The Influence of Pillow Material and Shape on Cervical Curvature Stability

Objectives: This study intends to provide basic materials for selecting an appropriate type of pillow that will maintain the cervical spine to be in a neutral position during sleeping time. Methods/Statistical analysis: Twenty-eight male and female adults agreed to participate in this study. 30 minutes to measure the amount of change in the coordinates. Towel were spread on a hard and flat floor and the pillows were horizontally placed parallel to the x-axis of the three-dimensional motion analyzer with one of their corners positioned at the origin of coordinates. The participants lied on their pillow with their head located right in the middle of their pillow and for those who lied on a Memory foam Pillow (MP) or a functional pillow, they located their neck on the neck-supporting part of their pillow. The participants were put to the test for 30 minutes for each type of pillow and during the experiment, they were prohibited from talking or moving. One way repeated ANOVA is used to compare the change in the coordinate in time of the three pillows. Findings: The descriptive statistics that show the location of the pillows and the participants’ heads. Except for Lt 2 and Lt 3, all the markers showed a significant difference (p<.05). The descriptive statistics shows the height of the pillows and the participants’ heads. All the markers showed a significant difference (p<.05). The average amount of change in the location of the pillows is shown. The markers on the left side of the pillows showed no significant difference in the average amount of change in their location. Among the markers on the right side of the pillows, the markers showed a significant difference between Feather Pillow (FP) group and MP group and between MP group and The Functional Pillow (TFP) group. Among the markers attached on the participants’ face, there was a significant difference between FP group and MP group and between FP group and TFP group. The average amount of change in the location of the pillows is shown. Among the markers on the left side of the pillows, there was a significant difference in the average amount of change in the height of the pillows between FP group and MP group and between FP group and TFP group. Among the markers on the right side of the pillows, there was a significant difference in the average amount of change in the height of the pillows between FP group and MP group and between FP group and TFP group. Among the markers attached on the participants’ face, there was a significant difference between FP group and MP group, between MP group and TFP group and between FP group and TFP group. Application/Improvements: This study revealed that the material and type of pillow were related to SC and found out that using TFP, compared to the other two types of pillows, the height of the participants’ heads less significantly changed with the passage of time. Therefore, TFP can be recommended as an appropriate type of pillow with a proper level of SC for cervical spine .