Instinctive sleeping and resting postures: an anthropological and zoological approach to treatment of low back and joint pain
If
you are a medical professional and have been trained in a “civilised”
country you probably know next to nothing about the primate Homo sapiens
and how they survive in the wild. You probably do not know that nature
has provided an automatic manipulator to correct most spinal and
peripheral joint lesions in primates. In common with millions of other
so called civilised people you suffer unnecessarily from musculoskeletal
problems and are discouraged about how to treat the exponential rise in
low back pain throughout the developed world. Humans are one of 200
species of primates.1 All primates suffer from musculoskeletal problems; nature, recognising this fact, has given primates a way to correct them.
The
study of animals in the wild has been a lifelong pursuit. I grew up
with tribal people and in 1953-4 commanded a platoon of African soldiers
from nine tribes, who taught me to sleep on my side without a pillow so
that I could listen out for danger with both ears. I have organised
over 14 expeditions all over the world to meet native peoples and study
their sleeping and resting postures. They all adopted similar postures
and exhibited few musculoskeletal problems. I must emphasise that this
is not a comparison of genes or races but of lifestyles. I tried to
carry out surveys to collect evidence but they were meaningless, as
tribespeople give you the answer they think you want. They often object
to having their photographs taken, so I have demonstrated the postures.
Some instinctive sleeping postures
Figure Figure11
shows a mountain gorilla lying on the ground on his side without a
pillow—a position in which I have also seen chimpanzees and gibbons
sleeping—and a Kenya African in a similar position on a palm leaf
mattress on a concrete floor. Note how he uses his laterally rotated arm
as a pillow and can listen out for danger with both ears.
A
mountain gorilla asleep on one side (left); a Kenyan asleep in a
similar position (right). (Photo of gorilla by Bob Campbell, a National
Geographic photographer who was portrayed in the film Gorillas in the Mist)
When
lying on one side you do not even need the arm as a pillow: when the
lower shoulder is fully hunched, the neck is completely supported. I
think the neck should deviate towards the ground as gravity then shuts
the mouth, preventing insects from entering, and a little traction is
applied to the cervical spine (fig (fig2,2,
top). When the head is down, the vertebrae are stretched between two
anchors and every time the ribs move through breathing the tension is
increased, the vertebrae realign themselves, and the movement keeps the
joints lubricated. Current thinking is to keep the spine straight by use
of a pillow. Has anyone ever seen a gorilla shinning up a tree with a
pillow? Note also the plantar flexed foot. A dorsiflexed foot rotates
the knee and alters the Q angle (between the resultant pull of the
quadriceps muscle and the patella tendon), producing uneven wear and, in
time, pain.
In
side lying (top) the neck is completely supported; with a slight change
in position (bottom) the penis is protected from insects
Tribal
people do not like lying on the ground in the recovery position while
wearing no clothes as the penis dangles in the dust and can get bitten
by insects. When the legs are in the reverse recovery position (fig (fig2,2,
bottom), the penis lies on the lower thigh and is protected. In this
position the Achilles tendon of the leading foot can be inserted in the
gap between the big toe and the first lesser toe to help correct a
bunion.
When sleeping in the open in very cold climates
and when the ground is wet, humans often resort to sleeping on their
shins, like the Tibetan caravaneers photographed by Peter, Prince of
Greece and Denmark, in 1938 (fig (fig3).3).
Nature has not covered the anterior border of the tibia and the medial
border of the ulna with muscle, so in this position there is only skin
and bone in contact with the cold ground and heat loss is reduced. The
body is also folded to conserve heat; both ears can listen for danger,
be it lion or terrorist; and when the head is down gravity shuts the
mouth and it is impossible to snore.
Tibetan caravaneers sleeping on their shins
Figure Figure44
shows the “lookout posture,” another position using the arm as a pillow
to reset shoulder, elbow, and wrist: accessory joint movement is
regained because the weight of the head resting on the arm is at right
angles to the line of movement, producing a lateral glide. I have seen
Howler monkeys using this position in Costa Rica.
The lookout posture
Quadrupedal lying (fig (fig5)5)
is ideal for stretching collagen fibre throughout the body. In the
penis protect position, with the pelvis locked, the spine is rotated and
flexed. With the elbows out sideways and the chest on the ground, many
spinal lesions can be corrected gently using nature's automatic
manipulator. Animals are clever because they use the radiant heat from
the sun to encourage relaxation of their muscles when they adopt this
posture. In this photograph note that the dog's sternum is in full
contact with the ground but that of the human is not: this can be easily
corrected by rotating the right arm medially to lower the sternum. It
has been noted that guide dogs working in towns breathe the same
pollutants as humans yet do not have asthma. Could this be because when
they lie on their chests the kickback from the upper ribs keeps the
corresponding vertebrae mobile, allowing the sympathetic system to work
efficiently?
Quadrupedal lying
Some resting postures
Arabs in the Sahara will sit in the position shown in figure figure6
for hours and it keeps the forefoot aligned on the hindfoot, as the
ischia rest directly on the calcanea and the feet point straight
backwards. People who sit like this do not seem to get much
osteoarthritis in their knees in old age. Cross legged sitting prevents
arthritic hips. A flying doctor from Kenya remarked to me that over the
years as local tribesmen became more civilised he more often saw
arthritis of hips and knees.
Sitting on the heels
The full squat, with the heels on the ground (fig7)
resets the sacroiliac joints; takes hips, knees and ankles through the
full range; and can be very useful in treating backs. To start with,
some Westerners have to hold on to a doorframe.
The full squat
Conclusion
Largely
anecdotal evidence has been collected by “old timers” for over 50 years
from non-Western societies that low back pain and joint stiffness is
markedly reduced by adopting natural sleeping and resting postures. This
observation must be recorded to allow further research in this
direction as these primitive societies no longer exist and the great
apes living in the wild are heading for extinction. All we have to do is
to be good primates and use these preventive techniques.
References
1. Rosen SI. Introduction to the primates, living and fossil. London: Prentice Hall; 1974. pp. 20–21.
