In the first stage of treatment (up to 48 hours from the onset of pain), the pillow should be cooled down in order to apply dry cold on the affected area for about 40 minutes. Cold therapy, in fact, helps reduce swelling, inflammation and pain. It must be stressed, however, that at this stage the Mysa pillow allows its users to reap the benefits of not only cold therapy, but of acupressure too. The latter prompts the nerve endings in the skin to send pain signals to the brain, which responds by releasing endorphins, thereby blocking the perception of pain.

Cold therapy is especially recommended when pain is acute and severe, when it is caused by inflammation or in case of sprains or bruising.

In the next stage of treatment, however, it is advisable to switch to heat therapy (by warming the pillow up). Heat relaxes local muscles, usually quite stiff, and relieves pain. Its muscle-relaxing properties are particularly beneficial to the sternocleidomastoids (the muscles running along the sides of the neck) and the upper trapezius (the muscle covering the back of the neck). At this stage too, heat works in tandem with acupressure to provide a stronger analgesic action. Heat, in fact, helps the pillow’s microtips stimulate the brain to secrete beta-endorphins, our body’s natural painkillers. Lastly, the addition of magnet therapy will help re-polarize and regenerate our cells’ membranes and, by improving enzyme kinetics, will quickly restore the homeostatic equilibrium.