If you sleep on your side, you could frequently wake up with knee and leg pain. This is due to the pressure that sleeping on your side causes to different body parts, which over time may create pain and even health problems. However, utilizing a leg pillow or knee pillow is an easy way to help reduce this issue.
We'll go over the advantages of utilizing this kind of pillow for side sleepers in this blog post, including how it may enhance your general wellbeing and the quality of your sleep. To find out more about this revolutionary pillow, continue reading if you're sick of waking up with sore joints.
What is a Knee Pillow?
Although most individuals place a pillow under their heads when they sleep, some people also place a pillow between their knees. In other words, having an additional under-knee pillow helps you to keep proper posture, which in turn relieves tension on your body.
You may already be aware that this is one of the things that doesn't function. Indeed, we concur till a certain extent. Actually, the majority of individuals just place a standard pillow between their knees. Unfortunately, the bulkiness of these kinds of pillows might exacerbate your discomfort.
Leg Pillow vs. Knee Pillow
| Aspect | Leg Pillow | Knee Pillow |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Supports the entire length of the leg | Supports the area between the knees when sleeping on the side |
| Alignment | Helps maintain alignment of spine, hips, and knees | Helps maintain alignment of hips and reduces pressure on knees |
| Design | Longer and wider, to support the entire leg | Smaller and narrower, fits between the knees |
| Benefits | Reduces strain on lower back and hips | Reduces pressure on knees and promotes proper hip alignment |
| Common Usage | Back pain, hip pain, sciatica | Knee pain, hip pain, post-surgery recovery |
| Sleep Position | Primarily for side sleepers | Primarily for side sleepers |
Leg pillows provide full leg support, preserving knee, hip, and vertebral alignment. Side sleepers frequently utilize it since it helps with sciatica, hip discomfort, and back pain.
When lying on one side, knee pillows support the space between the knees, relieving strain on the knees and encouraging healthy hip alignment. It helps with knee discomfort, hip pain, and the healing process following surgery. Side sleepers also frequently use it.
What is the Purpose of Knee Pillow for Side Sleepers?
Did you know that your hips, knees, and lower back are strained when you sleep on your side without using a knee pillow? Actually, if you sleep on your side and wake up with discomfort in your knees, hips, or low back, it's probably because you were sleeping in the wrong posture.
For side sleepers, a knee pillow's main function is to promote complete body alignment so that your joints and muscles don't strain as you sleep. Standing up makes it simple to view your body's natural characteristics. In certain individuals, the hip bone protrudes more than the waist.
In others, the hips are not as broad as the waist. Natural curves or contours are created by the difference in prominence between the exterior of your hip and your waist. These outlines remain visible when you rest on your side. Rather, the curves of your body are susceptible to the force of gravity on your spine, joints, and muscles.
This causes tense muscles, strained joints, and a bent spine. It is nearly a given that if you stay in this unsupported posture all night, you will wake up with either back, knee, hip, or a combination of all three types of discomfort.
The Best Pillow for Side Sleeper with Knee Pain
The best knee pillow for side sleepers should be able to support your upper leg's whole weight to minimize strain on your joints and muscles. Recall that any angle that descends from your hip to your ankle indicates that your muscles are stretched. Your joints and muscles should be completely aligned with the finest knee pillow for side sleepers so that they are at a resting posture with no downward angle while you sleep.
A good knee pillow for sleeping on your side is the one that properly separates the legs. Physical therapists have evaluated and overwhelmingly endorsed this leg separating pillow as the finest knee pillow for side sleeping after a knee replacement surgery. It provides total support for the legs, hips, and back.
For the best possible support for your spine while you sleep, use a leg separator pillow with a side sleeper wedge. Such a knee wedge pillow for side sleepers fits around your waist, slightly above your hip bone. A side sleeper's dream for body alignment is a leg separation pillow and a side sleeper wedge.
