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Bed Rest: Good for Sleep, Not Much Else

The October, 1999 issue of the British medical journal Lancet punches holes in the long held notion that bed rest may be good for just about everything.

The literature-review study, done by Australian researchers from the University of Queensland Medical School, found that "there was no evidence that bed rest has any significant beneficial effect when used as a treatment or when used after surgery. It may actually delay recovery and even harm the patient."

Bed rest after a spinal tap tended to increase the associated nausea as well as headaches after spinal anesthesia.

Laying in bed for six hours in the early stages of labor made that stage of labor last longer and contractions stronger. Walking around made the contractions less severe and the labor shorter.

Staying in bed a mere two or three hours after heart catheterization increased the chances of blood leakage and back pain.

Old ideas are hard to let go of, say the researchers. "Ideas about bed rest seem so entrenched that medical practice has been slow to change, even when faced with evidence of ineffectiveness."

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