MedCline Reflux Relief System (Wedge & Body Pillow, Medium) review

You get three foam pieces: a wedge with an arm pocket, an insert pillow for head support, and a long body pillow, all in removable, washable cases^[1]. The wedge raises your whole torso at 15 to 20 degrees, not just your head. MedCline sizes it by height: Small for 5′4″ and under, Medium for 5′5″ to 5′11″, and Large for 6′0″ and up^[1].

• Small: wedge 6 in tall, 27 in wide, 29 in long; body pillow 5 × 18 × 45 in.
• Medium: wedge 7 in tall, 30 in wide, 32 in long (about 18 × 76 × 81 cm); body pillow 6 × 22 × 50 in.
• Large: wedge 8 in tall, 30 in wide, 35 in long; body pillow 6 × 22 × 50 in^[1].

The Medium, the size we list, weighs 19 pounds (8.6 kg) as a system^[2]. That's heavy for bedding, and Sleep Foundation notes that heavier wedges are more likely to stay in place^[3]. You can't buy the wedge alone. MedCline says it found the wedge less effective and less comfortable without the body pillow^[4].

The wedge has a dense core of high-resilience foam, conventional foam around the edges for support, and a top comfort layer of gel-infused memory foam. The insert and the body pillow are filled with shredded memory foam. MedCline says all of it is latex-free and certified by CertiPUR-US^[4].

You lie on your side up the slope, with your down-side arm through the pocket at the top of the wedge, your head on the insert, and the body pillow between your knees. The pocket is symmetrical, so it works on either side. MedCline says to pull the body pillow between your knees or thighs to take pressure off your lower back, and to run its long end in front of you or behind you. Because it's filled with shredded foam, you can push the fill around to support your head and neck^[4].

The arm pocket is the feature that sets it apart. On a plain wedge, your down-side shoulder carries your upper-body weight on the slope, and side lying already raises pressure on the rotator cuff compared with lying on your back^[5]. Letting that arm drop into a pocket moves it out from under you. MedCline says the pocket reduces pressure on your shoulder and anchors you so you don't slide down the wedge^[1]. No independent study has measured shoulder pressure or sliding on it, so treat both as design intent.

It holds you on your side better than a plain wedge, but not all night. In the 2015 trial described below, volunteers assigned to the left side stayed there for 83% of the first two hours and 61% of the six-hour test. Those assigned to the right side managed 72% and 53%. People on a standard wedge or a flat bed spent more time on their backs than on either side^[6].

If shoulder pain is your main problem and reflux is only occasional, MedCline's Shoulder Relief System uses the same arm pocket on a lower, 10-degree wedge^[7]. MedCline recommends the Reflux Relief System if you have both^[4]. Our shoulder pain guide covers other setups.

The key study is a small trial in healthy volunteers, funded by MedCline's maker. It found far less acid exposure lying on the left side on the MedCline than on a plain wedge, lying flat, or lying on the right side. Twenty healthy volunteers each had four six-hour pH-impedance tests at home. Before each test they ate a standard high-fat meal, then lay down in a randomly assigned setup: the device on the left side, the device on the right side, a standard wedge in any position, or flat in any position^[8,6].

Acid exposure averaged 0.46% of the time on the left side on the device, against 3.59% on the wedge, 3.46% lying flat and 4.59% on the right side on the device^[6]. MedCline's headline claim of 87% less acid exposure than a bed wedge matches the gap between the first two figures^[1]. Note the last one: lying on your right side on the MedCline was the worst result of all. The incline alone didn't help on the right side. The benefit showed up only on the left side.

The study was supported by an industry grant from Amenity Health, which makes MedCline, and one author was an Amenity Health employee^[6]. A second study, from Cleveland Clinic, followed 27 patients who still had night-time heartburn and regurgitation despite acid-suppressing medicine. After two weeks of sleeping on the device for at least six hours a night, their night-time symptom score fell from a mean of 57.7 to 18.2, and 91% were still using it nightly three months later^[9]. There was no comparison group, and Amenity Health supplied the devices^[10]. MedCline's research page also lists conference abstracts on silent reflux, reflux in pregnancy and night-time regurgitation after esophagectomy^[11].

Independent research supports the idea behind it. The American College of Gastroenterology's 2022 guideline cites both MedCline studies among the evidence for advising patients to avoid sleeping right side down^[12]. In 57 patients monitored overnight in Amsterdam, median acid exposure was 0.0% on the left side against 1.2% on the right^[13]. In a sham-controlled trial of 100 patients, a wearable that buzzed when people lay on their right side gave 44% treatment success against 24% with the sham^[14]. So left-side sleeping has solid backing. The evidence for this specific product is small, short and maker-linked.

