This is the one I landed on after trying half a dozen pillows from Amazon. It's not perfect but it's good for the price. It was good enough that I didn't want to try any more pillows, lol. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J2B8G8Z?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Let us know. If you feel short term relief, it might be worth keeping. Otherwise, probably junk.
I say this as a person who has one of those....somewhere. Didn't help me.
This is still my pillow after countless rejects:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09YCZKHRP/
Feels like sleeping on a soft sofa, and doesn't trigger my allodynia as much as any other pillow I've tried. It is a hard pillow by far. But that is a good thing for me.
Too many pillows that I've sunken into that end up making my head feel like it was a city sewer cap in the middle of a very busy street.
The middle part can be folded in to make a very high neck pillow. I don't normally use it like that, but it is a feature worth mentioning. Also yeah, there is no blue. That's photoshop to show you things. It is all gray.
Also helps with smell triggers. I rub a bit under my nose. But I also use nose filters at times.
These specifically:
https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Dust-Mask-Comfortable-Construction/dp/B082654JQY/
This is what I bought a few months ago and have been happy with it. I have C5-C7 fused so I also have a hard time with pillows. I went and tried about half a dozen from Amazon until I settled on this one.
The hardest thing is actually finding them on your body. I learned a bit from physical therapy, therapudic massage. And YouTube. There is also books about them. But once you find them you pretty much just massage them until they go away. I would get so excited when I would find one. They can be in the least expected places like your legs and I even had one in my head. This tool also helps so your fingers don’t get hurt.
Key thing, learn to recognize how a trigger point feels and look for them everywhere.
Knobble II
https://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Positive-Co-Knobble-Purple/dp/B00120Y47M
I’ve been super fortunate as a teacher that I have amazing ass insurance. I’ll continue to share any stretches or techniques they give me! Also, dry needles help a lot for the muscles. I recommend getting that at the chiropractor and getting a neck/shoulder heating pad. Weighted Heating Pad for Neck and Shoulders, Comfytemp 2.2lb Large Electric Heated Neck Shoulder Wrap for Pain Relief - 9 Heat Settings, 11 Auto-Off with Countdown, Stay on, Backlight - 19"x22" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RNBCH6K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_6BPVGZ0DMYE9GKXPFQ4R?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
This is the pillow I'm using - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J2B8G8Z?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
My neck is pretty wrecked so I need a firmer pillow to avoid severe neck pain (C5-C7 fused from the front and back). I've tried a bunch of different pillows and at least for me this pillow shape works the best. I think I tried and returned about 5-6 different pillows this year before I settled on this one.
I'm lucky in the fact that I can usually fall asleep within 5 minutes unless my pain is a 7/10 or higher. But I never feel rested so that part sucks... I sleep on my side as that tends to be the least painful position for me.
Not sure how helpful any of that is. I'm not a typical ON sufferer though, my ON is permanent nerve damage from my Chiari Malformation. I also fractured C5 on a trampoline when I was a teenager which snowballed into my neck issues/herniations/fusions.
This contour pillow was interesting but it limited my movement when sleeping and was a bit uncomfortable because of that. If you do not toss and turn like I do, it could be worth a try and it looks like they have a sale going. Contour Pillow
I also sleep with a pillow between my legs to help alleviate stress on my back. Just wanted to mention since you mentioned back pain. My regular pillows I use are these: Pillow
I love these little half moon pillows. Half Moon Pillow
I usually find them at CVS as a single though and they can come in a variety of softness. I like something that is firm with a little bit of give so it can lightly/gently cradle my head without aggravating my pain I get around my ears.
So when I sleep I usually sleep on my side with my arm over a pillow and then the half moon between my arm and my head.
I have tried a bunch of pillows and so far this has been the best for my pain. The only other one that came close was the ‘boyfriend’ pillow where it is like a candy cane shape and it offers a little more support in front of your face but I felt that was pushing my head back putting too much pressure on my skull.
This one has worked great for me: https://www.amazon.com/iReliev-Combination-Stimulator-Arthritis-Strength/dp/B011J79PNK/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=TENS%2FEMS&qid=1598359364&sr=8-4
I like it because it has different types of pulses, for both TENS and EMS. I haven't tried any others, so a cheaper one might be fine, I don't think spending any more would get you anything better though as this one actually feels better than the one I've used in the past at chiro/PT.