Is it okay to sleep on a hard bed?

This is the 3978th ​​article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

Every orthopedic doctor will hear patients with back pain ask during outpatient visits: Doctor, should I go back to sleep on a hard bed? There are also many doctors who are loyal fans of hard beds. They always remind every patient with back pain to go back to sleep on a hard bed. For a long time, a hard bed seems to be good for the waist, but many times, patients' waists hurt more after sleeping on a hard bed. Even patients who don't have back pain start to have back pain after sleeping on a hard bed. So should you sleep on a hard bed if you have a bad waist? Don't worry, I'll tell you right away.

As a rigorous doctor, I wanted to do an experiment. I spread a yoga mat on the floor and slept on it at night, thinking it was hard enough. But I was woken up by back pain at 4:52 the next morning. The pain was mainly in the erector spinae and psoas major muscles on both sides of the lumbar spine, which is the location of the spare ribs and tenderloin we usually eat. The pain felt like a muscle cramp. After waking up from the pain, I found that it was difficult for me to turn over. I massaged and tapped for about 5 minutes before I could sit up. Because of this experience, I realized that a hard bed is by no means a panacea for back pain.

First, let's look at a side view of the human spine. We can see that the human spine is naturally curved. The physiological curvature of the spine at the waist is forward, and the muscles of the waist and back are behind the lumbar arc. Sleeping on a hard bed is like forcing the already curved spine onto a flat surface.

We can imagine it as a bow. When sleeping on a hard bed, due to the effect of gravity, the muscles will be stretched like a bow string. It feels quite comfortable in the short term, but after a long time, the muscles can't stand it and spasm occurs, and then pain comes. We use bananas to simulate this physiological curvature. We can see what changes will occur when the weight is applied to the hard bed? Does it become straight? Although the ligament muscles behind the spine will not crack as easily as banana peels, they will also cause damage over time. Just like scarring when the skin is damaged, the muscles continue to become stiff during the process of damage and repair.

So everyone can't help but ask, since sleeping on a hard bed hurts the waist, what should we sleep on? What should we do if we only have a hard bed at home?

In fact, the key to solving the problem is to provide support for the waist. For example, adding a small sponge pillow to the waist can well support the lumbar spine and avoid strain on the waist muscles.

Alternatively, you can put a thicker blanket on the hard bed. While your back and hips are supported by the hard board, your waist can also be supported by the blanket.

The independent spring structure of the Simmons mattress can provide different parts of the body with support of different strengths, but a Simmons mattress that is too soft or too hard can still cause damage to the waist.

Exercise of the waist and back muscles is very meaningful for protecting the lumbar spine. It is recommended to try the classic little swallow flying movement. You will find that when you have a good waist, it will not hurt no matter what bed you sleep on, but if you have a bad waist, any bed will be uncomfortable.

Some people say that one third of a person's life is spent in bed, so choosing a good bed is very important. But two thirds of a person's life is spent out of bed, so it is also very important to develop a good sitting and standing posture, standing like a pine tree and sitting like a clock. With the increasing incidence of lumbar diseases, protecting the lumbar spine is an important task that none of us can take lightly. Please treat your lumbar spine well, because if you don't hurt it, it will hurt you. Thank you.

Author: Putuo Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Department of Orthopedics Yu Luchao Attending Physician