Could It Be My Pillow??

   No, not the My Pillow advertised an infinitum on TV---I seriously doubt those provide proper and adequate support for the cervical spine.

If you aren’t sleeping on a proper pillow, one that correctly supports the curve of the neck, this may be the reason you have persistent neck and upper back pain.

When the pillow you sleep on allows your head to tilt downward toward the mattress, or pushes your head upward at an angle, it is not serving you. Your neck should be parallel with your mattress when you are lying on your side, and if on your back, your head should not be angled abnormally up or down.

The right pillow gives consistent, resistive support to the spine throughout the night.

It doesn’t compress, as does a pillow filled with down or feathers. 

It doesn’t deform, as a buckwheat pillow will.

It doesn’t squash down where your head and neck press on it, creating a depression that discourages movement during the night, as a memory foam pillow does.

Look for an orthopedically-designed pillow, such as the one I sleep on----I have them available in my office for patients.

Bench Pressing / Ergonomics

   Dropping the elbows too low while bench pressing heavy weight can cause stress injuries to the acromioclavicular joint in the shoulder.

The outer end of the collarbone, near the front and top of the shoulder, articulates with the acromion process, a bone projecting forward from the scapula. The clavicular part meets the acromion part, forming the “acromioclavicular, or AC, joint.

One of several joints making up the shoulder complex, the AC joint is particularly subject to injury because it is essentially two bones butting together, held by ligaments.

Recently a patient who had come from working out at the gym presented with shoulder pain due to over-stressing the AC joint while bench pressing.

Precise adjustments with the Activator instrument, combined with home care & ergonomic counseling, were the solution.