An integral part of the sleeping position for side sleepers is a knee pillow. To ensure that you wake up feeling revitalized and revived, make sure your knee pillow is functioning properly!
Health Benefits of Knee Pillow in Side Sleeping
- Keeps spine aligned well in the side sleeping position
- Take pressure off of your lower back, hips and knees.
- Helps blood flow and numbness of butt
- Helps ease the pain of lower back, hip and joint
- Cushions the knees and legs.
- Helps in healing and alignment for post surgery cases
- Opens your airway and in-turn stop snoring.
Downsides of a Knee Pillow
There are generally no particular hazards associated with using a knee pillow while sleeping. But sleeping with a pillow between the knees can keep the knees flexed, which can impede recovery and mobility, particularly those who have just undergone knee surgery.
Consult a physician about other options for restful, safe sleep. Some discover that using a knee pillow while you sleep might make it difficult to stay asleep when the pillow moves or that using the pillow over time makes you more reliant on it.
How to use a Side Sleeper Knee Pillow?
In order to spice up your position while sleeping, and have a more comfortable experience during sleep, you should use a knee pillow designed for side sleepers. Sleeping with a knee pillow for side sleepers is simple and effective. Here are steps on how to do it:
1. Pick the Right pillow
There are various knee pillows tailored for those who sleep on their sides available in the market, but to pick the perfect pillow is the real task. These come in different materials like memory foam, gel, and cotton filling among others. The pillow you choose should not only be comfortable but also provide adequate support for your legs and knees too.
2. Adjust the pillow
When lying on your side, put the pillow between your knees. Ensure that it is parallel to your knees but not hips (in line with your knees). To relieve any tension in the lower back area, position a pillow beneath your upper leg when sleeping on your side. This will help support your spine’s natural curve and the hips, knees, and torso alignment during sleep.
3. Modify the height
For ideal positioning, one should take into account their hip width when picking how high their pillow should be. If your hips are wider, you may need a thicker pillow to stay aligned properly. Experiment with various heights until you find the one that feels best for you.
4. Body pillow is Better
Instead of a knee pillow, consider using a body pillow if sleeping and hugging something brings you comfort. This way, both your knees and hips will have extra support and your upper body will be kept cozy by having something to hold on to.
5. Replace your Pillow
The spinal column, thigh bone, and pelvis are all related to a side sleeper knee pillow for hip pain. This is because it lessens tension and offers comfort and a better sleeping position for side sleepers, particularly those with osteoarthritis or scoliosis in this area. If you are a side sleeper and your legs are not properly supported during sleep, it can cause back pain. Thus, it is necessary to replace your pillow every 6-12 months.
How to Sleep with a Pillow Between Your Knees?
Here’s how to properly sleep with a pillow between your knees:
- Begin by laying on your side in a comfortable position.
- You can do this by placing a pillow in between your knees and keeping them slightly bent.
- Align the pillow so that it feels natural and supportive. Fill the space between your knees with the top leg but don’t lift it up too high.
- Make sure your hips are in stacked one above the other to keep the appropriate spinal alignment.
- Lying down delivers your choice, continue to be calm and drift away. The pillow between your knees will help keep your spine aligned and reduce pressure on your lower back, hips, and knees throughout the night.
Conclusion
In case you sleep on your side, getting a knee pillow could be a good idea. This pillow keeps your legs apart by fitting between your knees. Though simple in nature, this concept aids in lessening the agony and discomfort that keeps you up at night.
Using a knee pillow can help with blood flow, joint pressure relief, and supporting proper spinal alignment. Better health and a peaceful, revitalizing sleep are made possible by it.
The Eli & Elm cooling side sleeper pillow meets all requirements. It lets your knees relax by equally distributing strain over your thighs. By lessening the force that your hips exert on your lower back and spine, it also lessens lower back discomfort.
By keeping your lower legs parallel to your spine, our pillow helps you maintain proper body alignment. It eases tightness and tension in the muscles by increasing blood circulation.
