♪ Bob and Brad ♪
♪ The two most famous physical therapists ♪
♪ On the internet ♪
(clapping)
Hi folks, I'm Bob Shrupp, physical therapist.
- Brad Heineck, physical therapist.
- And we are the most famous physical therapists
on the internet.
- In our opinion, of course, Bob.
- Today, Brad, we're gonna talk about the best
sleeping position for back pain, neck pain, and sciatica.
These are tips from physical therapists.
That's what we are.
And by the way, if you stumbled upon our channel, welcome.
And if you are new to our channel,
please take a second to subscribe to us
because we provide videos on stay healthy, fit,
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Also, you're gonna wanna join us
on our social media channels because we are always
givin' something away, Brad, right?
- You better believe it, Bob.
- So, especially go to bobandbrad.com.
Go to giveaway section or go to Facebook.
It's always pinned at the top of the page.
We are, this week, giving away,
the Dozeology weighted blanket.
This thing weighs 15 pounds but it's great for anxiety.
- [Brad] Sure.
- And really calms you down, so.
Nothing else, you can't get out of bed
because it weighs you down, right?
So, you sleep longer. (Brad laughs)
- Yeah, get the freebee. - That's right.
Well, we're actually gonna bring Liz in here,
just a minute, just wait a minute.
- What about me?
- Yeah, you're gonna get kicked--
- Ah, no, I'm out. - No, well, you can
stay tuned.
You can stayed tuned because we're gonna have to do any
camera angles here. - Okay.
- So, when we're trying to establish
the best sleeping posture, Brad,
- we're looking at two main things.
One, we're trying to keep the back in a neutral posture.
- Neutral?
- Yes.
- Neutral.
You better do a little explaining here.
- Yeah, now if, Brad, if you're standing this way
- This way.
- And he's got good posture.
He's got a slight curve in here, a slight curve out here,
and a slight curve in here.
If he's in bad posture, he's kinda rounded out like this.
So, when he's sleeping, we wanna have him
in that same position, slight curve in,
slight curve out, slight curve in.
So, as we're going through the different positions,
we'll mention this.
- Lots of curves, Bob.
- Yup, lots of curves.
- Okay.
- And the other thing we wanna make sure is
that joints are not at their end range.
- Sure.
- So, like if your neck si all the way to the,
rotated to the right, - Right.
- it is at end range.
That's not gonna be comfortable.
If you're arm is curled up like this all night long,
it's not gonna be comfortable.
- If you lay on your stomach and your arms are up
above your head and underneath like that,
shoulders are gonna have problems.
- Excellent point, Brad.
- Say no more.
- Okay, we're gonna bring in Liz, our camera woman,
for a number of reasons.
One, Liz is a lot better looking as a model,
but, two, we wanna mention Liz's channel with Alex.
- Oh, say no more, Bob.
- We gotta a sign for that, too.
- [Brad] I'm glad you mention it.
I kinda like the colors. - There we go.
- I think Liz picked those colors.
- Gotta check it out.
It's a funny channel.
They go on family, the family product channel, right?
- Right.
- So, check it out (Liz cheers)
and we'll have a link down below, so.
- We didn't mike Liz up so she's kinda like a mute.
- Yeah, that's right.
All right, we're gonna start off with Liz on your back.
So, the first you can see here,
when you're on your back and you're trying to get
that spine kinda level out here,
you don't wanna have two pillows,
or event too thick of a pillow.
- Right, it puts that head in
that forward flex posture and that neck.
Then there's problems. - In there.
And look at that.
Does that look comfortable?
I would say not.
- Well, some people may do this to watch the TV on the wall
or to read a book or look at your tablet, cell phone.
- And that's highly not acceptable.
- Right, it's not acceptable. - So, really, actually
a thin pillow, if you're gonna be on your back.
And then, we're gonna go along.
We're trying to get that little bit of a curve,
especially if you're having back pain
in your low back. - Yeah.
- So, in order to establish that,
there's a number of things we can do.
Boy, I got stuff here, don't I, Brad?
- Oh, Bob, you got all kinds of gadgets.
- Why don't you sit up just for a second Liz?
You can actually take a rolled sheet.
- [Brad] That's what we have here.
- And, yup, and tie it around her.
- [Brad] Here, can you grab that, Liz?
There you go. Lie, you can go 'round ten
times on Liz here.
(Bob laughs) - Yeah, well, yup.
There you go.
So, that's gonna supply that lumbar support
where that natural curve is just above the belt line.
