The Pillow Problem

I've alluded to a pillow problem, but never gave the full story. It is due now, especially because my current situation is becoming dire.

A month ago I went rampant on a Fall Cleaning kick. Since I've, well, never laundered my sleeping pillows, I thought they could use a good scrub. My online research told me that it was fine to throw pillows in the washer/drier, and that optionally one could put clean tennis balls in with the pillows on the dry cycle to fluff them back up.

Since it was optional and I didn't have clean tennis balls, I omitted that step. Big mistake. When I pulled my freshly laundered pillows out of the drier they were hopeless. Lumps upon lumps throughout the whole thing. I tried to add some tennis balls retroactively, but to no avail.

After sleeping on a lumpy pillow for a few nights, I decided it simply would not do. I bought some nice replacement pillows on my TJMaxx excursion. The first night or two of sleeping on these new fluffy pillows, I woke up with a stiff/sore neck and upper back, but I hoped that I would get used to it.

I haven't.

I have had a stiff/aching neck and upper back for the past 3 weeks at least all thanks to my fluffy pillows. Every bit of research I can find about choosing the perfect pillow tells me to determine what my sleep style is. Do I sleep on my stomach, back, side, or all three? Then it proceeds to give recommendations for stomach, back, and side, but nothing for the "all three" option (which happens to be what I chose).

If I had to pick one, I'd go with side. However, the clincher here is that each article says something different! Ex. If you are a side-sleeper get a soft pillow. If you are a side-sleeper get a firm pillow.

I thought about boycotting pillows all together, but decided that would probably only make my problem worse.

Help.