Everyone Is A Little Different!

-The Traction Pillow-

Some Like a very firm neck roll.

Some like a Flatter neck roll (like my spouse).

That's why at Arc4Life you can buy a variety of pillows...

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for neck pain and back pain relief.

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Always Be Ready...

Now I’m not referring to a big storm, tornado or hurricane, but I can be. I am referring to knowing where medications are, how to get to your doctors, and when or who to contact in case of a medical emergency.

The same applies, to other kinds of emergencies. But let’s lean more towards your health. Yes, know where the doctor’s office is and hospital. Also know how you can fight neck pain at home too.

Not only know where the ice pack or ‘Biofreeze’ are but know neck exercises and neck stretches you can do. Know where another pillow is in-case for your Traction pillow cover is in the laundry. Have an idea what your plan of attack is. “The best offense is a good defense”!

I thought of this blog because we just had a scare with Dorian. Hurricanes can change their path or weaken but you still need to be prepared. Just like your health-always be ready (prevention) vs waiting until it’s too late.

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for neck pain and back pain relief.

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Preventing Injuries

One way to fix the spine is using an Arc4life pillow. But preventing an injury in the 1st place is even better.

I was just watching a football bowl game and I felt so bad when one of the young players was carried off on a stretcher. You may not be able to prevent a tackle by some twice your size, running at full steam; but if you stretch and train and are stronger then maybe an injury can be prevented.

Using a neck pillow helps to align the spine which essentially makes the spine stronger. This not only makes the spine stronger, but the whole body as well.

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for neck pain and back pain relief.

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What Is A Neck Roll?

This is typically a pillow or support that goes under the back of the neck.    In a neck pillow, the neck roll maintains and improves the "C" curve of the neck.  We will sometimes tell an individual to use a towel rolled up to act as a "neck roll".  This can help them to be able to transition to a neck pillow when they are used to using something very flat.  That neck roll will also fill in the gap between the head and shoulders, when on their side.

The most important aspect of any neck pillow is the "neck roll".  Keeping alignment on your back and side...

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for neck pain and back pain relief.

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I Have a Neck pillow But I sleep on my belly?

Are you a Stomach Sleeper? Are you waking up with morning neck pain,
stiffness and headaches?

One purpose of the arc4life traction pillow is to convert you to a back or side sleeper.  Stomach sleeping can really put the neck in a bad position. In addition, it can cause headaches when you wake up in the morning. Not a good way to start the day.   That being said, getting a good night's sleep is extremely important, but this only lasts for so long being a stomach sleeper.

When we are little kids we have so much flexibility we can easily do it but as we get older we can't.  The best thing to do is get out of the habit now.  A neck pillow is great because the pocket holds you better in place.  Sleeping on your side is just fine, and the neck pillow fills in the gap between your neck and shoulders.

Additional Reading:

• The Right Pillow choice for a herniated disk
• When there is a misalignment in your upper neck spine
• Products for Better Posture Everyday
• Help me choose a pillow for my neck pain
• Products that work with my traction pillow to help my numbness and tingling

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

Will you get neck soreness at first, from a neck pillow?

Arc4life's Natural Alignment Neck Pillow

For some, neck soreness will happen. This happens especially if you have never used a neck pillow. It's going to be a change, so you have to get used to it. Now, also if you have a major misalignment in the neck, the neck pillow may be tougher to get used to. Let's say you have a cervical kyphosis, that a reversal of the normal c-curve.

Also, things depend on the actual pillow. Let's say you have a really hard or firm pillow, this might be too much for a first time neck pillow user. That being said your memory foam pillows tend to be firm so you may want to start out with something softer. On the other end of the spectrum is the feather or down pillow, these are usually too soft, giving not enough support.

That's why I typically recommend a fiber pillow. This is usually not to hard or soft and still gives the support.

The Picture above is an example of a fiber pillow I recommend: the Arc4life Natural Alignment Pillow.

