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Howdy. Just wanted I throw it out there for discussion. I've been reading a post from an AT hiker who has been on the trail for over 6 months now, hammocking most of the time. His last post said that he thinks that perhaps his hammocking may be contributing to curving of his spine (what ever he meant by that)
Get Olddog in here, he is a full-timer, 365 days a year. I'm sure if there were any adverse effects, he'd know!
Imagine what sleeping on the ground is gonna do to his spine!
I'm a former full timer (for a little less than a year) and while I don't have any scientific/medical facts I do think that I have issues that are not caused by the hammock but are not averted due to the use of a hammock. Let me explain...
I have scoliosis and a bad back (from injuries) but sleeping in the hammock gave me a good nights sleep and a fairly pain free morning. I dove into the hammock thing because it was so good on my back and so comfortable in general. I believe (remember that this is just personal opinion) that the reason hammocks are so good for so many people's backs is because it doesn't cause muscle pain, which is what most folks have a problem with.
Fast forward through about a year of full time hammocking to February of this year. I had a very painful bulging disc in my back that is in an area that I have had issues (but no pain until Feb) with for many years and is probably completely due to my scoliosis but was brought on by lack of stretches/exercise and sub-optimal posture. This is where I think the hammock didn't help even as much as a bed would... it couldn't give me the structural support and manipulation to help recover my bad disc. I eventually started sleeping on the floor and after a couple of months of severe pain it started to get better.
When I finally started sleeping in my hammock again it took less than a week for me to start feeling the disc bulge again. That's when I formulated my hypothesis and have been sleeping on the floor (on a thin pad... but I'm actually comfortable... who knew) ever since.
Like I said, I have no proof other than a bulging disc from a curved spine that seems to get worse when I sleep in a hammock. Fortunately I can still do a few days here and there in the hammock.
I guess to summarize my long winded post: I think that the hammock is good if you have muscular pain but might not be helpful if you have skeletal/structural problems. Whether the hammock causes the problem or not, I really don't know (my guess is that a hammock wouldn't cause a problem but if a problem is already there then at times a hammock might not be a solution and could potentially make the problem worse).
Dave
I sit in a chair a lot at work and in my car, I hope it doesn't contribute to the curvature of my hips or knees :D
Or, many people walk on their feet, yet, many of them still have arches in their feet :rolleyes:
Just having some fun here.
He may not be laying in a hammock correctly.
Seen many folks laying like a banana(in a curve). Laying on the bias is what makes the hammy so comfortable.
Edit: Dave, this was not directed towards you. We both ended up posting at the same time and you beat me by a few seconds.
Almost 2.5 years fulltimeing and no problems whatsoever. I do sleep on the diagonal but on the back or left side and recently even on the right some. Spent a few nights this summer both going to and coming from Maine in an RV. High dollar memory foam mattress and I was almost crippled every morning. Spent 2 .5 months in the hammock behind the RV thru the summer and all was well. Unfortunately there are a number of hammock hangers out there that haven't found the Forum and the wealth of information here.
I have a bad back, several spine related issues.
Nerve damage, discs deteriorated, compression...blah blah blah, meds, surgery, yada yada yada.
Full time since April and loving it.
Back pain definitely less.
Lying (slightly) diagonally in a gathered-end hammock may reduce the curve, but it is still a long way from 'flat' (flat=lying on the floor), as has been discussed a lot in other threads.Quote:
Originally Posted by Floridahanger
Hundreds of pics here demonstrate this - I've seen way more 'knees and feet in the air' pics than I needed!:D
We're lying on a stretchy bed, and most of our weight is in the middle of our bodies, so the curve is the result.
Even in my 'true diagonal suspension' hammock (Exped Ergo) with a fully inflated pad in the pocket, I'm sleeping in a curve. It is comfy!:D
I'm lucky - I can get a decent nights sleep in a bed (firm mattress), hammock (Ergo) or on a (thick) pad on the ground.
As a general rule, I doubt hammock sleeping is problematic but there are always exceptions.
I've been in a hammock full time for over three years and my back thanks me for it every day.
Not sure why your pointing this out since I didn't say anything about 'flat' or even flatlike.Quote:
Originally Posted by VictoriaGuy
I did mention, however, that lying in the hammock that gives the "banana look" is also giving the body a curve in the hammock, eluding that the "pronounced" curve may not be the best for the body and for comfort.
Some like a very hard surface, floor or board like, others a very soft surface and everything in between.
I did mention that the diaganal lay in a hammock may be the best use of the hammock for comfort.
Of course, not for all. My wife loves to rest but cannot sleep in a gathered end due to her leg and knee discomfort. I think a bridge may be in her future.
hmm so much to go with here....
a bulging disk is best to lay flat with knees(and therefore feet) elevated. picture a s'more, well leave the chocolate out, your vertebrae are the cracker , the disk is the marshmallow. now pinch a side and the marshmallow would squeeze out the other side. welcome to a bulging disk. beware the side you "trapped " pinching the marshmallow as well.
flat and firm is the best way to take pressure off the disks evenly.
scoliosis is a lateral (sideway, think left to right) curvature to the spine. the spine curves 3 times in the body(not including sacrum) and these are front to back curves, the neck, mid back (usual scoliosis is here) and then lower back. with a scoliosis I think hammocking can aggravate it quickly ESPECIALLY if stretches and strengthening that were prescribed are not done regularly. if you have a large enough hammock for a true diagonal with no pressure to push the head and feel back to centre (of hammock), I would think a bridge hammock would be ideal for that, I am told it is a flat lay, no shoulder squeeze.
as for anybody with a body that has...hmmm...an infirmity, seek a good physical therapist, or medical doctor. preferably someone who isn't old fashioned as they would not understand us hammockers. there are many medical situations that aren't deal to sleep in a hammock, I do not believe scoliosis should be one on its own, but with the other.... changes that can occur from it....
