Good things happen in rocking chairs — grandmothers knit, babies are fed, iced tea is enjoyed on summer afternoons on shady porches… and there’s more. Evidence is mounting that rocking can be an effective therapy for improving numerous physical conditions, including constipation and arthritis, and also can help speed recovery after surgery. “Rocking chair therapy” has long been recommended to ease lower back pain — and in fact, a certain style of rocking chair was popularized by President John Kennedy, who had one on Air Force One to help his severe back problems. Recently, a study conducted at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center demonstrated that, all other things being equal, cancer patients recovering from abdominal surgery who spent time rocking in a rocking chair resumed bowel activity more quickly than patients who did not… and that means that they felt better sooner and recovered faster.
Regular readers know this is the kind of health story I love — simple, old-fashioned, inexpensive, effective and safe. I called Robert Massey, PhD, RN, director of clinical nursing at the center and lead author of the study. He told me that bowel dysfunction is a normal and expected side effect of abdominal surgery, but many patients tell him it is the most difficult part of their recovery. The problem can last as long as three to five days.
Previously, while working on a different unit, Dr. Massey had observed that patients who rocked in rocking chairs experienced an earlier return of bowel function than those who did not rock. Also, previous research in women recovering from C-section and abdominal hysterectomy demonstrated earlier resolution of bowel dysfunction in those who rocked in a rocking chair than in those who received other treatments. Dr. Massey decided to try the rocking chair intervention in both male and female cancer patients recovering from surgeries for abdominal cancers, as well as from gastric, colon, small bowel, pancreatic or liver surgeries.
The study involved 66 patients, 34 of whom were instructed to rock for periods of between 10 to 20 minutes for a total of at least one hour a day, and also to walk, adding more time each day as tolerated. They were compared with 32 others who did not rock (but who did walk) who served as a control group. The results: Those in the rocking group first passed gas (a post-op healing benchmark) 16.8 hours earlier on average than the other group. Dr. Massey says that 17 hours doesn’t sound like a lot, “but it is a long time if you are experiencing postoperative nausea, vomiting, abdominal distention and inability to eat.” He added that there’s also evidence that having these side effects may impact recovery in a way that can negatively affect your quality of life much later — so it may be that rocking has long-term health benefits as well.
Some of the study participants had trouble filling their rocking quotient because it was so relaxing that they fell asleep in the rocking chair, Dr. Massey told me. Though rocking does use some abdominal muscles, he said it did not seem to increase abdominal pain.
Dr. Massey believes the positive results are due to the way rocking stimulates the vestibular nerves in the ear that, in turn, send signals to the reticular activating system (RAS), which is the source of the fight-or-flight reaction that plays a pivotal role in bodily and behavioral alertness. The bowel dysfunction associated with abdominal surgery is thought to be a response to the stress of surgery. It seems that rocking modulates this response and mobilizes the digestive system. Dr. Massey is hoping to start a new study soon that will investigate more fully what it is about rocking that is so effective for post-op patients.
Some orthopedic surgeons recommend rocking to help patients recover from knee surgery. And, it seems to help patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia, ADHD, autism and sensory disorders. It also has been used for chronic fatigue and to help patients recover from stroke and heart attack. Rocking may help relieve arthritis and has been found helpful for varicose veins. Dr. Massey told me that he plans future research to also investigate whether the use of rocking therapy will help surgical patients avoid post-op deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a potentially serious and sometimes lethal situation that creates clots that can go to the lungs. “In rocking you are flexing and relaxing the muscles in the lower legs, which may enhance the compression stockings’ effectiveness,” says Dr. Massey.
Rocking can even be helpful for everyday complaints, such as the common cold, insomnia and some forms of constipation, though Dr. Massey said there is a need for further research to learn more. Rocking chairs have been in homes for centuries — and I think we will be seeing lots more of them in high-tech medical centers of the future.