Additional Reading You Might Find Interesting:

• Finding the Right pain relief products for a pinched nerve in the neck
• Pillow for Someone with a Stiff Neck
• Many Studies show that Neck Pillow Do Work for Neck Pain
• The Neck Pain Relief Shop
• Pain in the Neck that Lasts for A Long Time: Chronic Neck Pain

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

Can My Feet Be Contributing To My Neck Pain?

Your feet can often be a factor in your neck pain. Here's why...the pain or misalignment lower in the body tend to work their way upward. Similar to a tall building; it's only as strong as its base. Just like a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Work on fixing the neck - a neck pillow, muscle massage, and heat pack or ice pack; but make sure your body alignment is correct lower down too.

Also, the whole body works as one. If their is a problem somewhere the body must focus its attention there. This is one reason why why suffering from a cold or flu, you neck starts to hurt. So, yes, your feet can definitely be a hidden neck pain culprit, but your overall health may be a factor too.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Hot and Cold Therapy that Helps with Pain
• Neck Alignment: How does it affect our neck muscles
• Hunchback posture: FAQ's
• What is important when choosing a neck pillow?

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.

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What's Most Important When Choosing A Neck Pilow?

The most important aspect of your neck pillow is comfort. Try sleeping on that neck pillow that's just too hard, or even just squishes too much - you may wake up with pain and tingling in the arms, who knows. The next most important aspect in general for a pillow is the neck roll. This is there to help improve and maintain that ever so important, cervical curvature. Everyone is a little different however. A hypoallergenic pillow like most of our pillows may be necessary for someone with allergies. Someone used to memory foam may prefer one slightly more firm.

A Comfortable Pillow is Important to Help you Fall Asleep

Also remember, when choosing your pillow, it's gotta have good neck support but comfort is king! (only get the large size if you are tall, not based on your bed) - Just wanted to put that to squash any possible confusion with my last line.

If you find yourself not getting a great night's sleep with you're once perfect pillow, it may just be time for a new one.

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Exercises for the Neck
• What to do for a pinched nerve in the neck
• I cannot move my neck after i slept in an awkward position
• Being Sleep Deprived is not good for your health
• How to treat muscle tightness in your neck and upper back area

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"This Headache Is Terrible..."

Do you Have a Headache That Just Won't Go Away?

You've got a bad headache and it just won't go away! Did you know that over 90% of headaches come from the neck? Yes, that's right! So that poor neck posture might be catching up with you. So it makes complete sense to correct your posture; especially in your neck.

One of the most common postural MISalignments is forward head, and with that often comes a loss of the cervical curve. So what can we doe to fix it? We can do chiropractic adjustments, we can do neck exercises, we can do neck traction, and we can use a neck pillow. A great thing with using a neck pillow (pillow has a roll in it for the neck curve), is that this one's done while you sleep!

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.

Image Source: FoxNews

Additional Reading Resources:

• How to Help my Neck Pain and Headache From Work?
• Remedy For A Stiff Neck
• Do You Get Migraine Headaches?
• Pillows for Side Sleepers
• What to Do For a Neck Misalignment?

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I Have A Cervical Kyphosis, Can I Use A Neck Pillow?

here is what a kyphosis in the neck curve looks like

If you have a Kyphosis in the neck curve, you should be using a neck pillow. Here's the reason: Having a kyphosis in the neck means you not only lost the proper curvature but it has actually started to curve the opposite way. This reversed curvature can be only really at on spinal level or it can be a number of segments.

With a neck pillow you start to work in the normal neck curve. Someone with a severe misalignment like this may having to use a neck pillow very gradually. Sometimes such a drastic difference (no spinal curve to a normal one) can cause some soreness. Sometimes if someone comes into the office with headaches and they are recommended the pillow, sleeping on it all night their first night with it may bring on soreness but a headache.