- Right, why don't you go ahead and lay back down, Liz?
We're gonna be a lot up and down here.
But, so now you can see that curve has been established.
So, - You can feel that
support there, right, Liz?
Now, I don't wanna me, we shouldn't get into this,
but I know with the right kind of mattress,
that can also do this as well.
- That's right.
The SleepOvation mattress - Which
- We're gonna mention here.
The other thing, there is a sleep roll
you can buy from McKenzie, and this just ties around here.
And you're gonna see that it actually
comes in handy also when you lay on your side,
but we'll mention that, right.
Oh, you can leave that on right there.
- Often time, you know, I'll use these with people
with sciatica for sleeping, the sleep roll.
But, you know, this is something, an option.
It's not quite as nice as these, but it's much cheaper.
It's right there. - Okay, Liz, we're gonna
have you lay down again, up and down, up and down.
All right, the next thing is, right now the hips
are kind of extended, aren't they?
They're at end range.
- [Brad] Well, that's pushin' it Bob.
- It is but to be honest, with a lot of people,
especially if they have tight hip flexors,
the tight hip flexors are gonna attach to the pelvis
and they're gonna pull your back like this.
- [Brad] Exact, so we get that
anterior - Tilt.
- pelvic tilt, puts a little stress on things.
- Right, it's not comfortable.
So, I think you'd find most people,
people find that they are more comfortable
with a couple pillows underneath the legs.
So, yes, you're gonna have to invest in pillows,
(Brad laughs)
but it's a good investment,
especially if you're having back pain.
I think a lot of people find this to be
a very comfortable position with back pain.
- Are you comfortable? - There you go.
Do you wanna fall asleep, Liz?
Yes.
- All right, a different device, for if you wanted
to purchase something and we are big fans of this.
Brad, you're especially a big fan of this.
- [Brad] Oh yeah, I use these on probably 90%
of my back patients while they're getting
a cold pack on their in the clinic.
I keep one next to my bed, through, when I need it.
- Yeah, this is the pillow wedge.
Is that right?
Yeah, that's what it's called.
No, leg wedge. - Leg, leg wedge, yes.
- And they're not, what they're like 25 bucks
or something like that?
- [Brad] Right, you get 'em online.
They ship 'em right to your house.
- I know some people would ask, how much,
how high they are. - Yes.
- I don't think that really matters to someone--
- Well, you know, I think it's eight inches.
I should have my measuring stick here for that, but I--
- My hand is eight inches long, look at that.
It's eight inches. - There you go.
This right here angle is a key thing with this
that separates it from the pillows.
- Sure, it does.
For some reason, this feels really good to get
constant contact all the way along the leg.
- [Brad] Do you agree, Liz?
- Yeah. - Well, what else is
she gonna say? - Yeah, I know.
(Brad laughs) She can go like this.
She can go that is so. - Well, course.
- All right, so that covers on the side.
You know, one thing, Brad, do we wanna mention,
there's that other wedge that may be--
- [Brad] Oh, the wedge?
- Yeah, you'd have to find it, right?
- [Brad] Well, it's right on the other side
of our curtain. - Okay, I'll do the side one.
And you can go look for that.
- Yeah, I'll be right back. - Now, we're gonna have
Liz lay on her side.
She's gonna roll towards me.
This immediately shows you why this
works out well for this, on the side lying,
'cause normally as she lays on her side,
the back is gonna sag down a little bit.
And this actually helps maintain that curve,
now, even when she's on her side.
So, it serves a dual purpose, basically.
Now, when she's on her side,
this is a case where you may
actually wanna have two pillows
or double up your pillow - Sure.
- because this is a wider gap here, you know?
- You gotta make up for that shoulder.
- We don't want you this way, we don't want you this way.
We want you right in the middle.
You actually don't look too bad right there, Liz, with that.
So, I would probably not make any change to that right now.
- [Brad] And we don't wanna mess up her hairdo,
'cause I really like it today.
(Liz laughs)
- All right, today?
You mean you didn't like it the other days?
- [Brad] Well, this is different.
- Oh Liz, Liz, Liz.
- [Brad] Don't put me in a position like that.
I've been married. - Okay.
The other thing is if you don't have a pillow
between the leg, what happens is that you're actually
putting a little twist on the back.
You know, the pelvis is comin' over.
- Yeah, pelvis.
Especially if this knee goes forward like that,
then we get a little rotation.
- Right, so it's good to actually put
a pillow between the legs and,
(Brad laughs)
What are you laughing at?
