Any abnormalities, inflammation, or injury can cause neck pain or stiffness. Many people experience neck pain or stiffness occasionally. In many cases, it’s due to poor posture or overuse. Sometimes, neck pain is caused by injury from a fall, contact sports, or whiplas

For those who suffer from chronic neck pain or episodic neck pain, obtaining a good night’s sleep is often a real challenge for them. The combination of sleeping positions, the type of neck problem that they have, as well as the pillow itself all contribute to the discomfort they might feel during the night.

Stomach sleeping is out. So that you can breathe, there’s no way you can lie on your stomach without having excessive rotation of the neck. If you do have a tendency to roll over onto your stomach during the night, you can put a pillow lengthwise in front of your body to try and prevent that tendency.

Both side sleeping and back sleeping are viable options, and the main thing is that the head and neck are supported in a neutral position when you’re lying.

So there isn’t, there hasn’t been very much research done on type of pillows that are the most appropriate, and there are many out there on the market that are available. There’s the contour pillow with the bump that fits in the space, there’s latex rubber pillows, there’s the new memory foam pillows that are available. And really it’s personal preference as to which is the most comfortable.

But the most important is that you fill in that space either in side lying or lying on your back to support the head in a neutral position. So really, what is most important is to determine whether or not the head is, head and neck is being supported properly in neutral.

So in a side lying position, you need to fill in this space with the pillow. It has to be the right height to be able to fill in that space. But then you have to determine whether the head’s tipped or, or forward or back in that side lying position. And a physiotherapist could have a look at you with your pillow and determine whether or not that pillow supports them in neutral.

So in back lying, you should have a staggered pillow arrangement with one pillow lower under the shoulder blades and the other supporting into the neck. But again, you don’t want that to be too high, you don’t want it to be dropping back too far because the neck wouldn’t be in its optimal resting position. So you may want to have that checked.

So the key message is that there’s, there may be a little bit of trial and error to determine the best combination of type of pillow, sleeping position, and neck posture position, and you may need a little bit of help with that to determine what will give you the best night’s sleep. Often seeing a local family physician or a registered dietitian and athletic therapist is a great option to take control of this condition. Physiotherapy and exercise is also optimal for overall health.  

So if you find you have any further questions about what sleeping position, posture might be best for you, you should consult your physiotherapist, and they can help you out with that. Presenter: Ms. Carol Kennedy, Physiotherapist, Vancouver, BC

Now Health Network Local Practitioners: Physiotherapist

A migraine is typically a one-sided throbbing headache of moderate to severe intensity.
It's usually of gradual onset, and is aggravated by physical activity. A migraine is commonly associated with vision disturbances, as well as perspiration, as well as nasal congestion. A migraine is usually preceded by a prodrome, or a warning sign that you're going to get a headache. These prodromes or warning signs can consist of altered mood, craving for certain food, as well as many other abnormalities that you might experience.

You might also experience an aura, this is in a smaller percentage of migraine sufferers, where they have a warning sign immediately preceding a migraine. These warning signs can take on the form of abnormalitites in hearing, vision, as well as sense of smell and some other sensory abnormalities. Often seeing a local family physician or a physiotherapist in conjunction with a registered dietitian and athletic therapist is a great option to take control of this condition. Smart Food Now and exercise is also optominal for overall health.    

Immediate treatment for a migraine consists of avoiding the triggers that triggered it in the first place. Isolation yourself in a dark room and symptomatic relief of the pain and nausea with either acetaminophen, ibuprofen or Gravol. After that, consult your health care provider to determine which is the appropriate course of action for your migraine.

Presenter: Dr. Egidius Stockenstrom, Family Doctor, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Orthopedic Surgeon