A Cookie Monster is better than no "helper" pillow.

“STOP SLEEPING ON YOUR STOMACH!”

That’s the advice I get from Dr. G, my chiropractor. The way I sleep—twisting, turning, arms flailing about, teddy bear flung half-way across the bed, neck contorted—isn’t good for my body. I know this to be true not just because Dr. G said so, but also because I’m sore when I wake up. The problem is that I find it difficult to convince my sleeping self to stay in perfect form all night long. My sleeping self wants to do what my sleeping self finds to be the most comfortable at any given point. Do you and your sleeping self have the same problem?

Fortunately, the guidelines of ache-free sleeping don’t have to be as rigid as a super firm mattress. There’s just one thing you need to bear in mind. I’ll call it The Rule of Sleep. The Rule is: Regardless of what position(s) you sleep in, do what you can to help your spine maintain its natural curve throughout your whole sleep cycle.

Combine the rule of sleep with a moderately firm mattress, a good neck pillow, and a “helper” body pillow, and you will feel less achey in the morning.

Here are some basic “helper” pillow tips:

If you’re primarily a back sleeper: Placing a “helper” pillow under your knees will help you maintain that natural curve in your lower back. You may add a little rolled towel around your waist (or directly under the small of your back) to have some extra support if it feels comfortable. Always make sure your neck is supported with a pillow, but don’t pile up pillows under your shoulders.

If you’re primarily a side sleeper: Enlist your “helper” pillow to rest between your knees. It will help open up your hips. I personally prefer to sleep with a body-length “helper” pillow because it’s like having an extra-squishy sleeping partner to rest my head on. If you sleep mostly on your side, avoid sleeping with your knees drawn completely to your chest.

If you’re primarily a stomach sleeper: You may get some criticism from your chiropractor for sleeping on your stomach because it can be hard on your neck and your back. However, you’re not out of luck if it’s your default sleep position. Place your “helper” pillow under your pelvis and lower abdominal area (your hips.) When it comes to using a neck pillow, use one that doesn’t feel like it’s causing your neck to strain too much. Look for a “stomach sleeper” pillow at stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond.

And that’s it! If you’re like me and you flop about, do your best to adjust your pillow placement accordingly. You may not be in perfect form all night, but you should feel a vast improvement in the way you feel when you wake up.

Insurance coverage is money in the bank.

In December 2008, the National Health Interview Survey showed that about 38 percent of American adults and around 12 percent of kids are treated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) of some sort. Kaiser says that at least 75 percent of adults have at least tried it. Some people receive treatments such as massage and acupuncture to complement their conventional medical care, while others rely solely on such therapies as alternative medicine .

Based on conversations I’ve had with my clients, I believe that a much larger percentage of the population would try—and regularly seek—alternative medical assistance and preventative care if insurance companies were willing to cover more of it.

The good news is that insurance companies are starting to see the light when it comes to covering CAM. Because consumers’ interest in CAM coverage has increased dramatically in recent years, insurance companies have started to offer coverage for treatments like chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture and sometimes even naturopathy and biofeedback.

You owe it to yourself to find out if your insurance plan covers massage therapy or other CAM treatments. At the risk of sounding like a Geico advertisement:  A few moments could save you lots of money on complementary and alternative medicine. Here’s how to do it…

Just look at the details of your insurance plan by scanning your insurer’s website, reading the handbook you were given, or calling a knowledgeable agent. If you find that a CAM treatment is covered, investigate what limits are in place. For example, find out if there is a cap on how many visits you can make to a chiropractor and decipher how much you can spend. Know that even if your plan doesn’t cover a treatment, it may offer a discount on certain CAM treatments.

If your insurer is riding with the times, congratulations! Here comes the tricky part. When it comes to actually getting things covered, you will need to:

1. Have a reason to go. Even if your insurance company does cover something, a caveat is that you probably won’t get it covered unless you have a legitimate medical reason to need treatment. Is your back giving you problems because you aggravated it at work? Could chiropractic care and massage therapy potentially prevent you from needing costly surgery in the future?
2. Find a doctor willing to refer you to an alternative practitioner. Your primary care physician may be willing to help you out.
3. Find an in-network provider that “counts” on paper. For example:  I, a massage therapist, can perform 30-minute massages covered and coded as “trigger point massage” under some insurance plans because I work for a chiropractor who works with many insurance-covered injury cases. However, if I were working for Massage Envy, chances are slim at this point (2009) that your insurance would cover a massage from me.
4. Run it all by your insurance provider before you jump on the table (massage, chiropractic, or otherwise.) Better safe than sorry.

