View Full Version : Back pain with hammocks
insider2185
01-15-2008, 16:50
I enjoy using my hammock, and I think that the following is a myth. But, long time ago I heard somewhere that after extended use, sleeping in a hammock can lead to back pain. Similar to how sailors used to sleep in hammocks on ships. Is this a myth or does someone have concrete evidence to support this?
FanaticFringer
01-15-2008, 17:47
If you enjoy it why does it really matter? Many folks use a hammock to help ease their back problems. I have the new JRB bridge hammock which is similar to how sailors used to sleep in hammocks and I can assure you that my back will never hurt in this thing www.jacksrbetter.com/index_files/BMBH.htm
I enjoy using my hammock, and I think that the following is a myth. But, long time ago I heard somewhere that after extended use, sleeping in a hammock can lead to back pain. Similar to how sailors used to sleep in hammocks on ships. Is this a myth or does someone have concrete evidence to support this?
kayak karl
01-15-2008, 18:08
I love my hammock. no more rocks, roots and sore hips. i wake up ready to go again. i think i'll do it till it hurts:D
I find my back more relaxed after a night in the hammock. In bed (or on the ground) I toss and turn all night. I switch from side to stomach to back. In the hammock I sleep on my back straight through the night.
Never had any back pain in a hammock, and I have a bad lower back.
As far as sailors getting back pain from hammocks...that may have had more to do with the daily grind of working in a sailing ship. That was a physically brutal life.
kayak karl
01-15-2008, 23:22
Never had any back pain in a hammock, and I have a bad lower back.
As far as sailors getting back pain from hammocks...that may have had more to do with the daily grind of working in a sailing ship. That was a physically brutal life.
just asked my dad. those hammocks were canvas, could not sleep on side too well. your right, it was a rough life.
Nearly Normal
01-16-2008, 01:26
Hammocks suck
Phoenix Rising
01-16-2008, 02:09
Personally, many years ago I had a back injury which affect the muscles of the mid thoracic to the lower lumbar (just below my shoulder blades to the small of my back) and there is no possible way for me to be comfortable in a hammock. I have tried them out and although I love the idea of no sore hips, but I figure I can still hike with sore hips, but not if my back is in spasm.
orangebug
01-16-2008, 06:39
Testimonial: Recurrent disk disease with surgery. Backpacking is great for it, and hammocking makes it possible to sleep as a section hiker. No sore shoulders or hips. Laying on the diagonal rocks.
I wouldn't trade my hammock for anything! I started out with it doing car camping and have transitioned into backpacking with it. I sleep soooooo much more comfortably and soundly at night off the ground. And I have to agree, laying diagonally is, in my opinion, the best way to get totally comfy in my hammock. I can lay totally flat like that. :D
Hammocks suckDo us a favor and tell us how many nights you've spent in a hammock to evaluate and come to said opinion. :D
take-a-knee
01-16-2008, 08:14
Hammocks RULE!
NICKTHEGREEK
01-16-2008, 08:15
Never had any back pain in a hammock, and I have a bad lower back.
As far as sailors getting back pain from hammocks...that may have had more to do with the daily grind of working in a sailing ship. That was a physically brutal life.
Small point, but sailors slept on(in) hammocks well into the WW2 era.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
01-16-2008, 08:45
I've tried several hammocks - the only one that gave me back pain was the HH Expedition Asym. While I haven't had the chance to sleep overnight in the WarBonnet, I wasn't all that comfortable in it either. It held my shoulder at a funny angle on one side - something I suspect would have been a problem overnight.
The Speer, Eno and Byer hammocks are really, really comfortable, but I can't get into or out of them without assistance due to a paralyzed muscle in my leg.
The JRB Bear Mountain Bridge hammock is a totally different hammock design that allows me to lay flat, to change position during the night and to sleep on either side. Thanks to an innovation Peter Pan and Smee included with my hammock (an overhead strap that can be used to pull up and for balance), I am able to enter and exit this hammock without assistance safely. My back doesn't hurt after a night in this hammock - it is seriously comparable to my waterbed mattress at home in comfort.
insider2185
01-16-2008, 10:26
I guess it was just some BS.....Thanks for the responses
Cannibal
01-16-2008, 10:34
Went to a hammock because of my back; love it! I've been sleeping in one full-time for a year now. It's the first year in many that my back hasn't gone-out for a week.
I have 2 herniated and 1 ruptured disc in the lower back. I did 2 weeks from Damascus north last fall using a Hennessey Expedition Asym
hammock. I spent 1 night on the floor (with a pad) in the loft of the Partnership shelter. I can attest that hammock sleeping is 100% better for my back.
sasquatch2014
01-16-2008, 11:41
I also am a two time back surgery survivor and love the hammock. I think that a lot of it is how the hammock is hung. If I get too much swag in the hammock it will stress the back (still less than the ground). I have learned what the right angle is for me in my particular hammock and it is something that I look forward to crawling it at the end of a long day. I think part of the Sailor issue is the labor that they did during the day as much as anything. Lots of lifting and pulling and bending etc.