Make Your Own Lumbar Support Pillow - No Sew!

Back and neck pain are serious issues.  Posture significantly affects them both.  As our culture is changing we are spending more time sitting for our jobs and recreation.  A lumbar support can help you sit in good posture naturally without conscious effort. They are often recommended by doctors and physical therapists for people with low back pain and for prevention.  This pillow is modeled after the McKenzie Lumbar Roll. Robin McKenzie is a famous New Zealand physical therapist who established the Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy method of treating back and neck pain successfully used by physical therapists all over the world.

 

How it works:

 

Our back naturally has curves. When we slouch, it reverses these curves causing pressures on our intervertebral disks and straining our back and neck muscles in an abnormal way causing musculoskeletal pain.  Poor posture also affects your breathing, organ function and appearance as well.

 

A lumbar support pillow realigns the natural alignment of the low back known as the lumbar lordosis.  See how it affects the posture of the neck as well? 

Step 1 Gather your materials

You can make your own lumbar support pillow with items you probably have around the house! You can even personalize it to match your décor and personality. 

Materials:

You will need

1. A standard sized pillowcase

2. 2 elastic headbands – you can find these in the hair accessories section of most stores. The elastic ones will work best for this project. You will probably want both to be the same color

3. A bath towel you don’t need anymore

4. Masking tape

5. Ribbon- any medium/wide ribbon will do, preferably something strong and that the adhesive of the Velcro will stick to well

6. Scissors

7. Sticky back Velcro- I used a long strip so that the pillow is easily adjustable to several chairs

Comments

[ccorley1]

Thank you so much for these instructions! I needed one for my wheelchair and they can be very expensive. I love the easy to understand instructions!!

[ChrysN]

Great idea, and it looks nice too.