- More pillows.
- Yeah, that's right.
It's really not that many, though.
- No, but it's true, it makes a big difference.
- If you get by with three.
So, this is a very comfortable position.
You know, you may even wanna go this way
so that it gets between the ankles, too.
- Well, she doesn't sleep, do you sleep with your shoes on?
- [Liz] No.
- Now, she says no. - I was right.
- Okay, one other thing I was gonna mention
for the neck, Brad,
- Okay.
Oh, yeah. - and I haven't used
this too much but I've used it a couple of times.
You can actually take a pillowcase and you fold it in half,
lengthwise, and you fold it again, lengthwise.
- [Brad] You could use a towel, if you wanted.
- And you could use a towel.
But this actually works pretty well.
And you go around like this and you pin it,
and it just gives you a little support.
It prevents you from
doing this, - Right.
- and this.
- So, it kind of keeps you in line.
- Sure.
- So, you can do that and you can have it on
laying on your back or laying on your side.
- And, you know, that's one of those things,
if someone has a neck problem, we'll do that.
It's kinda like a, it reminds me--
- Like a collar. - Right.
- It's like a neck collar.
It's more of reminder 'cause it's a very soft collar, so.
- Right, keep your, so you can get your pillow
in the right position, et cetera.
- While we're in this position, Brad,
before we get right back to that,
I'm gonna show one other sciatica position
that works out really well. - Oh, yes.
- So, let's say Liz is having sciatica pain
down the leg, this left leg.
What you wanna do is lay on the side
so that the painful leg is up.
- Okay.
- So, this is the painful leg.
And what we're gonna do is actually you take
just one pillow and put it under the ankle and generally,
a lot of times, is what it takes is two pillows.
- Mkay.
- But you take two pillows, give it a try like this.
And it just, by angling the legs this way,
you're opening the back a little bit.
And I've seen, quite often, you've seen this too,
haven't you Brad? - Yup, yeah.
- Where it actually takes away the pain
and they're able to sleep.
- And you'll know it.
You just try it, it's gonna work right.
It's gonna say, oh, that feels better, then use it.
If it doesn't make it feel better, don't.
- Right.
So, we're gonna swing back to go
and havin' her on her back. - Yes.
- Before we do that, though,
I'm gonna mention one last thing.
What about on the stomach? - Ah, yes.
- Basically, we'll telling you to avoid that
as much as possible.
Your neck is rotated one way or the other.
I don't mind if you're there for a short period of time,
but I would try not to sleep all night like that.
Your back is extended and there's compression
on your chest and the organs and then it's all.
- There's always comments people that habitually
sleep on their stomach and I guess they've adapted to it.
They're healthy and viable enough to do that.
- I see a lot of people that get headaches
on a continuous basis because they sleep on their back.
But that's just my observation.
(Brad laughs)
Okay, Liz, we're gonna have you go back on your back.
And then we're gonna take the--
- [Brad] Wedge.
- The wedge.
- Not the leg wedge, just the wedge.
- It's just called the wedge?
- [Brad] Yup, I believe that, sleeping wedge, or.
- So, what's nice about this,
I'm gonna have you come up a little bit further, Liz,
so I, yeah, there we go.
See now, she's in pretty decent position here.
So, if she was going to read a book or watch TV,
it's just a lot more acceptable to me.
- [Brad] And also, if some people have a breathing problem
or they need to be elevated for their lungs,
this is a nice option.
- One final thing, we'll mention
the contour pillow here, Brad.
- [Brad] Yeah, because a lot of people ask,
is this a viable option?
Is it gonna be helpful?
- It is, but I'm telling you, it's really hard
to find one that fits you just right.
You know, I mean, you may have to order a few before,
- Right, your daughter had done that, right?
- My daughter ordered one.
It didn't work.
The second one she loved.
So, I mean it really did the job,
so it's a tough call for me because unless
you're going into a store or something, it's,
- Where you can try it.
But, they're typically memory foam.
They have this so that it does
support the neck. - Support the neck.
- And it's the, the design.
Oh, I'm talking to you.
The design is really quite nice.
- Speaking of which, Brad, we only have
about 20 seconds left. - [Brad] Oh, wow.
- So, Brad and I can fix just about anything.
- Except for?
- A broken heart.
- Right.
Maybe Liz can help.
- Yeah, there we go.
- We did never did ask
a woman on this yet. - That's right.
(Liz laughs)
We've broken some women's hearts.
(Brad laughs)
Thanks a lot.
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