If your insurer is still a bit behind the times, you aren’t necessarily doomed. Directly ask your insurer to give you reasons why a particular CAM treatment isn’t covered. A representative may mention something regarding lack of scientific evidence. Now’s your chance to shine: Visit this website and do some research of your own. You may be able to find sound evidence that a certain treatment is effective. If you do find that evidence, cite it and dispute a denied claim.

Even if your individual attempt doesn’t end up working in the short-term, your efforts will not have been in vain. When enough people bring complaints and supporting evidence to the table, insurers will begin to change their minds about what gets covered.

Take a stand and be part of a revolution!

From what I’ve read, Bob Hope got a massage every day of his professional life. The man lived to be over 100 years old! Wouldn’t it be great if we each had the money to hire a personal massage therapist? Maybe if that were the case the world would see less war. Maybe we’d hug out our problems the way our parents told us to when we got into fights with our siblings.

So the reality is that most of us don’t have money like Bob Hope and political leaders aren’t quite hugging out war-related issues. Yet another reality is that massage is now turning into less of a luxury and more of a necessity. More massage therapy options are giving people (such as struggling massage therapists and freelance writers) the chance to get a well-deserved, quality massage at a discount.

Here are four major ways to find a cheap massage no matter where you live:

1. Look Up Massage Therapy Schools – Just use a search engine to locate massage therapy schools in your city. Most massage therapy schools require their students to have a certain amount of hands-on hours at a student clinic. Massage therapy school websites will give you the information you need to determine the cost of a student massage. If the site itself does not give you this information, the school will definitely provide a phone number. Massage therapy schools often charge between $25 and $40 for a 50 to 60 minute long treatment. That’s less than a third of what you would pay for a massage at most spas. Schools are even cheaper than Massage Envy, plus you won’t have to worry about schools automatically taking money out of your bank account every month.

2. Visit a Chiropractor’s Office – If you can’t find a massage therapy school near where you live, visit Google once more to find local chiropractors. More and more, chiropractors are hiring massage therapists to provide an assortment of massage therapy modalities for patients. Chiropractors also generally charge much less than a spa would charge for a 50 to 60 minute massage. The office I currently work for has a sliding scale depending on the services a person chooses to receive from us, but our “Wellness Package” is very popular. With that package, $40 covers a single 53-55 minute massage or two 25-minute massages per month.

3. Find Cheap Seasonal Deals – This method will take a little bit of research on your part, but if you manage to snag a great deal you won’t regret the effort you put into it. When you look around at spas and hotels near you, you will find that, especially around special occasions like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, most places that offer massages will also offer cheap massage deals. A common discount is something along the lines of a “2-4-1 Romantic Getaway Massage”.

4. Travel Off-Season – If you’re only looking for a luxurious spa day at a discount, the best way to find a fancy cheap massage is to plan an off-season vacation to a place like Scottsdale, AZ where there are tons of luxurious day spas. In Scottsdale, this means: visit during the summer! It is sweltering hot between the months of May and September, and many spas have to offer cheap massage deals because most people don’t want to “vacation” in 112 degree weather. The weather really isn’t a big issue if you’re planning to spend most of your time getting pampered indoors anyway. Keep an open mind!

Tips/Warnings:

• When you visit a chiropractor’s office or massage therapy school for a cheap massage, don’t expect a bells-and-whistles treatment that involves aromatherapy, cucumber eye masks, chanting, and rain sticks. You may be able to find one, but if actually you do I’d like to hear about it.
• Avoid “cheap massage” places that are open until midnight. This also goes for “cheap massage” places where the therapists wear long fake nails and high heels.
• There is a chance that visiting a student clinic will mean that you get a less experienced therapist. This may occasionally mean that the quality of the massage is diminished, professional massage therapists also vary in quality. (Besides, you can simply opt to visit on a different day if you want to avoid getting the same therapist.) Let student therapists know if you have any health conditions so they can ask supervisors for assistance if necessary.