Doctors Don’t Prescribe Rocking, But Maybe They Should
The Health Benefits of Rocking for Adults
Two images come to mind with the word “rocking chair.” One is of a new mother rocking her infant as she softly sings him to sleep. The other is of old people on a front porch sitting in a rocking chair.
It’s time to consider, however, that using a rocking chair can have physical and mental benefits for people between infancy and old age.
Rocker Inventory
I took a mental inventory of the rocking chairs (or gliders) I own.
Sturdy, folding rocking chairs rest, waiting, on the outdoor rug of our campsite.
Two rocker recliners that swivel stand in front of the back picture window of our camper.
A two-person glider sits on our front porch.
The old family porch rocker sits in my office.
The rocker I received when I was expecting my first son sits in my bedroom.
Two rocker recliners reside in the bay window area of my living room.
Not only do I own this many rockers, but I also find myself engaged in a rocking motion while sitting at my desk and thinking or when holding one of my grandchildren.
If you took inventory, would you be including a rocking chair on your list?
Why So Many Rockers?
I learned to love the motion of rocking at an early age, and they have been an important part of my well-being over my lifetime.
I grew, according to doctors, way too fast. During kindergarten and first grade, my knees ached at night. Doctors attributed it to the speed of my growth. By sixth grade, I towered over my classmates by one cinder block. On nights when the pain was bad, my mother put Vick’s Vapor Rub on my knees and rocked me to sleep. I was five or six.
On days during high school and college when I was sick or stressed, I would lie in bed on my side and rock myself back and forth.
After a stressful day of teaching, I would plop down in the rocker recliner at my parents’ home (and eventually in my own home) and rock. It took about 30 minutes before I started to feel better. Eventually, I would get up and start grading papers or getting something else done.
As I prepared for the birth of my first child, I put a rocking chair on my list of needed items.
Doctors Don’t Prescribe Rocking
I am an advocate for alternative medicine: especially after watching all the documentary programs on the dangers of prescription medications.
I see a chiropractor. I get a monthly massage. I recently started using the “Total Body Enhancement” unit at my gym. I’ll take natural remedies BEFORE a prescription, and if I am given a prescription, I will sometimes debate the physician about the benefits of the drug outweighing the dangers.
You see, I truly believe that alternative medicine options should ALWAYS (if possible) come BEFORE a prescription.
I have never been given a prescription to “just rock.” Not instead of pain meds when I got bitten by a dog, or fell and gashed my eyebrow, or severely sprained my ankle, but I wish that my doctors would add this as an alternative prescription.
Recently, (and I wish I knew from where) the benefits of rocking on a person’s physical and mental well-being came across my personal radar. I’ve rocked when I’m stressed. I’ve rocked when I am sick. I’ve rocked when I’m in pain. I’ve rocked when I can’t sleep. I needed to learn why.
Why Rocking?
I have “known” for years that rocking has calmed me down when stressed or emotional. Most recently, I found myself rocking on the nights when my husband was in the hospital for quadruple bypass surgery after a heart attack. The stress you experience when your spouse is critically ill is monumental, and rocking, as well as petting our dogs, helped de-stress me each night.
According to physiotherapist Brad Beer, “rocking can tap into our parasympathetic nervous system which releases endorphins to relieve stress.”
Because rocking requires physical engagement, it gently works the thigh muscles (or if you rock without a chair, it can gently work your core muscles), increases blood flow (because you are moving), and the blood carries oxygen to all areas of your body.
Rocking is a low impact, physical activity that can build up strength in your knees.
The rhythmic motion of rocking can prevent pain signals from traveling to the brain.
Rocking, because it is a physical activity, can burn calories, up to 150 calories an hour.
Rocking can improve balance because it stimulates the balance centers in our inner ears.
Some Specific Physical Benefits of Rocking
Do you suffer from arthritis in your knees and/or ankles? According to ODD, rocking for approximately an hour each day can gently strengthen arthritic joints.
Do you suffer from chronic back pain or back pain due to a herniated disc? In 1955, President John F. Kennedy’s doctor actually prescribed a rocking chair to help with his chronic back pain. Kennedy found the treatment so helpful that he even kept a rocker on Air Force One and at Camp David.
According to ODD, the rocker should be used as follows: “rock for 5 minutes using only your feet — then for 5 minutes using only your toes — and finally for 5 minutes using only your heels.”
Some Specific Mental Benefits of Rocking
Are you caring for someone with Alzheimer’s? A rocking chair may help. In the 1990’s research at the University of Rochester determined that rocking three separate times a day for 20 minutes each time improved mood, balance, and strength of both dementia and Alzheimer’s patients.
Are you an adult with ADHD or do you have a child with ADHD? Bowen Furniture cites a teacher in Washington state who found that his ADD/ADHD students were more able to focus when sitting in a rocking chair. As a result, the student’s grades improved. The simple act of rocking satisfies the need for constant movement.
Are you pregnant or do you have an infant? According to ODD, rocking while you are pregnant helps the development of the nervous system of the fetus. It can also help prevent the back pain and varicose veins that accompany many pregnancies. Rocking calms fussy infants, and a rocker helps to relax both mother and infant while nursing. It can also ease pain during labor and speed up recovery after a C section.
My Prescription
Although I am not a physician, here is my prescription for you. Unearth that rocker in your attic. Or, find a comfortable one and give it a good home. Either way, rock on, ladies and gentlemen. Rock on.
Rebecca (Becky) spent 34 years in a teaching career, but when she retired in 2014, she picked up her pen and pursued her passion to write. As a high school English teacher, Becky held the philosophy that she wouldn’t give any writing assignment that she personally wouldn’t or couldn’t do. That philosophy strengthened and broadened her own writing.
In addition to publishing her writing on various platforms, Becky also blogs at Life is for Living, a blog to encourage, motivate, and help others live the best life possible. As an extension of Life is for Living, she also publishes a weekly newsletter, Let’s Chat. (Check it out HERE.) Life is for Living also has a social media presence with the group Coffee on my Porch. (Check it out HERE.)
After teaching writing for 34 years, Becky began Ink & Keyboard, a blog for writers at all levels. She supplements what she writes on the blog with a subscription newsletter, The Writer’s Notebook (Check it out HERE.) and the social media group Ink & Keyboard (Check it out HERE.)
RESOURCES
Therapeutic Benefits of Rocking
How a Rocking Chair Can Help You Heal
Rocking Chairs: The Medical Benefits of a Decorative Piece of Furniture
The Chairs that Rock: The Amazing Benefits of Rocking Chairs
The Rocking Chair . . . A Southern Staple with Health Benefits
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