So, read the instructions that came with your pillow. Use it gradually so your body has a chance to get used to it, and if you have a severe misalignment like a cervical kyphosis make sure you do this. The same thing will apply to someone with severe symptoms. These may include headaches, excruciating pain, and even vertigo.

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.

Additional Reading Resources:

• A neck pillow for a khphosis in the neck
• Cervical Kyphosis or Military Neck can be the Cause of Neck Pain
• Exercises for the neck spine that will help tightened neck muscles
• Choose the Best Neck Pillow
• Proper Neck Alignment - What is the normal and abnormal for a neck curve?

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What is Homeopathy? Would using a neck pillow be Homepathic?

HELP THE BODY HEAL ITSELF

Well, first of all what is Homeopathy? And it's a natural way of helping the body naturally to correct whatever problem is ailing it. So technically, using the pillow can be homeopathic. You are sleeping on the neck roll which is restore the natural curve, thus allowing nervous system energy to flow with no interference.

In other words, helping the body to heal itself better naturally. Losing that neck curve is one of the most common postural misalignment, and especially these day with the extra computer time, and time texting, etc, it's more common than you think.

So, using a neck pillow like the Cervical Linear traction Pillow can be a great natural way to get rid of problematic symptoms like neck pain.

Additional Reading Resources:

• Arc4life- Choose the best neck pillow for the best sleep
• Exercises for the Neck
• Do you have a Straight Neck? aka Military Neck?
• Available Natural Pain Treatments
• How Can What I Eat Play a Role in My Neck Pain?

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.

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What to LOOK for When choosing a neck pillow...

Choosing a neck pillow can be hard to do. It can be a decision that may not come as easy as you think. Especially if you have a difficult time sleeping at night or suffer with neck pain.

Here's the top 10 factors to look at when choosing a pillow:

• Size of the Pillow
• What is the pillow made out of?
• How much support does it offer
• Is there a neck roll?
• Is it Adjustable?
• Is it Comfortable?
• What Sleeping position works best for this pillow?
• How Firm is the pillow?
• How long does it last? When Will You have to Replace it?
• What does the pillow Cost?

Source: Top 10 Factors to Consider Before Choosing the Best Neck Pillow

Additional Reading Resources:

• The Queen of Neck Pillows
• Choose the Best Neck Pillow: The Neck Pain Relief Shop
• Use my Neck Contour Pillow or My Regular Pillow?
• Remedy for A Stiff Neck
• How to Make Your Own Neck Pillow at Home for Neck Pain and StiffNess

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

My Neck X-Ray Shows Zero Curve in my Neck…Can A Neck Pillow Help Me?

Military Neck 

When we have loss of our cervical curve, a neck pillow alone may not correct this issue but it WILL help. This is precisely what a neck pillow does. It helps to support, maintain, and correct alignment.

Oftentimes your medical doctor or the radiologist reading your radiograph may not mention loss of curvature. If there is no tumor, fracture, etc., this may not be addressed. This is why your chiropractor or osteopath may take their own x-rays. Keep in mind that your primary care doctor often just reads a report the radiologist sends him.

With a lost cervical curvature, problems such as neck pain or strain will occur. Things may feel fine now but you better believe someone with a lost cervical curvature will have problems before someone with a normal neck spine. 

Additional Reading Resources:

• What is a Neck Pillow?
• Cervical Khyposis or Military neck Can be the Cause of Neck Pain. 
• Choose the Best Neck Pillow for the Best Sleep and Posture
• Understanding the cervical traction neck pillow by arc4life
• Proper Neck Alignment: what is the abnormal and normal for the neck curve?

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.

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How to Make Your Own Pillow At Home for Neck Pain and Stiffness.

What to Do when you need a Neck Pillow and You are Away from Home?

Everyone has a favorite pillow- a pillow that they have to use for sleeping. Without this pillow they may wake up with a headache or a stiff neck. Well what happens when we are away from home and we need to sleep well and wake up refreshed? Sometimes your favorite neck pillow is not able to travel with you. So what to do?

