Why do patients with lumbar disc herniation have to sleep on a hard bed?

Many patients with lumbar disc herniation often ask, "Do I need to sleep on a hard bed for my lumbar disc herniation?" The doctor's answer is different. Through my years of work experience and some academic articles at home and abroad, I can give the following suggestions and reasons for bed rest.

The human spine has four normal physiological curvatures, which are cervical lordosis, thoracic lordosis, lumbar lordosis and sacrococcygeal lordosis from top to bottom. The hard bed can fully support the spine in supine position and avoid the spine from being in an abnormal bending position. At the same time, bed rest helps to reduce the pressure of intervertebral disc, and a good lying posture is more conducive to maintaining normal lumbar curvature, reducing the tension of lumbar posterior ligament and relaxing lumbar muscles, thus alleviating the symptoms of low back pain.

At present, the consistent view is that the intervertebral disc can be self-repaired during conservative treatment and bed rest. This involves a very important problem in the process of conservative treatment. How to choose a bed suitable for patients with lumbar disc herniation? Here is a well-known method: lie flat on the mattress, and put your hands horizontally from the neck, waist, buttocks to thighs to see if there are any gaps; Turn it over to the side again and try to see if there is a gap between the concave part of the body curve and the mattress in the same way. If there is no gap, it proves that the mattress closely matches the natural curves of your neck, back, waist, buttocks and legs when you sleep, so that the mattress is moderate in hardness for you. (as shown in the figure below)

Therefore, it is suggested that patients with lumbar disc herniation stay in bed at the acute stage of onset, and if possible, try to get more opportunities for bed rest during the rehabilitation period. At the same time, it is very important to choose a suitable mattress according to the above methods for the success of conservative treatment of lumbar disc herniation.