Do you suffer from sciatica pain? Is the pain leading to sleepless nights and general discomfort? If so, you’re probably looking for a pillow to relieve pressure and help you get a good night’s sleep.
Sciatica pain can have an extremely bad impact on your life in general. Not only is sleeping with sciatica difficult, but you also have trouble sitting in an office chair. However, with the right pillow and sleeping style, you can relieve pressure from sciatica pain.
In this article, we give you some valuable tips for sleeping with sciatica, we discuss which type of pillow to use for sciatica pain, and we review the best pillow for sciatica pain.
Tips for Sleeping with Sciatica
- If you suffer from sciatica pain, you should sleep on your back and avoid sleeping on your side. However, some people can’t help but roll on their side at night. If that’s the case, wedge yourself between pillows to keep yourself from rolling around.
- If you’re a side sleeper, you can place a contoured knee pillow between your legs. This will help relieve pressure from your hips and knees and minimize sciatica pain.
- Side sleepers can also benefit from large full-body pillows that they can rest under their heads and hold against their chests. This will help relieve pressure and also reduce sciatica pain.
- You should avoid sleeping on your stomach altogether. However, if you can’t help but sleep on your stomach, you should place a flat pillow under your hips to facilitate spinal alignment. You can avoid neck pain by avoiding a pillow under your head.
Which Type of Pillow to Use for Sciatica Pain?
The following is a brief overview of the types of pillows you can use to relieve pressure from sciatica pain:
Body Pillow
A full body pillow is a large elongated pillow that spans the length of your entire body. When you sleep on your side, your top leg rolls down on the mattress and can affect your sciatic nerve, which may lead to sciatica. However, a full body pillow helps relieve pressure from the sciatic nerve by offering full body support and keeping your spine neutral. You can also place the body pillow between your knees to relieve pressure from hips and knees.
Knee Pillow
You can place any pillow between your legs to relieve pressure from hips and knees. However, most ordinary pillows will move around and come off. Knee pillows are ergonomically designed to fit into the contours of your legs and knees. As such, when you place them between your knees, they’re a lot less likely to come off. Knee pillows relieve pressure from your spine and help relax back muscles. They’re perfect for side sleepers.
Wedge Pillow
Wedge pillows are the ideal type of pillows for back sleepers suffering from sciatica pain. These are wedges that you can place over your mattress and they have a slope against which you can recline. You can place one wedge against your back and the other at the end of the bed. As such, you can rest your back against one wedge and elevate your legs with the other. This locks you in the back sleeping position and also relieves pressure from lower back and sciatic nerves, thereby reducing sciatica pain.
Factors to Consider when Looking for a Pillow to Relieve Pressure from Sciatica
The following are some factors to consider when you’re looking for a pillow to relieve pressure from sciatica:
- The pillow should have a firm or medium-firm surface so your body doesn’t sink, which can place greater pressure on sciatic nerves. Your body should remain stable.
- If you use wedge cushions, get a pillow that comes with two wedges so you can lock yourself in place.
- While sleeping on your side, use a cervical pillow that offers neck support so you don’t suffer from neck pain.
Reviews of the Best Pillow for Sciatica
Elite Rest Slim Sleeper
Elite Rest Slim Sleeper is the best pillow for sciatica if you’re a stomach sleeper. This is a natural latex foam pillow with a loft height of 2.75 inches. While sleeping on your stomach, you can place this pillow under your stomach to relieve pressure from your lower back. It helps keep your spine neutral and relieve pressure from the sciatic nerve.
Snuggle-Pedic Ultra-Luxury
Snuggle-Pedic Ultra-Luxury is a body pillow that measures 20 inches by 54 inches. This is the best body pillow for those suffering from nerve pain. You can hold this body pillow against your torso to offer spine support. You can use it to wedge yourself in place so you don’t roll on your stomach. You can also tuck it between your knees and use it as a knee pillow to relieve pressure from your hips and knees. This is a shredded memory foam pillow so you can also shift the filling around or remove it to adjust the loft height according to your preference.
ComfiLife Orthopedic Knee Pillow
ComfiLife Orthopedic Knee Pillow is a memory foam wedge pillow that you can place between your knees to relieve pressure from your hips and knees. This is an ergonomically contoured pillow that conforms to the shape of your knees and it helps reduce nerve pain. This pillow measures 9.8 x 7.9 x 6.3 inches.
Xtra-Comfort Bed Wedge
Xtra-Comfort Bed Wedge is a foldable memory foam bed wedge pillow that’s 22” wide and 12” deep. You can place this wedge behind your back and in front of your legs so you can recline against it while elevating your legs. This is the best sleeping position for sciatica because it relieves nerve pain and offers optimal spinal support. Furthermore, this wedge pillow also locks you in place so you don’t roll over to your side. It comes with a removable and machine washable polyester cover.
