An orthopedic pillow is a pillow

Pillow

A pillow is a large cushion support for the head, usually used while sleeping in a bed, or for the body as used on a couch or chair. There are also throw pillows , which are pillows that are purely decorative and not designed for support or comfort...

 designed to correct body positioning in bed or while lying in any other surface. Its design conforms to orthopedic guidelines to ensure the right placement and support of one or more specific parts of the body

Human body

The human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...

 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

Memory foam

Memory foam is polyurethane with additional chemicals increasing its viscosity and density. It is often referred to as "visco-elastic" polyurethane foam, or low-resilience polyurethane foam . Higher-density memory foam softens in reaction to body heat, allowing it to mold to a warm body in a few...

, 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.

Orthopedic pillows are regarded as therapeutic pillows based on claims that they can help relieve various conditions including sleep apnea

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing, during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. Similarly, each abnormally low...

, snoring

Snoring

Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound, due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. In some cases the sound may be soft, but in other cases, it can be loud and unpleasant...

, insomnia

Insomnia

Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...

, breathing difficulty, blood circulation problems, acid reflux, GERD, lower back pain, sciatica

Sciatica

Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that give rise to each sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the left or right or both sciatic nerves. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, or...

 pain, neck pain

Neck pain

Neck pain is a common problem, with two-thirds of the population having neck pain at some point in their lives.Neck pain, although felt in the neck, can be caused by numerous other spinal problems. Neck pain may arise due to muscular tightness in both the neck and upper back, or pinching of the...

, whiplash

Whiplash (medicine)

Whiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension. The term "whiplash" is a colloquialism...

, rotator cuff

Rotator cuff

In anatomy, the rotator cuff is the group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the shoulder. The four muscles of the rotator cuff, along with the teres major muscle, the coracobrachialis muscle and the deltoid, make up the seven scapulohumeral muscles of the human body.-Function:The...

 injury, among others.

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

Types of orthopedic pillows

• Cervical pillow or contour pillow: A sleep pillow with a curved design that adapts to head, neck
  Neck
  The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
  
   and shoulder
  Shoulder
  The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle , the scapula , and the humerus as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder make up the shoulder joints. The major joint of the shoulder is the glenohumeral joint, which...
  
   contour for back sleepers and side sleepers. Relieves neck pain
  Neck pain
  Neck pain is a common problem, with two-thirds of the population having neck pain at some point in their lives.Neck pain, although felt in the neck, can be caused by numerous other spinal problems. Neck pain may arise due to muscular tightness in both the neck and upper back, or pinching of the...
  
  , frozen shoulder
  Frozen shoulder
  Frozen shoulder, medically referred to as adhesive capsulitis, is a disorder in which the shoulder capsule, the connective tissue surrounding the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder, becomes inflamed and stiff, greatly restricting motion and causing chronic pain.Adhesive capsulitis is a painful and...
  
  , stiff neck and headaches. Helps release breathing airways to reduce snoring and sleep apnea symptoms.

• Neck pillow or travel pillow: Pillow designed as a horseshoe for the neck contour to be use in the office and mostly on board, therefore it receives the name of travel pillow since they are mostly used by travellers to keep their neck straight while sleeping sitting up.

• Wedge pillow: triangle-shaped pillow that gives a slope for placing the body in a diagonal position. It can be used in an upright or downright position. This pillow is multipurpose; however they are mainly used to relief the symptoms of acid reflux and GERD disease during sleep.

• Lumbar pillow: Half-moon shaped pillow used at the lower back to comfort and relief lumbar pain and keep a correct sitting-down position. Likewise, they are used underneath knees for leg
  Human leg
  The human leg is the entire lower extremity or limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh and even the hip or gluteal region; however, the precise definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb extending from the knee to the ankle.Legs are used for standing,...
  
   elevation and as a neck support for relax and massage.

• Knee pillow: Also known as Contour leg pillow
  Contour leg pillow
  A contour leg pillow is a pillow that is placed between the legs, usually at knee level, during sleep. These pillows have been shown in studies to relieve lower back pain....
  
  . Hourglass shaped pillow that placed between your legs elevates your lower body to keep a straight side sleeping position. Some leg wedge pillows can be unfolded and turned into leg spacers to boost blood circulation through your legs.

• Body pillow: Long curved pillow for total body support that cradles head, neck, shoulders, back, lower back, legs and knees, replaces other pillows and gives full comfort to the side sleeper.

Orthopedic pillows and sleep positions

The most common sleep positions people adopt in bed are:

Side sleeping

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 apnea and obstructive sleep apnea, 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.

The inconvenience of this position is that most of the body’s pressure relies over arms and shoulders which produce neck stiffness and frozen shoulder. This can be solved with a side sleeper pillow that allows the correct placement of neck, arms and shoulders.

Back sleeping

Unlike side sleeping, this position may favour episodes of snoring and sinus, as well as back pain. This position requires a soft but firm support for three critic curves of the body: Behind the neck, in the middle of the back and lower back. For this, an orthopedic pillow with neck contour and a wedge under knees can allow the back sleeper to lie with safety and comfort.

Stomach sleeping

More common in infants and small children than in adults, this sleep position is considered harmful for the neck (neck strain, neck pain and stiffness) and responsible of the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome

Sudden infant death syndrome

Sudden infant death syndrome is marked by the sudden death of an infant that is unexpected by medical history, and remains unexplained after a thorough forensic autopsy and a detailed death scene investigation. An infant is at the highest risk for SIDS during sleep, which is why it is sometimes...

 (SIDS) in babies as small children, according to a study by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.