Preliminary research results indicate that patients who are used to sleeping in the hammock have less back pain. Research contradicts the myth that the habit of sleeping in a hammock can harm the spine.
The results of research carried out by the orthopedic unit of the State University of Pará (Uepa) proved the opposite. Studies have shown that the prevalence of back pain is lower in patients who maintain the habit of sleeping in the hammock than in those who prefer beds. The preliminary results of this research were published in January of this year.
About 500 housewives from a district of Belém do Pará aged between 30 and 60 were accompanied by an orthopedic doctor. This is the profile in which reports of back pain are more frequent, according to the researchers. After the follow-up, they realized that women who slept in their beds reported more pain than housewives who spent the night in the hammock.
Patients who experienced pain when they slept in bed and moved to the hammock said that their condition improved significantly. “It helps demystify the idea that sleeping in a hammock is a bad thing. We have noticed that the opposite is true,” comments orthopedic surgeon Jean Klay Santos Machado, research coordinator.
According to him, part of this myth is amplified by the lack of studies on this custom so common in the North and Northeast regions. “We have a lot of information about the bed, but little is known about the impact of the hammock on health. The research, a partnership between Uepa and Porto Dias Hospital, was launched with the aim of providing answers to doubts raised within doctors’ offices themselves. “The scenario was that people were wondering about the connection between back pain and the hammock and the doctors didn’t have an answer,” he says.
In Fortaleza, 48-year-old Eliana Cynthia Batalha suffered from hip and shoulder pain caused by bursitis. Her discomfort increased even more when she slept in the bed. That’s when a doctor suggested swapping her bed for a hammock, in an effort to reduce discomfort, and it worked.
At first it was a difficult adjustment, especially having to spend the night apart from the husband, but the benefits of sleep added to the comfort. “The doctor said that I would feel less bad and that I would be more comfortable. And it was much better,” says Eliana, who had to adapt to the new routine.
According to her, one of the advantages is the ease of transport of the hammock. When traveling, she has no difficulty adapting. “In every place there is a fixing hook,” she says. This new lifestyle improved her health and reduced the use of anti-inflammatories to relieve bursitis pain. “I don’t want to know anything about the bed anymore!” (Romulo Costa)
Translated from Portuguese
Source: O Povo Newspaper