Experiences with side sleeping shoulder pain pillows

February 26, 2024 7:53 AM

Have any mefites out there tried the unnecessarily named Wife Pillow or the Medclin shoulder pillow system?

I'm looking into a way to stop waking up after side sleeping with my fingers numb, or my shoulder and/or elbow hurting.

Also, if you have the Wife Pillow, how did you choose between the different kinds?

posted by umbú to Health & Fitness (13 answers total)

Wow, thanks for this question. The Wife Pillow looks great and I may buy one, but not before I harass them multiple times by phone and chat about their stupid product name.
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:00 AM on February 26

I have a friend who says the Medcline changed his life. I've wanted to try one, but haven't had the money yet.
posted by Well I never at 8:09 AM on February 26

I figure the term "wife pillow" is a reference to the popular sort of cushion called a "husband pillow."
posted by 4th number at 8:54 AM on February 26

I recently looked into something similar, but instead I opted for a squishy mattress topper - instead of buying a customized pillow that has a hole for my arm, my mattress topper now squishes down to make the additional space for my arm, and that's been working for me.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:55 AM on February 26

I have this same pain often, and am happy to have the links, however inappropriately named. I may try one of these out!

(as terrible as the pillow name is, I kind of love the "Customize Husband" button in the upper right corner. If only.)

Just wanted to add that my pain and numbness were reduced more by seeing a good physical therapist to help strengthen my shoulder joint on both sides than by any changes to my bed/bedding. If a pillow doesn't cut it, I'd suggest maybe looking in that direction.
posted by invincible summer at 10:52 AM on February 26

I'm a side sleeper and I had very bad neck pain for a long time. Solved it by getting the two firmest (regular shaped) pillows I could find.
posted by Braeburn at 11:55 AM on February 26

I have the Medcline pillow and I love it. I’m a side sleeper with silent reflux, so the primary purpose of the pillow is to keep my torso inclined, but I noticed that my shoulders and back felt much better after a few nights.
Downsides: it’s HUGE, doesn’t look great on the bed, and makes it harder to cuddle with a partner in bed.
Bonus: the little bean-shaped insert is a great airplane pillow for long-haul flights. I squish it into a large Ziplock, suck out the air, and put it in my carry-on.
posted by third word on a random page at 12:24 PM on February 26

I had the medcline pillow system for my shoulder pain. For me, it sort of worked but the pillows (head, body, and small insert pillow) were really unwieldy and large. It’s like having an extra adult in the bed, space wise. I finally stopped using it because of the un-weildy-ness and switching from side to side was a process. I eventually gifted it away (except for the small insert pillow which I really love - but not for shoulder/pain reasons. It’s just a nice extra pillow to have.
posted by Sassyfras at 1:59 PM on February 26

I have a Coop cut out pillow which is a decent "budget" option ($90 vs $200+). I like that it's only as big as a regular pillow and allows for easy side-switching. It hasn't drastically improved my symptoms, but I do think it helps.

(Y'all are making me reconsider finding the $$$ for a Medcline though...)
posted by doift at 4:04 PM on February 26

I just recently bought a Medcline, to use up FSA money at the end of last year (it’s on FSAStore.com!). I’m liking it so far, although I echo Sassyfras’s comment about it being unwieldy to change sides. But it has helped a lot with neck pain from side sleeping, and I’ve tried a lot of other pillows. The first time I laid down on it, my neck and shoulders felt completely neutral and instantly relaxed. I would definitely recommend giving it a shot.
posted by bluloo at 9:22 PM on February 26

Side sleeper here who found - via this website - that buckwheat pillows are amazing. A bit weird at first but I'm absolutely sold on them and I don't get shoulder pain. Or neck pain. Or any pain.
posted by Thistledown at 6:22 AM on February 27

This is perhaps not the suggestion you specifically asked for, but if side-sleeping is causing you pain maybe just don't sleep on your side? Seems like a far simpler solution than an extremely specialized pillow.
posted by firefly5 at 5:22 PM on February 28

maybe just don't sleep on your side? Seems like a far simpler solution than an extremely specialized pillow.

Counter-argument that retraining one's self to sleep in a different way is actually quite difficult (I'm a side sleeper too, and not being able to sleep on my side for the 3 weeks I was in a full-leg cast after breaking my knee drove me utterly and totally batshit).

As to the question at hand - I ultimately did try one or two similar weird-shaped pillows like the ones you're investigating, and none of them did ever really suit - the weird shapes looked ungainly when I made my bed, I could never get pillowcases that looked right, and it made turning over in the middle of the night weird. I'm finding a combination of really firm pillow, plus a firm mattress with a squishy mattress topper, is doing the trick; the firm pillow supports my head, the firm mattress supports my back, and the mattress topper has just enough give to let the shoulder sink down to where it wants to go.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:05 PM on February 28