Orthopedic pillow

An orthopaedic pillow is a pillow designed to correct body positioning in bed or while lying on any other surface. Its design conforms to orthopaedic guidelines to ensure the right placement and support of one or more specific parts of the body to provide safe and healthy rest to the sleeper.

Pillows have been traditionally made of foam and fiber, but other types now exist, such as pillows made of memory foam, a heat sensitive material that can acquire the shape of the body lying upon it. It may or may not recover its original shape immediately when the body is removed from the pillow.

Orthopaedic pillows are regarded as therapeutic pillows based on claims that they can help relieve various conditions including sleep apnoea, snoring, insomnia, breathing difficulty, blood circulation problems, acid reflux, gastroesophageal reflux disease, lower back pain, sciatica pain, neck pain, whiplash, rotator cuff injury, amongst others.

There are many types of orthopaedic pillows for almost every part of the human body, as well as orthopaedic beds, mattresses, top mattresses, supports and cushions for different orthopaedic problems. Some of them have multi-purpose and multi-position designs for different physical ailments and sleep disorders.

The most common sleep positions people adopt in bed are:

The most common of the three. According to the Sleep Assessment and Advisory Service two out of three people sleep on their sides. This position is considered the most suitable because it reduces the incidences of snoring, sleep apnoea and obstructive sleep apnoea, it helps release breathing airways and it is the most helpful position for pregnant women to reduce the pressure of their wombs. It is twice as common in women than in men.

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Wikipedia