Korean J Health Promot KJHP Korean Journal of Health Promotion 2234-2141 2093-5676 Korean Society for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention 10.15384/kjhp.2019.19.2.107 Original Article Comparison of Neck Pain, Shoulder Pain, and Comfort between Buckwheat and Latex Pillows Lee Ji-Soo 1 Lee Soo-Kyoung 2 College of Nursing, Daegu Health College, Daegu, Korea. College of Nursing, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea. Corresponding author: Soo-Kyoung Lee, PhD. College of Nursing, Keimyung University, 1095 Dalgubeol-daero, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42601, Korea. Tel: +82-53-580-3919, Fax: +82-53-580-3916, soo1005@kmu.ac.kr 06 2019 30 06 2019 19 2 107 113 13 02 2019 18 04 2019 03 06 2019 Copyright © 2019 Korean Society for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention 2019 Korean Society for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background

This study aimed to investigate differences in neck pain, shoulder pain, and comfort between buckwheat and latex pillows in elderly sanatorium residents.

 Methods

The crossover experimental study was performed with 30 elderly patients in a convalescent hospital for seniors. The buckwheat and latex pillows were used for 2 weeks, the 7 day was assigned as the washout between each one week intervention, respectively. Pre- and posttest visual analog scale (VAS) scores for neck and shoulder pains and the neck disability index (NDI) were investigated. Data were analyzed using paired-samples t test, and their correlations were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 21.0 (IBM Corp., New York, NY, USA).

 Results

After the 2-week intervention, results showed that the use of buckwheat pillows decreased the VAS scores for neck and shoulder pains and NDI. Further, the use of latex pillows decreased the VAS score for neck pain and NDI, but the VAS score for shoulder pain showed no statistically significant differences (t=1.887, P=0.069).

 Conclusion

In conclusion, using latex and buckwheat pillows is the best option for reducing neck pain. Between the buckwheat and latex pillows, the buckwheat pillow is a better option for decreasing neck and shoulder pains.

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Values are presented as mean±standard deviation or number (%).

 Comparison of changes in neck and shoulder pain according to filling of pillow (n=30)

Abbreviations: NDI, neck disability index; VAS, visual analog scales.

Values are presented as mean±standard deviation or number.

 Comparison of changes in comfort according to filling of pillow (n=30)

Abbreviation: VAS, visual analog scales.

Values are presented as mean±standard deviation or number.

 Correlation of neck pain, shoulder pain, and comfort (n=30)

Values are presented as r (P).

aP<0.01.

bP<0.005.