Simple Solution: Create your own neck roll at home using a terry towel- it functions as a great a neck pillow that will support your neck in great alignment and it will support your cervical spine.

Additional Reading Resources:

• America's #1 Neck Pillow: The Arc4life Cervical Linear Traction Neck Pillow
• Remedy for a Stiff Neck
• Neck and Shoulder Pain
• They Told me I have Cervical Radiculopathy? What is It? Is sounds really bad.
• Cervical Neck Traction to Get the Curve Back into your Spine

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

Do you take care of yourself as good as you could?...

We’ve talked in the past about the things you must do to improve and maintain your health. You must eat right, exercise, get proper rest, manage stress, and maintain your spine and nervous system.

If you sleep with a neck pillow you cover two out of the five. You can improve and maintain your spine as well as get a good night’s sleep.

The body does a lot of its maintenance and repair when it’s at rest WHEN YOU GO TO BED! A neck pillow has a neck roll that helps preserve and improve the natural C-curve of the neck. Your brain is the main control center and off of that stems the spinal cord and then off of that comes the nerves. You were created with curves in the spine that keep the cord relaxed and allow for the best flow of nervous system messages. Oh yeah, your brain and spinal cord are protected by bone, that’s how important they are! Just using a neck pillow like the Cervical Linear Traction Pillow will automatically improve your health.

Additional Reading Resources:

• The Arc4life Cervical Traction Neck Pillow
• Understanding the Bed Wedge's Multiple Uses
• Head Retraction Exercises for Forward Head Posture
• Proper Neck Alignment - What is the normal and abnormal for a neck curve?
• Top 3 Tips for Chronic Neck Pain Sufferers

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

I’ve Been Getting Neck Pain, What Could It Be?

Here’s a list of 3 of the top neck pain contributors:

The top 3 causes of neck pain

1. Your Pillow- This may have been a great pillow one day but has lost its support. Or your pillow is okay, at least it seems okay but really it’s not. A good neck pillow will keep your head and neck in alignment reducing nerve pressure, thus reducing neck pain. Choosing the best neck pillow is one thing you can do to ensure a good nights sleep.
   
   
2. Your activities or work- If your head is always tilted to the right, that’s what your spine looks like. In this day and age of information, cell phones, tablets, laptops and more, you can just imagine yourself and others with hours of head flexion, forward head posture, or head tilt. If you are doing this posture regularly, your spine will start to position itself this way. If certain muscles are always being contracted, those muscles may spasm; or maybe you have an imbalance because the same muscle on the other side of the body is always being stretched and elongated. Again, this is abnormal and will cause nerve pressure and pain.
   
   
3. Constant stress- This could be referring to a stressful work environment or a lot of stress at home. This tends to create more muscle tension right across the back of the neck and shoulders. Not only does stress affect other body functions but it most definitely can contribute to neck pain and neck muscle tension. It can also affect you sleep; this is when our body does a lot of healing – YIKES!
   

Whatever the case, a big positive is to start using the Cervical Traction Neck Pillow. This pillow can help to correct your posture and get rid of the neck discomfort.

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.


Additional Reading Resources:

• How to treat muscle pain in your neck or lower back
• Choose the best neck pillow for your neck
• Arc4life Neck Pillow and Neck Traction Units for stopping neck pain
• Poor Neck Alignment leads to a weaker neck
• I Forgot my neck Pillow, what do I do?

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Two Common Postural Misalignments Created by Forward Head Posture

One misalignment in one area of the spine can quickly lead to more postural misalignments throughout the spine. Your body will try to compensate for one misalignment with another. Find out how to stop this pattern from developing by keeping posture maintained during your daily life.

What happens when your head juts out forward? Well, your body always tries to keep your eyes even with the horizon. This typically can cause one of two things to happen.

