Abstract
Patients have their body position changed every two hours to prevent bedsores. Much remains unclear about the pain patients endure when they maintain reclining position with dorsal elevation. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to clarify time-dependent pain experienced by patients in reclining position with dorsal elevation. The subjects were 32 healthy adult male and female volunteers assigned randomly to 4 groups of dorsal elevation angle：0° (control), 30°, 45°, and 60°. While maintaining a reclining position, they were measured in terms of subjective aspects (visual analog scale (VAS) scores, complaints of physical symptoms) and objective aspects (changes in body position, LF/HF ratio, body pressure, and muscular activity) for 120 min. We found that the VAS score significantly increased over time. Changes in body position, LF/HF ratio, body pressure, and muscular activity were significantly affected by time. Our findings suggest that maintaining a consistent reclining position with dorsal elevation for two hours is not comfortable, because over time pain increases, posture deteriorates, and sympathetic nervous system activity rises.