Sleep Foundation names a MedCline system its Best for Acid Reflux in both its wedge and pregnancy pillow guides, but its write-ups appear to describe the Shoulder Relief System. The wedge guide gives it a test lab score of 7.7 out of 10 and rates its firmness as medium. It describes a wedge that raises your head 10 degrees, with an underside cutout for your bed-facing arm, and gives the wedge as 34 inches long, 30 inches wide and 6 inches thick^[3]. Those figures match MedCline's Large Shoulder Relief System, not the Reflux Relief System's 15 to 20 degree wedge^[7,1]. The pregnancy guide's entry refers to the Shoulder Relief System by name^[15].

Read those awards as a vote for the arm-pocket design and body pillow, which both systems share, rather than a test of the reflux incline. We found no other hands-on editorial test of the Reflux Relief System.

Plan on weeks, not nights, to get used to it, and skip it if your back or hips can't tolerate side lying on an incline. MedCline says most customers need up to 30 days to adjust to the position^[4]. Its Amazon listing suggests using it for at least a month, and says many customers feel most comfortable after 2 to 4 weeks^[2]. MedCline also offers free one-on-one help from its sleep specialists while you adjust^[16].

MedCline itself says the system isn't recommended for lower back or hip injuries. It lists herniated, compounded or bulging discs, fused vertebrae, scoliosis, lumbar damage, arthritic hips, hip bursitis and hip injuries as conditions that often make the angle hard to tolerate^[4]. The product page adds that you shouldn't use it if you have a history of heart disease or are substantially overweight, that it isn't for infants or children, and that you should stop if it causes pain or doesn't help^[1].

The same page tells snorers to see a doctor to check for sleep apnea if they also have daytime sleepiness, pauses in breathing that a bed partner notices, or wake up short of breath, choking or gagging^[1]. And if you have reflux most nights, get it assessed. The ACG lists trouble swallowing, weight loss, bleeding, vomiting and anemia as alarm symptoms that call for prompt endoscopy^[12]. A wedge eases night-time symptoms. It doesn't diagnose or treat what's behind them.

MedCline lists gestational reflux among its uses^[1]. For heartburn in pregnancy, the NHS suggests propping up your head and shoulders and says lying on your left side can help^[17]. Check with your midwife or doctor first if you have back or pelvic pain.

It takes half of a queen bed, so a partner keeps their side but loses any spare room. MedCline says the 30-inch width is needed for stability, to fit the body pillow, and to let you turn over^[4]. A queen is 60 inches wide^[18], so on a full or a crowded queen it will feel big. You can switch sides during the night, since the pocket works both ways, though MedCline recommends the left side for reflux^[1].

Heat is a fair concern. You're lying in foam on one side and hugging foam on the other. The wedge's top layer is gel-infused memory foam, and the pre-installed cases are an 80/20 cotton and polyester blend, commonly called velour^[4]. We score its cooling 6 out of 10. If you sleep hot, use light bedding and keep the room cool.

All three cases are removable and washable, and MedCline sells extra sets so you have spares on wash day^[1,4]. The foam arrives compressed and can smell at first. MedCline says the odor is harmless and usually fades within a few days, and suggests washing the cases and airing the foam, outside in the shade if you can^[4].

Bought directly from MedCline, it comes with a 60-night guarantee, but you have to keep it at least 30 nights before you can start a return^[4]. You then have up to 60 days from delivery to ask for a return. The refund is the price you paid minus a return fee per system, and the original shipping isn't refunded. Returned systems can't be reused, so they go to a recycling center^[16]. Those are MedCline's own terms. If you buy on Amazon, check the return window at checkout.

The warranty runs one year against defects in materials and workmanship. It excludes normal wear and tear and is void if you ignore the weight restrictions. It doesn't cover systems bought from unauthorized third-party sellers, and if you didn't buy directly from MedCline you'll need proof of purchase^[19]. Buy from MedCline or an authorized seller and keep the receipt.

Buy the MedCline if you have night-time reflux, sleep on your side, and a plain wedge hasn't worked for you. A plain wedge like the Kölbs 7.5″ costs far less and leaves more of the bed free, but it has no arm pocket and nothing to keep you on your side. In the MedCline trial, the standard wedge averaged about the same acid exposure as lying flat^[6].

Body pillows such as the Coop Adjustable or Snuggle-Pedic can hold you on your side, but they don't raise your torso. You could pair a plain wedge with a body pillow yourself, but that combination hasn't been tested, and your down-side shoulder still has no pocket. See our side and back sleeper guide for more on staying off your back.

Skip it if you sleep mostly on your back, you have any of the spine or hip conditions MedCline lists, you have a history of heart disease or are substantially overweight, you share a small bed, or you want to test whether raising your upper body helps before spending this much.