Rest and sleep are an important part of healing as the body recovers.  The use of the right pillow can improve the quality of rest and repair.  Pillow choice should be based on a personal basis as not all pillows work well for everyone. It however may take a short transition period for the body to become accustomed to a new pillow.  A brief trial of one week is usually enough to determine if the pillow is providing some benefit.  The pillow should be used to waking tolerance and then switch to previous pillow for the rest of the night. Each successive night, the time the support pillow is used should be increased.

Cervical (neck) pillows:

These pillows are contoured to fill the spaces under the head and neck and have been shown to be beneficial to those with neck pain.  The pillow has a cut-out or a depression where the head lies and additional support under the neck.  This keeps the neck and back aligned in the neutral position which assists in the tissues healing.

By providing proper neck support, cervical pillows can help with:

•  Neck muscle and joint strains and sprains
• Tension headaches
• Whiplash injuries
• Arthritis
• Morning hand stiffness and swelling
• Temporomandibular disorders
• Stiffness
• Snoring (in some cases)

Use of a cervical pillow should be discontinued if after the brief trial period the pillow causes increased pain.

Cervical pillows come in a variety of materials.  A fiber pillow is blown to exact specifications, which insures uniform distribution and support. These pillows are intended to have the feel of a natural down pillow.  Polyurethane foam pillows come in a wide variety of density and firmness and will return their original shape after use.  These pillows are generally considered to be the most supportive with the longest lifespan of use.  Viscoelastic or memory foam pillows are extremely temperature and pressure sensitive.  They provide less support as they conform to the existing cervical conditions but are well suited for very acute conditions or conditions that are chronic and non-correctable.  Water pillows are also available that use a bladder within a fiber style pillow.  These pillows are adjustable as dictated by the amount of water filled. These pillows tend to be on the heavy side.

If neck pain and poor sleep are aows tend to be on the heavy sidee with the iod the pillow causes increased pain.p are a problem, cervical pillows should certainly be considered as a part of any treatment protocol.

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) seems to become more common over the course of the last 5 to 10 years. We’ll look to answer the questions that follow. What is Restless Leg Syndrome? Why are so many people getting “Restless Leg Syndrome”? How do you fix RLS?

Restless Leg Syndrome is the feeling of a necessity to move the legs to relieve an unpleasant sensation, typically in the legs, but also possible in the arms or other areas of the body. Typically, when the person moves around, the symptoms subside. However, upon after returning to their original position, the sensations return. The symptoms are usually position dependent, meaning that they have them whenever they are in a specific position for a period of time. Laying down or sitting are the most common positions that cause these symptoms.

In all honesty, this is probably not a condition or set of symptoms that has become more common over recent years. It is more likely that the diagnosis has simply become more well-known to the public. As the diagnosis has become more public, more patients have mentioned their symptoms to their physician upon their next visit. It may also be true that this has been used in the same manner as “Fibromyalgia” as a blanket diagnosis for sleep related movement disorders that otherwise might go unclassified. The symptoms are wide ranging and vary from person to person.

So, what is the treatment? Medically, there is no widely accepted regimen for treatment of this diagnosis. There are a number of different medicines that have been prescribed for the condition with varied benefit. Typically the patient is instructed to reduce stress and increase exercise as a mean to decrease symptoms.

My question is, why not Chiropractic? Why does Chiropractic make sense? Let me explain. Typically, when you see people with these type of sensations in the leg, it is in connection with direct pressure upon the nerves that feed that area of the leg. This pressure can be due to muscle spasm, misalignment of the bones of the low back and pelvis, or both. It is quite plausible that these people are simply living with some bones improperly aligned in their low back and/or pelvis. Maybe the misalignment is mild when standing and moving, but laying down to go to sleep is increasing the amount of direct pressure on a nerve or nerves that feed the leg due to how they lay when sleeping. I have treated multiple patients who have come to my office claiming to suffer from restless leg syndrome with great results. These treatments involved nothing more than spinal adjustments, physiotherapy and a light home exercise program. Give one of our offices a call today and see if Chiropractic is right for you.

GOT RLS? TRY PREMIER CHIROPRACTIC

Dr. Joshua McDowell
Fayetteville Accident & Injury Center

How does one one know they are doing everything they can to heal after an injury? Receiving chiropractic care is essential in just about all cases, but have you considered that the foods you take in can have a positive or negative effect on the speed of your recovery? They do, and here are a few suggestions to improve the rate of reovery.

Food items that one should make sure they have enough of daily after an injury, like a car accident or fall, would be those that contain high levels of vitamin A. Products with high Vitamin A content help with cell growth and the immune system. Foods like sweet potato, carrots, liver, mango, turnip greens, papaya, and red bell peppers are rich in this vitamin.
Fruits and vegatables that are high in vitamin C like oranges, berries, broccoli, cabbages, tomatoes, and cantaloupe help the body form collagen. Collagen is a protein needed for strength and flexibility. It repairs tendons and strengthens bone.

Zinc has also been found to be beneficial after an injury because of its wound healing effects. Foods like meat, seafood, sunflower seeds, and almonds contain zinc. Cold water fish, in particular, have components that reduce pain and inflammation and have been found to be more effective than NSAIDs(nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs).

You may be thinking, “That is all well and good, but who eats a perfectly healthy diet?” I agree, but if you want to heal more effectively and more quickly, you need to reduce pain and inflammation quickly. This can be done by reducing or avoiding foods, at least in the short term, that are fried or contain trans fats, hydrogenated oils, or a lot of sugar.

Examples of these are: French fries, fried chicken or fish, doughnuts, cookies, cakes ,and potato chips. These items have been clearly shown to make inflammation worse. Fried foods have also been linked to chronic diseases like kidney disease and diabetes. For those who are overweight, it is even more essential to make the change, because fat cells produce extra inflammatory chemicals.

Eat well.