoes that you do on a pillow and how quickly they would wear out! It’s also good for hygiene reasons. I usually find my neck tells me it’s time to get a new one before I’ve realised how quickly the two years has gone.
Other than that, a pillow is a super individual thing, if you have one that you like, you sleep well with and it doesn’t affect your neck, then I say just buy that same one every two years. No need to change brands unless it’s giving you grief!
We do have some brands that we recommend:
- Therapillow
- Denton’s
- Dunlopillow
- Tontine (but choose their more supportive options, some are just for decoration!)
I’ve always used Denton’s, since starting my first job 14 years ago and have recommended them to my patients and stock them in the clinic.
However, when I was pregnant with my little boy, I went searching for a pillow that was super low toxicity in the manufacturing process. Most products containing foam give off VOC’s (volatile organic compounds, think ‘new car smell’), and I figured it wasn’t great to be breathing them in every night from a new pillow.
So I did some research, finding that natural latex (as long as you’re not allergic) is an excellent choice. I then found the brand “Therapillow” and purchased some in to try. Luckily, not only is it a healthy natural latex, but I LOVE the pillow. It’s soft but supportive, which is quite difficult to find in a pillow. Often they’re too hard or they’re not supportive enough. And I like a gentle contour personally.
This post was prompted by the fact I realised it was time to change over my therapillow, after getting some treatment on my neck from a colleague and I thought others might be interested in why I use the pillow I do!
We stock several sizes of therapillow and a few other brands too, because as I said, everyone is different!
Content provided by Shannyn McGrice, Physiotherapist