Core Basic Cervical Pillow

the  Basic Cervical™ Pillow is designed to soothe your tired neck and back and support your neck in its most natural position. Thefoam pillow is intended to be used during the second and third stages – Correct and Maintain -- of the TriCare Circle of Health. During the active treatment or Correct stage, the cervical foam pillow helps improve the curvature of your neck, helping promote the healing process. The foam pillow helps alleviate tension headaches, neck pain and the discomforts of arthritis and other ailments

The cervical foam pillow is made from smooth precision-cut foam with two different-sized support lobes (3.75" and 4.5" tall). Choose the side that’s more comfortable for you, depending on whether you’re a side or back sleeper. 

Measures 14.5" x 22" (56 cm x 37 cm). Fits standard pillowcase; solid white pillowcase included. Available in standard and gentle support.

Care instructions

Pillowcase:

1. Wash in cool, soapy water.
2. Tumble or line dry.

Pillow:

1. Wipe foam with a damp cloth.
2. Air dry.

Orthopedic Pillow Uses

Natural placement of the head and neck, accomplished with the many different styles and shapes of Core cervical pillows, can help relieve intense pain by providing natural and correct posturing in supine (back) and side-sleeping positions. 

Cervical support pillows are used when a cervical hypolordosis (less than normal curvature of the spine) exists, to prevent hypolordosis, or when cervical spasms or strains occur.  These pillows are orthotic devices (apparatus used to align or support) used to help relieve spasms, remove minor tensions and maintain or resume the natural cervical lordotic curve while at rest. 

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)

Therapeutic Types of Pillows:

1.   Accommodate/Displacement Pillows:  Helps relieve pain or discomfort by conforming to and stabilizing an existing condition. Relieves pain or discomfort by conforming to and stabilizing a new or existing injury or condition. Provides comfort, but does little to correct the condition. Typically for short-term use.  When a neck injury or condition is acute (serious or to an intense degree, like whiplash or a significant sprain or strain), the healthcare provider’s goal is to relieve a patient's pain and discomfort before beginning treatment. What's needed is to stabilize and accommodate the condition before moving forward. The same is true for other neck injuries or at the onset of many common problems which affect the head and neck.  Accommodation/Displacement pillows work well at this stage because they conform to the condition and provide immediate comfort.

Examples:  Core Deluxe Water Pillow; Core Memory Foam Pillow

2.  Orthopedic Support Pillows:  Support pillows are designed to help a. correct  and  b. maintain  proper cervical posture/alignment while sleeping by providing the right amount of resistive feedback into the cervical & upper thoracic musculature. 

Special Note: Support type pillows are orthotic devices (like a custom orthotic in your shoe) and therefore may take time to get accustomed to.  Healthcare providers should give patients proper education regarding the time needed for training the musculature in accepting the pillow.  Although some people can react positively to this type of pillow immediately, others may take up to 2 weeks of gradual increased use through the night.  Patient should use pillow to waking tolerance and then switch to previous pillow for the rest of the night.  Each successive night, patient should increase time support pillow is used through the night.

Examples:  Tri-Core Standard; Tri-Core Gentle; Double Core & Double Core Select Pillows

A.  Correct:  Helps eliminate symptoms by treating the cause of the condition.  Helps correct the cause of pain, supports treatment to regain proper function. At this stage, orthopedic pillows are often prescribed to assist in correcting the diagnosed condition and to help the patient regain proper function. Allows tissue to heal functionally. Prepares for the maintenance stage. Corrective pillows can help alleviate headaches; neck muscle and joint strains, arthritis and whiplash discomfort and help restore proper nerve function. Supportive pillows are used in this stage of care.

B.  Maintain:  Ensures continued good health by helping sustain the body in its proper, natural posture.  Complements care to help prevent recurrence/progression. Pillows selected for the Maintain Stage should ensure continued good health by providing proper positioning and helping preserve the natural curvature of the neck and spine. For ideal maintenance, the pillow should provide maximum support and comfort. In fact, most people discover that once the normal curvature of the neck is restored, they crave the comfort of maximum support - the reason supportive pillows have grown more popular. Supportive pillows are used in this stage of care.

3.  Combination Pillows: Combination pillows have a quality or an adjustability that allows the healthcare provider and the user to use the pillow though treatment.  The pillow has properties that give an accommodative/displacement function and a supportive function. 

Examples: Cervalign; “Core Deluxe Water Pillow; Core Memory Plus;  

Differences in Pillow Materials

A.  Fiber:  Allows for comfort and support.  High quality fiber is blown to exact specification to insure uniform distribution and pillow weight.

• Originally used to emulate features of natural down pillows & used in comfort for accommodation.
• Advances in fiber have resulted in great ability to comfort & support.
• Core Pillows use conjugated fiber which acts like a spring. 
• During manufacturing, high pressure will link fibers together & different resiliency levels can be created in the pillow.  This process helps fiber stay in place and resists migration, yielding consistent support as fiber generally has amorphous tendencies and can clump or rat tail during cleaning.
• Foam can offer the most consistent support but Fiber currently can offer almost as much but with more comfort.
• Fiber material is available in wide array of sizes, shapes & coatings.
• Has ability to perform as either a semi-solid or semi-fluid.
• Has natural flame retardance & durability.

B.  Polyurethane Foam:  Has memory to return to original shape.  All of the foam used can be classified by two measurements: 1.  Density and 2. Indent Load Deflection (ILD). Foam pillows have been around for quite some time.  Over the years it has been cut and shaped to provide support and/or correction.  **General considered the most supportive pillow material with the longest lifespan of use.  

• Availability in immense variety of densities, firmness.
• Excellent resiliency & shape retention

Density: It is often thought that density is a measure of firmness or softness.  Actually, Density is merely the weight (in pounds) of a cubic foot of foam.  While density does not indicate resiliency, it is an important value in classifying foam products as it is a very good indicator of the product’s quality.

• Density simply represents how much a specific volume of foam weighs.  
• Density indicates the durability or predicted life of the foam.  The higher the density the Longer the life.
• Polyurethane foam has good machineability, washability & durability.
• Foam in Core’s products is precision cut, open cell, polyurethane or memory foam.  This allows for longer life compared to molded products. 

Firmness:  Two terms used to express this measurement (a.) Indent Load Deflection or (b.) Indent Force Deflection.  Measurement is an indication of how much force is required to compress a cubic foot of foam to half its original height.  Foam pillows are measured in this way.  (Density does not mean firm!)

Special Note: Polyurethane foam is a flammable substance. Polyurethane foam will also discolor (yellow) which is a natural process. Polyurethane foam will also release an odor for a short period of time in a process called “off-gassing.”  This is a natural process and will dissipate over time. 

C.  Viscoelastic or “Memory” Foam:  A secondary type of foam that is very popular as it has a high density and viscosity and works well for very acute conditions or conditions that are not correctable.

• Viscoelastic or Memory foam is extremely temperature & pressure sensitive.
• It has virtually no resiliency (firmness) characteristics & used in comfort products that conform to spatial attributes.
• Memory Foam pillows are an accommodative style pillow.
• Offers little to no cervical feedback or support.
• Conforms to existing cervical conditions.
• Works well for very acute conditions or conditions that are not correctable. 
• May also discolor (yellow) which is a natural process. 
• May also release an odor for a short period of time in a process called “off-gassing.”  This is a natural process and will dissipate over time. 

D.  Water:   Pillow type that contains a bladder and is usually used within a fiber style pillow.

• Allows for adjustability through multiple treatment stages. 
• Pillow weight and thickness is dictated on amount of water filled.