The problem is the curve, not the muscle

Your cervical spine is meant to hold a gentle C-shaped curve. Hours on a laptop, a phone or a steering wheel straighten it. Once it is straight, the muscles at the back of your neck have to work overtime to hold your head up - and that is where the tension, the headaches and the hump come from.

This is why stretching feels good for twenty minutes and then fades. You are loosening muscles that are being asked to do a curve's job.

What the AlignRest actually does

1. It lifts your neck into traction, not just under it. A normal pillow pushes up into your neck. The AlignRest ridge sits at your cervical apex and lets your head settle back and down - the exact direction of a cervical traction pull.
2. It is built around a curve, not a rectangle. Two zones: support under the curve, space under the skull. Your neck is encouraged back toward its natural shape instead of being held flat.
3. It is soft enough to actually finish the ten minutes. Hard foam presses into the cervical spine instead of easing it, which is why cheap stretchers pinch and get abandoned.

Two traction levels, one pillow

Curve S (18 degrees) - the gentler arc. First-timers, sensitive necks, daily maintenance.
Curve Z (26 degrees) - the deeper arc. A confirmed loss of cervical lordosis and long-standing desk posture.
Every pillow is flippable, so one unit carries both profiles. You are not locked into a choice.

The routine

Lie on your back on the floor, a mat, or a firm mattress. Neck over the ridge, head resting back. Eight to ten minutes, once a day.

Build slowly. Start at five minutes for the first week, then add a minute at a time. Your neck is being asked to do something it has not done in a while - give it the courtesy of a ramp.

This is a neck support, not a sleep pillow. It supports the back of your neck only; your head still rests on the floor. Sleeping on it all night is the wrong use.