Can a Pillow Help Sciatica? The In-Depth Research
We’re here to answer your sciatica questions.
Specifically, you will learn: can a pillow help sciatica?
Through our years of academic research and pain relief expertise, we are happy to help. Today, we will show you the current research about sciatica, and how to use a sciatica pillow.
First, a pillow can help sciatica … but you need the right sciatica pillow.
The pillow product’s ergonomics and materials are important in giving you pain relief, and these are the two topics we’re going to share with you, along with a few important tips for your sciatica pillow.
The research study (Elkhashab & Ng, 2018) covers the primary treatment for hip and leg pain, coccygodynia, conservative therapy, and sciatica-like symptoms. The usage of seat cushions is mentioned, with ergonomics being a topic that is well explained.
Table of Contents
A Sciatica Pillow for Driving: What Should I Look For?
For driving, we know that long hours of sitting in one place with a heavy concentration on the road is what the job entails. For sciatica pillows, we want ergonomics of course, but even more important, we want good pillow materials. The best pillow for sciatica pain in driving environments must have cooling gel materials. This means either the sciatica pillow has cooling gel technology, or it has gel-infused memory foam materials.
The benefit to cooling materials in sciatica pillows is that the inflammatory response and pain caused by the sciatic nerve are numbed at the cellular level, releasing tension in the hips and legs, resulting in less pain. Less pain for long drives is the main goal, as that means you can spend more time in one place in comfort. The best orthopedic seat cushion for sciatica should have a cooling technology marketed to you, either in the form of gel-infused memory foam, or a cooling technology within the sciatica saddle pillow in any form.
A Wedge Pillow for Sciatica: What Does the Research Say?
Wedge pillows are normally used for post-surgery reclining or sleeping; however, they are an effective way to combat sciatica nerve pain in the general sense. Wedge pillows allow for the angles of your hips and legs to be elevated, increasing the circulation to your legs. Increased circulation to your legs means that the tendons that are further away from your heart get higher quality blood circulation, and function well when you are moving around.
How to Sleep with Sciatica: We've Found You the Research
According to medically peer-reviewed research (Kumar, Gard, Singh, Singh, & Tyagi, 2011), the proper sleeping posture is to take the pressure off your back by sleeping on either of your sides or on your back with pillows under your legs or knees. This confirms that the best sleep position for sciatica is either on your side or on your back.
Wedge pillows can be a good sciatica pillow for sleeping, especially if you are in immense pain from your sciatic nerve. A leg pillow for sciatica can function as a good wedge pillow for your sciatica nerve pain, increasing blood circulation to your legs, and getting you back to your pain-free self.
Gel Seat Cushion: Do I Buy It?
Gel seat cushions are a great purchase when it comes to relieving sciatica pain. If you need to sit for long periods of time, and are starting to get sciatica nerve pain, gel seat cushions are a must-buy with respect to pillows for sciatica.
Our in-depth sciatica research (Foye, Shah, and Sinha, 2017) gave us the information that medical physicians recommend ergonomics including a wedge-shaped cutout (or U-Shaped) cushion so that the tailbone can hover over the cutout rather than pressing into hard surfaces or seats, comforting the hip and legs that could be under sciatica nerve pain. This answers the question “Can a pillow help sciatica?” The answer is yes it can.
We know that gel seat cushions are usually in this U-shaped design on Amazon and have learned that ergonomics and specifically U-shaped gel seat cushions have a big impact on relieving sciatica nerve pain, making gel seat cushions a great sciatica pillow for sitting long periods of time.
What is the Best Seat Cushion for Lower Back Pain?
Lower back pain is one of the most common ailments and a common side effect of sciatica pain. The ergonomics are vital for releasing sciatica tension, so having a U-Shaped seat cushion will help relieve lower back pain and sciatica. In addition to ergonomics, having good materials are also excellent for sciatica pain relief.
What good materials are good for lower back pain and sciatic discomfort? Memory foam with cooling gel infused into the foam is the best option, but a mix of memory foam and some other cooling technology inside the pillow will suffice in pain relief. The best knee pillow for sciatica is one that will follow the guidelines of good ergonomics, material, and price. Knee wedges and pillows are common in relieving sciatica and lower back pain.
Find It Health – Frequently Asked Questions:
how do I get my sciatic nerve to stop hurting?
Conservative recovery is the main focus of pain relief, stretching and light mobility should be a high priority, and if the pain is too intense, resting with wedge pillows under the knee(s) is recommended.
How should I lay with sciatica?
The recommended research studies explain the benefits of sleeping on your back or sides if suffering from sciatica nerve pain.
What is the best sciatica pillow for sitting?
In the article, we explain the benefits of good ergonomics and materials. This culminates to be a U-shaped design with gel-infused memory foam, like this product on Amazon. This product guaranteed will be better suited for long periods of sitting than average seats.
What causes sciatica buttock pain?
Sciatica, explained quickly is the pain that reaches along the sciatic nerve stretching from the lower back down each leg. Buttock pain is most commonly associated with a herniated disk, where the spinal fluid ads pressure to the spinal cord and its nerves; caused by age-related problems with the spine. Falling especially can accelerate a herniated disk, so being careful when walking over slippery or precarious areas of ground is advised.
Conclusion: Researching Sciatica Pillows - Learning Helpful Information
We like to think about pain as something to avoid. Hopefully, this informational guide helped you learn more about an easily avoidable subject. Pain is something that we all face, so learning things that can help combat it is our pleasure for the community. We care deeply about pillow research, as we have a full guide on pillows for headaches, just for people that suffer from headaches. Find It Health has it on our utmost priority to relay in-depth research to people that are curious about health topics. I hoped you enjoyed our post.
Findithealth.net Question
How do you deal with your sciatica pain?
References
Elkhashab, Y., Ng, A. A Review of Current Treatment Options for Coccygodynia. Curr Pain Headache Rep 22, 28 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-018-0683-7
Foye P.M., Shah J.M., Sinha D. (2017) Coccyx Fracture and Dislocation. In: Kahn S., Xu R. (eds) Musculoskeletal Sports and Spine Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50512-1_102
Kumar, M., Gard, G., Singh, L., Singh, T., & Tyagi, L. (2011). Epidemiology, Pathophysiology and Symptomatic Treatment of Sciatica: A Review. International Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biological Archives.