I will leave it at that.
yes, I work in a rehabilitation hospital providing therapy...so the info is good.
Seems like his pack, pack weight, and poor posture might be more likely culprits. Six months is a long while to carry a pack.Quote:
Originally Posted by brambor
A historical perspective: Since time immemorial many native people of the Americas have slept on hammocks their entire lives, and their backs stay straight and strong. I lived among them for a while, and they could outwork me three-to-one any day. Here's a bit of video documentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MHK...U&noredirect=1
I think perhaps the weight of his pack during that 6-months of physical effort was more to blame...Quote:
Originally Posted by brambor
Must be close to two years full time for me with no back pain. On a side note I slept on a bed at a hotel for a wedding and got heartburn every night I was there.
I can only speak from my perspective, but my hammock gave me back my sleep, rest and relaxation that had been missing for more than two years. Mine is a combination of bad rotator cuffs, open heart surgery, total knee replacement and a life time habit of sleeping on my stomach. By the time all of these factors piled up, I couldn't sleep on my stomach, or either side without discomfort or actual pain. My hammock amounted to a magic carpet for me, and that I could have a comfortable night's sleep and waken rested was an unexpected and glorious surprise. Camping alone for four nights and looking forward to dark so that I could go to bed and then sleeping for 10 to 12 hours, well that was my signal to give up the torture platform. Best personal choice I'v made in years. Another thing, no noticeable adverse physical problems as yet, but I'm only at two years here.
One more personal perspective: Degenerative disk, bone spurs and calcification all in one spot of my lower back. Things I can't do when not in the hammock - wake up without soreness in my back, knees and shoulders, I cannot nap during the afternoon sitting in my chair or on the couch or bed. Just won't happen.
When I sleep in my hammock - I sleep pretty much the whole night through, wake up without pain in my knees, back or shoulders and at any point in the day I can lay in the hammock and in 5 - 10 minutes, I'm napping soundly for the next 1 - 2 hours (sometimes more). This generally after a day of exertive hiking or other trail activity.
Every person is different and long term use of anything will have differing results. For me, it has proven to be a great reliver of pain and has added a higher quality to my general lifestyle. Will it always be that way? Only time will tell. I'm gonna smile the whole flippin' way testing it out. :shades:
can't be any worse than the hours we spend sitting every day! probably much better, for that matter!
When I speak with folks about hammocks, I describe the lay as being "ergonomically flat," which may still be a little misleading. Legs and knees are often elevated, but the torso is more or less "flat" taking into account the undulating surface that matches the body shape, thus minimizing pressure points.
My own personal experience mirrors what other have said: sleeping in a hammock has reduced back strain, pain, and aches. I prefer hammocks with less stretch, especially for improved shoulder comfort.
For your Wife, I purchased a thermarest camping pillow that I take with me due to bad knees and I sleep with it under my knees and it helps greatly. Just a thought... :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Floridahanger
http://www.amazon.com/Thermarest-Com...camping+pillow
i have found that with the grand trunk ultralight(no stretch hammock) I have to hang more with my feet up and it feels more like the ground with a slight space between my but and mid back. This causes a stress point for me unless i am feet up and back flat. On the contrary in my nano 7(stretchy hammock) I sleep better because it MOLDS to my spine thus there is no gap. It does squeeze my shoulders more but everything else is fine. I also dont need to hang super flat and can except a little curve with my head end higher. I think this is because of the stretch and "form fit" of the stretchier hammock which keeps friction on my back keepin me from compressing my spine even though in banana curving.
Nothing is perfect for everyone. I've slept on the floor on a thin pad, I think I still have an ache from that and it was over 10 years ago. I get leg cramps in a hammock but that's usually only when I don't wear long pants and my overworked legs get too cold and fully extended. A pair of zumies and I'm AOK.
If you have scoliosis, ruptured disks, compressed disks or something else, you have issues that need to be tended to. Inversion therapy for some of those things will be quite beneficial and you should run out and get one of those beds. It will help decompress neck muscles also. I was talking to my Urologists while he was crimping and snipping things today who was amazed that I was a full time hammock sleeper. I don't know if he'll show up here or not but hopefully he will check it out. It's truly amazing who and when I will start talking hammocks too, including immigrant coworkers who grew up in a hammock but came to America and start sleeping in a bed because thats what we do.
Thanks, Mountnman, I'll give that a shot. Anything to get her a better time in the hammock.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mountnman
Thanks for the video. Really enjoyed it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gravity
How can it be bad if it feels so good?
I did the AT last year - all hammocking (with the exception of hostels).Quote:
Originally Posted by brambor
I found the hammock completely restful for my entire body.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brambor
I've been sleeping fulltime indoors in a Ridgerunner bridge hammock for the last 3 weeks and am in the process of getting rid of my bed since it is just taking up space. I think it depends on the type of hammock you are using. If you use a gathered end hammock and sleep on a diagonal it shouldn't be a problem. If you lay end to end in a hammock then I'm not sure but, yeah, you may have a problem eventually. A bridge hammock is a different design and is probably the closest to flat you will get in a hammock.