A Chiropractor Discusses the Best Travel Pillows

A Chiropractor Guides You to the Best Travel Pillows
Author: LisaTeeNYC

More and more airlines are pulling their pillows from their flights. Good riddance! In addition to the questions of hygiene and sanitation, those pillows were largely useless. Do yourself and your neck a favor and upgrade.

As a licensed chiropractor, I see many patients who return from traveling with all sorts of new ailments and re-injured old ones. Usually, the injury occurs during the flight, due to long periods of sitting uncomfortably. The right travel pillow will not only allow you to relax, which offers its own health benefits, but help prevent soreness or even injury.

During the day, the postural muscles in your neck are in contraction, to support your head. When you relax, your neck muscles relax with you.

When you are lying in bed, gravity helps keep your head and body aligned. When you are sitting upright, like in an airplane chair, gravity is working against you. Especially, if you are trying to relax.

The standard U-shape travel pillows lack support under the chin. This allows your head to fall forward when you start to relax. Standard U-shape travel neck pillows have padding in the back. This padding is largely unneeded since the high-back airline chair is there for support, much like your bed supports you when you are lying down. Making matters worse, this unnecessary padding pushes your head forward even further accentuating the lack of support in front.

Your head is now putting extra stress on your spine. Not only will you be uncomfortable and unable to rest, you'll likely end up tired, sore, and perhaps injured.

Picture your head and neck alignment when you are lying in bed. You naturally place yourself in neutral alignment, minimizing stress on your spine and neck postural muscles. This want to keep this neutral position when you are upright in an airline chair. Hanging your head forward or cocking it to one side is not only uncomfortable, but places great strain on your spine and neck postural muscles.

The best memory foam travel pillow is one that provides full support, including under the chin. This support helps you maintain proper alignment while sitting upright. Posture = comfort.

Maintaining proper alignment while traveling or sleeping upright is not only important with regards to personal comfort, but vital in reducing stress, soreness and preventing injury.

So don't be worried about cost cutting measures by the airline industry. View this as an opportunity to get a travel pillow that works.


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Dr. Kirsti Neely is a licensed chiropractor and owner of Marina Chiropractic in San Francisco. Dr. Neely is a design consultant for the Embrace Sleep Collar Travel Pillow. For more information, please visit: http://www.sleepcollar.com/

The Next Top 10 Travel Tips

The Next Top 10 Travel Tips

Lisa Teller

The Travel Doc

Earlier, I wrote my Top 10 Travel Tips.   I had a number of people offer suggestions, so I thought it was time to write the next Top 10 Travel Tips.

Hope these are helpful!

1.   This one is from a friend.  Pack with travel cubes - or any other type of bag within a bag. This helps keep clothes organized and when security rifles through everything, "things" won't go flying.

2.  Wear shoes that slip on and off easily to the airport - I like Dansko.

3.  Drink a glass of water every hour (when the water is safe).

4.  This one if from friend…and a little gross.  Put a little Vaseline in your nostrils and a just a little in the corners of your eyes - you get less dry.  I tried it and it works!

5.  When making decisions about activities, ask yourself how you’d feel 5 or 10 years from now about each decision.  Do I go to the museum or do the boat tour? Do I have a fancy dinner or go to a play?  Spend an extra day in Paris or see the countryside?  Lie at the beach or site see?

6.  This one is also from a friend.  He was in Cambodia after traveling for months.  There was a movie theater playing an American movie.  He fully enjoyed the movie and forgot where he was.  When he walked out he had a renewed appreciation for where he was and where he came from.

7.  It’s hard to enjoy yourself if you are tired or sore.  A quality memory foam travel pillow is a necessity. You’ll find yourself wearing it on planes, trains, and long car rides.  The best travel pillows. will provide full support for your head and neck.  Also, more and more airlines are no longer offering airline pillows.

8.  Bring a couple packs of Wet One’s or Handy Wipes.  They are useful for hygiene, comfort, and even make-up removal.

9.  Save a copy of your itinerary on the Internet.  Just email it to yourself.


10.  This one is from a friend.  If you find yourself trying to sleep and there is a mosquito in your room, ask the front desk for a fan.  Turns out, mosquito’s hate even a light breeze.

Happy travels!

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My Top 10 Travel Tips

Top 10 Quick & Easy Travel Tips


Travel can be fun. Travel can be exciting. Travel can also be a pain in the neck. Here are 10 quick and easy tips to make your travels better.

1. This is my favorite tip, so I put it first. If you are spontaneous with your travel or find yourself somewhere you are unfamiliar with, check out the postcards in the gift shops. That will give you a quick snapshot of local scenery and sites. I had an unplanned 3-hour layover in Milan a few years ago. When I checked out the post card rack, I learned that Di Vinci’s Last Supper was a short cab ride away. Much better than just killing time in a restaurant next to the train station.

2. If you don’t already have your ticket, make sure and check flight to/from surrounding airports. The smaller airports surrounding the major hubs can be more convenient and save you hundreds of dollars.

3. Always, always, always check the status of your flight before heading to the airport. Few things are worse then finding out your flight has been delayed or canceled after all the hassle of getting you and your luggage to the airport.

4. Arrive at airport early enough not to rush. That extra 30 minutes does wonders to lower your stress level.

5. Think ahead while packing. Do you really need 3 pairs of shoes and 3 pairs of pants? Figure out which shoes and clothes are multi-functional. Also, coordinating around one or two colors helps cut down on clothes.

6. If you’re flight is longer than an hour, do yourself a favor and get a travel neck pillow. A good quality memory foam travel pillow will get your trip started right. The best travel pillows have full support that keep your head and neck in proper alignment. Remember, posture = comfort.

7. Bring only one or two credit cards. If your wallet is lost or stolen, it won’t be such a hassle.

8. Drink Gatorade. Often the water in different countries has impurities that can make you sick. Sightseeing is surprisingly strenuous.

9. Best money saving tip. Take a moment to reflect on what travelers visit in your area. I can’t believe how many people in Southern California have never been to the Grand Canyon, for example.

10. If you do research on your travel online, don’t forget to glance at the reader’s comments. Often, you will find great insights.