Hi Lone,
I was reading about your journey and shoulder issues. You might want to consider changing pillows. Here’s a little bit of my pillow journey. You’d be surprised what the right pillow can do. And I don’t mean just any pillow, but the right one. If you look at all the pillows I’ve bought and tested, it’s pretty clear that a pillow can be just as important as the mattress and foundation.
The Oxygen Pillow has been a great addition to my setup. I usually rotate through 3 or 4 pillows, but since getting the Oxygen, I’ve been sticking to just two—my other go-to is the ESW latex cube-filled pillow. The Cube pillow turned out to be a solid complement to the Oxygen after a recent injury left me with multiple herniated and bulging discs.
I can’t stress enough that one pillow may not cover all situations, which is why I use a rotation. With the injury, I found these specific two latex-based pillows worked perfectly during my current lingering injury. I didn’t do well with traditional one-piece or shredded latex pillows, but a firmer latex uniformly cut noodle pillows and now these two, a uniquely designed latex and another newly designed cube-cut latex, have really done the trick.
Since the injury, I also resurrected my wedge topper from @EuropeanSleep, which I had been using on and off, but came in quite handy with the injury. It gives me a slight incline and adds noticeable cushion and pressure relief from my shoulders to my thighs.
Side sleepers in particular, need to get the loft of their pillow spot on, otherwise it can cause havoc to the shoulders depending on the mattress you are sleeping on.
Hopefully, this may give you insight on finding relief for your left shoulder, and maybe the focus to take a different approach to solving the issue.
Maverick
For reference, I am 6’ 220.
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Since the last update I’ve discovered some things that have helped, and a pillow was a big part of it. I’ve also toyed around with side-sleeping on my shoulder (resting my full weight on the joint, but keeping the shoulder in-line) and side-sleeping “behind” my shoulder (twisting my torso slightly and letting my shoulder roll forward – less weight on the joint, but more “pull” on the shoulder muscles since it’s rounding.
I realized that with sufficient back support combined with a very specific pillow setup, I’m able to stay on my back for much longer stretches of time before rolling over. I’ve been using just a rolled-up towel when on my back, then switching to a thick adjustable memory foam pillow from Back Science when I’m on my side.
So, @Maverick, if you know of any pillows that mimic a rolled-up towel in terms of neck support, keeping my throat open for sleep apnea without too much elevation, that’d be great. I’m reading through the pillow journey you linked to help me choose, and it sounds like just going for a cervical pillow on Amazon and returning if it doesn’t work is the way to go. I thought I was excessive since I have 5 pillows, but after seeing your journey, I may be just getting started.
This part may be relevant to @stealle: After many weeks, I have learned that although the Back Science 3 is more supportive to my low back than anything else I’ve slept on, I want even more low back support. Rick at Back Science is still working with me and has multiple ideas on how to help dial the mattress in. He’s willing to email and call me on the phone months after my purchase to customize the layout and the support, which I appreciate. How is your Back Science 3 going?
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@LonePrairie The BS3 mattress is working out really well. Not perfect but I’m getting much better sleep. On my previous Sleep Number bed I would crawl into bed with no back pain then my back would start to ache after being in bed for 3-4 hours and I was literally forced out of bed because it hurt so bad after 6 hours. With the BS3 mattress I can sleep 7-8 hours before I start to get a little achy. I’m not getting out of bed because of back pain, it just feels like time to get up. I do really like the mattress but I’m not sure I can give 100% credit to the mattress alone. We purchased a split king and an adjustable foundation. I think the adjustable foundation has contributed to some of the improvement. I usually start off sleeping on my back but with a little head up and a little more foot up. I find this very comfortable for most of the night. After about 5 hours or so I hit the flat button and lay on my side for a while. In all honesty I like sleeping with my head and legs up a little so much that I’ve never actually tried to go the whole night leaving the bed completely flat. But I should probably give it a try. So, I’m still a little achy. But nothing like the pain I was in before so I’m very grateful for this mattress and foundation. I’m greedy so I’d like it to be even better. I have considered talking to Rick about an adjustment. In all honesty I don’t know what would make it better. Softer? Firmer? I have no clue which direction to go. I’ll probably try to sleep with the mattress totally flat and see how it goes before asking for any modifications.
I read through Mavericks pillow journey and saw someone else’s post about The Majestic Pillow. The Majestic Pillow | Majestic Beds
I purchased that pillow. I really like the pillow and it definitely gives a lot of support under the neck that might give you that rolled up towel under the neck feel. It is a different feeling pillow than a standard pillow and takes a little getting used to. The only negative I’ve found is it does feel a little hotter than my Purple pillow I’ve been sleeping with. I use the Majestic Pillow most of the time but, on nights I’ve felt too warm I have swapped on gone back to the Purple pillow.
That is what I like about the Oxygen pillow. It is not exactly as you describe, but close in the way it functions.
The fact that they use a firm perimeter latex with a hollow inner core can offer a similar effect like the rolled up towel attached to a pillow. It is not quite like this one below, but for me, it offers the same intended effect,but better. As the entire perimeter acts like that roll and neck support. The Oxygen pillow is a bit nuanced in how you use it, but I find it to be great. They have little graphics on the @EuropeanSleep site.
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Staff can help you select the Oxygen Pillow in a height and firmness that suits your build and preferred sleep position, either over the phone or, if you’re located near Berkeley, California, I am certain they would welcome you to visit their showroom and try it out in person.
Maverick
