RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Identifying relationships between sleep posture and non-specific spinal symptoms in adults: A scoping review
JF BMJ Open
JO BMJ Open
FD British Medical Journal Publishing Group
SP e027633
DO 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027633
VO 9
IS 6
A1 Doug Cary
A1 Kathy Briffa
A1 Leanda McKenna
YR 2019
UL http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/6/e027633.abstract
AB Objectives The objectives of this scoping review were to identify (1) study designs and participant populations, (2) types of specific methodology and (3) common results, conclusions and recommendations from the body of evidence regarding our research question; is there a relationship between sleep posture and spinal symptoms.Design Scoping review.Data sources PEDro, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library, Medline, ProQuest, PsycINFO, SportDISCUS and grey literature from inception to 10 April 2018.Data selection Using a modified Arksey and O’Malley framework, all English language studies in humans that met eligibility criteria using key search terms associated with sleep posture and spinal symptoms were included.Data extraction Data were independently extracted by two reviewers and mapped to describe the current state of the literature. Articles meeting the search criteria were critically appraised using the Downs and Black checklist.Results From 4186 articles, four articles were identified, of which three were epidemiological and one interventional. All studies examined three or more sleep postures, all measured sleep posture using self-report and one study also used infrared cameras. Two studies examined symptoms arising from the lumbar spine, one the cervical spine and one the whole spine. Waking pain and stiffness were the most common symptoms explored and side lying was generally protective against spinal symptoms.Conclusions This scoping review highlights the importance of evaluating sleep posture with respect to waking symptoms and has provided preliminary information regarding relationships between sleep posture and spinal symptoms. However, there were not enough high-quality studies to adequately answer our research question. It is recommended future research consider group sizes and population characteristics to achieve research goals, that a validated measure be used to assess sleep posture, that characteristics and location of spinal symptoms are clearly defined and that the side lying posture is subclassified.