How doctors match you up with the right pillow for you

Finding the right orthopedic pillow has become pretty confusing task these days - especially in a marketplace full of choices and a lot of hype pitching "one size fits most" solutions. Just ask your doctor and you'll learn that, from a health perspective, that's not quite the case.

Several factors are involved. Before a health professional makes a recommendation from among a selection of displacement and supportive style pillows, it's important to determine with the desired end benefit, to: Accommodate, Correct or Maintain the patient's condition and stage of care. These are the principles on which Core Products' TriCare: Circle of Health Pillow Selection Guide is based.

We've created a color-coded system to help health professionals and their patients identify which Core pillows are suitable for the patient's stage of care. Accommodation and correction represent two stages of a three-stage system of care. The third stage, maintenance, fulfills a circle of health.

The "circle" aspect of the TriCare system allows a person to enter at any stage. People manage their health care in different ways and may take different ways to address problems or maintain healthy necks and backs. The circular nature of the TriCare figure shows the three stages of care - accommodate, correct and maintain - and represents the continuous nature of good health.

You'll see the words Accommodate, Correct and Maintain - as well as their associated color symbols - wherever we talk about pillows throughout the web site. And you'll probably notice that - under proper direction - some are suitable for more than one stage of care. Please consult with your health professional to determine which pillow is right for you.

ACCOMODATE

Relieves pain or discomfort by conforming to and stabilizing a new or existing injury or condition . Provides comfort, but does little to correct the condition. Typically for short-term use.

When a neck injury or condition is acute (serious or to an intense degree, like whiplash or a significant sprain or strain), the doctor's goal is to relieve a patient's pain and discomfort before beginning treatment. What's needed is to stabilize and accommodate the condition before moving forward. The same is true for other neck injuries or at the onset of many common problems which affect the head and neck. Displacement pillows work well at this stage because they conform to the condition and provide immediate comfort.

CORRECT

Helps correct the cause of pain, supports treatment to regain proper function.

At this stage, orthopedic pillows are often prescribed to assist in correct the diagnosed condition and to help the patient regain proper function. Allows tissue to heal functionally. Prepares for the maintenance stage. Corrective pillows can help alleviate headaches, neck muscle and joint strains, arthritis and whiplash discomfort and help restore proper nerve function. Supportive pillows are used in this stage of care.

MAINTAIN

Complements care to help prevent recurrence/progression. Pillows selected for the Maintain Stage should ensure continued good health by helping preserve the natural curvature of the neck and spine. For ideal maintenance, the pillow should provide maximum support and comfort. In fact, most people discover that once the normal curvature of the neck is restored, they crave the comfort of maximum support - the reason supportive pillows have grown more popular. Supportive pillows are used in this stage of care.

We hope Core's TriCare: Circle of Health Pillow Selection Guide has been helpful and will serve you well, whether you are a patient talking with your health professional...or vice versa. Here's to your health!