I have the same problems and more. As you already noticed, this problem doesn't just go away over night, i visited many specialist and spoke to people that has this type of problems.
Sleeping without a pillow puts your body into a proper alignment. Yes, we were fooled be the pillow, lol.
I just checked my notes on the pillow and here's what they told me:
roll a towel up and put it under your neck, use a small towel, it must feel comfortable .
I can also suggest you to rub your legs and back with arnica oil or wintergreen regularly.
I too don't like taking pain meds and prefer natural remedies