#1- Your head protrudes forward then into slight extension. The neck shifts forward, but the head tilts upward. The body does this to keep those eyes even with the horizon.

#2- Your back extends. As you can imagine, tilting the lower back backwards also raises up the eyes. We typically call this a “sway-back.”

Your body can have a number of postural misalignment patterns because that whole spine works together. So, if one particular section goes out of position, the body will try to correct things by doing what it has to. The good news is that if we correct one area of the spine, it can help the rest. Start by correcting your neck posture by using the arc4life neck pillow.


Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

Neck Muscle Spasm: How it Happens and How to Get Rid of Them

Most often what happens is some kind of injury to the neck. Now, this can be a serious injury like a car accident whiplash, but it can be a much less traumatic neck strain from moving too quick or the wrong way.

Here’s an example: I was reaching for something in the cabinet above my fridge. Instead of getting a step stool I was reaching and turning my neck … wham, it hit me, a sharp spasm of pain in the side of my neck.

Thank goodness I have the tools and know-how to fix this problem. Using my traction pillow is one of the biggest things that helps, but even before doing that, I recommend a few other to-do’s to cure the neck spasms.

The first thing I did was warm up my hot pack to put on that side of my neck. I may also let the how shower soak on my neck when I shower. I was lucky enough that my wife was home and gave me a little neck massage with Biofreeze. Lastly, I rotated my pillow to the traction side; I use the linear gravity support side often, but when I do something to my neck or want to do some gentle traction, I use the neck traction side. Having the know-how and tools to correct neck spasms and neck pain will save you a lot of trouble down the road.


Additional Reading Resources

• Neck Traction on Arc4life.com
• How to Treat Tight Muscles
• My Hands Go Tingly When I Sleep?
• Neck Exercises
• How Should I sleep with a neck Injury

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.

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Your Body Often Knows When It Needs Aligning …

What really is neck pain or back pain? It’s your body telling you something is wrong. It’s like your car engine light going on saying it’s time to check your engine. A pain response is similar. That warning is going off saying it’s time to get checked.

The whole reason I thought of my title and the subject I’m writing about is from an episode of Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. A couple of episodes back John Rich was having a headache. I noticed he was often twisting his head to the side- self adjusting it or “cracking” it, or at least trying.

Why might he have been doing this?

The answer is simple- your body often knows what it needs! Doing this may give some relief. He was no doubt under a lot of stress from his current task at hand, not to mention dealing with delegating to others, plus probably lack of sleep, maybe food too …

All of these things contribute to neck strain and discomfort. Also, knowing that over 90% of headaches come from the neck (cervicogenic in nature), it’s a normal body response to try and fix the problem.

Hopefully he slept on a good neck pillow to help fix his neck that night. There’s no doubt the stress relief from the task being over helped as well. Good luck to John and his opponent- Marlee Matlin for the finale coming up.

Additional Reading
• stress relief program
  
• Celebrity Apprentice News
  
• Headache Relief
  
• Headeache Pillow
  

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Forward Head Carriage can Increase the Weight of the Head on the Spine …

Foward Head Posture

Forward head posture can actually increase the weight of the head on the spine by an additional 10 pounds (Kapundji, Physiology of Joints; Vol. 3).

Basically, our spines are built with these curves in place to withstand the forces of gravity. It’s just like a set of building blocks; if you stack them up so they’re out of alignment, then they can’t balance either. In our spine it’s similar; instead of collapsing however, the body compensates for misalignments and pulls calcium out of the bone and makes spurs or fuses things up to stabilize. Unfortunately, this is a last resort protection mechanism and will, of course, contribute to nerve pressure and therefore pain.

Using neck traction and even the cervical traction neck pillow by arc4life.com can help restore neck alignment and reduce neck stress due to extra weight of the head. Also, don’t forget, bone is heavy, so you can imagine having all the weight of not only the skull but all the contents pressing down!


Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!