Rocking chair therapy for low back pain has existed for at least 50 years. The most famous user of the rocking chair for chronic lower back pain was President Kennedy. Repetitive rocking in a rocking chair increases proprioception, which is the body's awareness of the location of its various parts, such as the spine and lower extremities, in relation to each other. Although not officially a rocking chair, the zero gravity recliner is beneficial for back pain sufferers, due to its positioning of the spine, hips and legs. World renowned soft-tissue specialist and author Dr. Janet Travell recommended that President Kennedy use a rocking chair after he found the rocking chair in her office very comfortable. It is reported that he used one every place he went, including on board Air Force One, to lessen his back pain from injuries suffered during World War II. Dr. Barry L. Marks, a chiropractor from California, suggests the following exercises while sitting in a rocking chair. Gently rock with both feet flat on the floor pushing with only your legs for 5 minutes.
Next, raise your heels and have only your tip-toes contacting the floor and push with your legs for 5 minutes. Perform the third phase by gently rocking for 5 minutes with only your heels contacting the floor. These exercises can be repeated throughout the day to increase blood flow to the legs and increase proprioception in the spine. Rocking chair therapy is not for all back pain sufferers. You may find it difficult because of the hard sitting surface and lack of lumbar support. If that is the case you may try the use of a memory foam seat cushion or tailbone pillow to cushion the seat. You can use a lumbar support to provide a greater contact area for the lower back to distribute the forces more evenly. Another type of chair many low back pain and sciatica sufferers find helpful is the zero gravity recliner. It is not a rocking chair, but its therapeutic effects for the body are extremely effective. Dr. Stewart Eidelson, an orthopedic surgeon in Boca Raton, Florida, states, "The zero gravity position reduces the amount of force exerted on the spine."
The zero gravity concept was first developed by NASA research scientists when they were looking for the best positions for the astronauts during launch. The ergonomically designed zero gravity chair positions the body so the legs are higher than the heart and the spine is in a neutral position. The therapeutic benefits of the zero gravity position include: spinal decompression, decreased hip flexor muscle tension on the spine and improved circulation and blood oxygen levels. Gain 2 pounds per week Gain 1.5 pounds per week Gain 1 pound per week Gain 0.5 pound per week Maintain my current weight Lose 0.5 pound per week Lose 1 pound per week Lose 1.5 pounds per week Lose 2 pounds per week What Are the Health Benefits of a Rocking Chair? Discrete Exercises You Can Do Sitting in a Chair Office Chair Inner Thigh Exercise The Best Exercises for Thoracic Back Pain Wobble Chair Vs. Therapy Ball The Best Workout Machines for Those With Lower Back Pain
Why Sitting Is Bad for You and How to Avoid It Signs and Symptoms of Back Pain The Best Roman Chair When Dealing with Back Problems Exercise Ball Vs. Desk Chair Inversion Chair Vs. Inversion Table Cons of Using an Exercise Ball All Day The Correct Way to Use a Lumbar Support Pillow Tai Chi Exercises in a Chair What Are the Causes of Back Pain When Working on the Computer? How to Sit on an Exercise Ball at a Desk Full Back Chair Massage Techniques About Seat Cushions and Back PainJanet Travell Powell, who as President John F. Kennedy's personal physician treated his chronic back problems and in so doing helped to inspire revival of the old-fashioned rocking chair, died today at her home in Northampton, Mass. She was 95.Dr. Travell, as she was known professionally, had moved to Massachusetts a year ago after living in Washington for 35 years.Dr. Travell became widely known in 1961, when she became the first woman to be personal physician to a President.
The appointment caused a minor stir, especially in the military, which had been providing medical care to Presidents, their spouses and their children since the 1920's.Kennedy praised his doctor effusively after announcing her selection. The President had been relying on her since 1955, when she saw the junior Senator from Massachusetts after the second operation on his back. Kennedy had been injured in World War II, and his back caused him pain for the rest of his life.By the mid-1950's, Dr. Travell had established herself in the New York City medical community, first as a heart specialist, then as a specialist in treating muscle pain and in general pain management. The doctor treated Kennedy with Novocain to relax cramps in his spinal muscles, and she suggested that he wear custom-made shoes after discovering that his left leg was three-quarters of an inch shorter than his right. But her lasting contribution to Presidential folklore (if not her main one to medicine) was the popularity of the rocking chair.
She believed that a rocking chair alleviated lower-back tension by keeping the muscles moving, contracting and relaxing. Throughout his brief Presidency, Kennedy's oak rocker with a cane seat was a familiar sight to White House photographers and, consequently, the public.Early in her White House days, Dr. Travell was the focus of some political infighting, enough that one newspaper speculated that she might be forced to resign. As she recalled later in an interview, she became aware of the dissension and approached the President. ''I will do anything I can for you as long as you wish,'' Dr. Travell told him. ''But I am ready to leave at a moment's notice, if that is your pleasure.''Kennedy replied: ''I don't want you to leave. If I do, I will let you know.''Dr. Travell stayed at the White House after Kennedy's assassination in 1963, treating President Lyndon B. Johnson as well as other members of the Kennedy family and other Washington politicians.After leaving the White House in 1965, she resumed teaching, joining the faculty of George Washington University, in Washington, , which named her professor emeritus in 1988.Dr. Travell had taught clinical pharmacology at Cornell University in the 1940's and 1950's before turning to the study of pain, particularly muscle spasms, an area her father, Dr. Willard Travell of New York City