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| Hi Friend,
If you're a side sleeper looking to improve restful sleep, this email is specifically for you.
Or, if you know someone who would benefit from this information, be sure to pass it on to them!
If you're frequently tossing and turning, thrashing, or struggling to feel rested due to pain, you're not alone. This is actually one of the most common reasons people finally decide to invest in their health and come see us at our clinic.
While you may sometimes need Physical Therapy to get to the root of your pain caused while sleeping, here are a few things you can try right away. |
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| | - First, make sure your mattress isn't too old. Check each mattress for manufacturer recommendations, but typically a standard mattress should be replaced at least every ten years. There are many factors that play into this. Check for areas that feel lumpy, or uneven.
- Make sure to support your hips with a pillow between the legs. If your knees rest together without a pillow, often this can put unnecessary stress on your hips, pelvis, and low back. Your legs should be parallel.
- Support the head and neck appropriately. Pillows are tricky because one size never fits all. The basic premise is that the curvature of your neck should be supported, along with the head. Your head should not be tilted up or down, in relation to your spine. In other words, your nose should be in line with your chest bone (sternum).
- One thing I forgot when I produced this video was to have something to hug in front of you. We want to make sure to support the top arm. Body pillows are great for this.
- Try to avoid excessively curling into a fetal position. While this may initially feel relieving, over time it can over-stretch the low back, and isn't ideal for your hip flexors. Your hip flexors should not remain in such a shortened position all night. I find patients who are in this position most of the night tend to wake up stiffer. For tips on how to slowly break this habit, be sure to watch the video above.
- For more side-sleeper tips, I highly encourage you to check out our video here, or clicking the image above!
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| If you tried all these things and are still struggling to wake up feeling rested due to pain or discomfort, you may need Physical Therapy. Give us a call for a free phone consult, or respond to this email. |
| CANDY UPDATE: Candy is still doing fairly well. She is still greeting patients. I've noticed a few yellow flags with her eating, but Danielle and I joke that "Rotisserie chicken brings her back from the dead." Every time she loses interest in food, we've bought her a rotisserie chicken, and it seems to re-establish her appetite. Here's another photo from our recent "Forget Me Not" photo shoot. This may be my favorite. I think it captures her essence perfectly.
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| | | | | Dr. Chris Sovey, DPT, RN, BSN Phone: 616-803-9829 |
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