Therapeutic pillow

Abstract

A therapeutic pillow includes a combination neck and head support pillow designed to support a neutral anatomical position. The pillow includes a fabric cover surrounding soft fill and defines an outer periphery with a lower edge opposite an upper edge, into a side edges therebetween. A slit extends from a midpoint of the upper edge in parallel to the side edges toward the middle of the pillow and has a length of between about ½ to ⅔ of the length of the pillow. The slit defines two identical upper sections in the pillow whose facing edges are positioned adjacent one another, wherein a user may position his or her head in the slit with a lower section of the pillow supporting the user's neck.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A therapeutic pillow, comprising:
 a fabric cover surrounding soft fill and defining a generally rectangular outer periphery with a lower edge opposite an upper edge and defining a length of the pillow, and two side edges therebetween and defining a width of the pillow, wherein the pillow further has a slit extending from a midpoint of the upper edge in parallel to the side edges toward the middle of the pillow that has a length of between about ½ to ⅔ of the length of the pillow, the slit defining two identical upper sections in the pillow whose facing edges are positioned adjacent one another, wherein a user may position his or her head in the slit with a lower section of the pillow supporting the user's neck.   
     
     
         2 . The pillow of  claim 1 , wherein the lower section extends from the lower edge to the two upper sections and is separated from the two upper sections by a seam extending the full width of the pillow. 
     
     
         3 . The pillow of  claim 1 , further including at least two straps extending from either the upper corners or the lower corners of the rectangular outer periphery having a length sufficient to extend around the user's head. 
     
     
         4 . The pillow of  claim 3 , wherein there are four straps extending from all four corners of the rectangular outer periphery. 
     
     
         5 . A therapeutic pillow, comprising:
 a fabric cover surrounding soft fill and defining an outer periphery with a lower edge opposite an upper edge and defining a length of the pillow, and two side edges therebetween and defining a width of the pillow, wherein the pillow further has a slit extending from a midpoint of the upper edge in parallel to the side edges toward the middle of the pillow that has a length of between about ½ to ⅔ of the length of the pillow, the slit defining two identical upper sections in the pillow whose facing edges are positioned adjacent one another, wherein a user may position his or her head in the slit with a lower section of the pillow supporting the user's neck.   
     
     
         6 . The pillow of  claim 5 , wherein the lower section extends from the lower edge to the two upper sections and is separated from the two upper sections by a seam extending the full width of the pillow. 
     
     
         7 . The pillow of  claim 5 , further including at least two straps extending from either the upper corners or the lower corners of the outer periphery having a length sufficient to extend around the user's head. 
     
     
         8 . The pillow of  claim 7 , wherein there are four straps extending from all four corners of the outer periphery. 
     
     
         9 . The pillow of  claim 5 , wherein the lower edge extends parallel to the upper edge. 
     
     
         10 . The pillow of  claim 5 , wherein the lower edge forms a curve having an apex at a midpoint generally aligned with the slit and curving in an upward direction to the side edges. 
     
     
         11 . The pillow of  claim 10 , wherein the distance from the apex of the lower edge to the slit is between about ⅓ to ½ of the length of the pillow. 
     
     
         12 . The pillow of  claim 11 , wherein the distance from the apex of the lower edge to the slit is about ½ the length of the pillow, and the length of the slit is about ½ the length of the pillow.