Benefits of Placing a Pillow Under the Lower Back
Many patients with lower back and leg pain, despite having undergone multiple treatments and experiencing temporary symptom relief, soon relapse into discomfort. Many of these patients forget or overlook a repeated instruction from orthopedic doctors: besides treatment, they must sleep on a hard mattress and place a soft pillow under their lower back at night. Placing a pillow under the lower back maintains the lumbar spine in its physiological lordosis position, alleviating excessive stretching of the lumbar muscles caused by daytime fatigue, ensuring muscle relaxation and full rest during nighttime, thereby consolidating previous treatment effects. After the lumbar muscles relax, blood circulation improves, aiding in gradual tissue repair of strained muscles, enhancing muscle strength and tone, and facilitating better activity the next day. For compression fractures of the lumbar and lower thoracic vertebrae, placing a pillow under the lower back also promotes gradual fracture realignment and reduces traumatic lower back pain. For patients with lumbar disc herniation, placing a pillow under the lower back can widen intervertebral spaces, reduce intradiscal pressure, relieve compression on the cauda equina and nerve roots, and thus alleviate lower back and leg pain.
Recommended: Insomnia Special Topic
Even healthy individuals are advised to try sleeping with a pillow under the lower back. The method is: lie supine, place a soft pillow about 10 cm high under the lumbosacral region or the painful area of the lower back, adjusting until comfortable and satisfactory. However, it must be used with a hard mattress or firm foam bed. Never use a spring mattress or other soft beds, as this would negate the pillow’s effect. Initially, it might feel unfamiliar, but persistence is key—use the pillow for at least one month to see noticeable results. Once lower back and leg pain symptoms significantly subside or disappear, the pillow can be removed. However, it is best to continue sleeping on a hard mattress.