Do boats have therapeutic effect on chronic pain?

[tillergirl]

Its all about location with us. We find that if we are in the middle of nowhere with perhaps a little "white noise" from the motorway a mile away from the canal we sleep better than we do if we are nearer civilisation. We are currently about a mile away from the M1 and the white noise lulls me to sleep every night. Our boat bed is actually a house bed with storage with a memory foam mattress.......quite an expensive one as it happens but I would not say its any better or worse than our bed we had in the house. I do suffer from some arthritis in my hands and tbh its all temperature related. Aches like hell if its too hot and ditto if its too cold.thats not something thats changed at all since moving onto the boat.

 

As an aside "white noise" is also good for tinnitus sufferers trying to get to sleep..............one of our daughters is a sufferer and she goes to bed at night with the radio " off station". Says its the best thing she ever did to get a good nights sleep. She reckons that all she hears is the white noise instead of her body noises which used to keep her awake.

Edited January 11, 2014 by tillergirl

[Ex- Member]

I definitely sleep better and generally feel better than when on dry land, Lynn is the same. I also feel a lot fitter and I am much more agile now although still over weight.

 

I've also not suffered depression this winter as I had in past winters. There are definitely health benefits to living on a boat, both mentally and physically for us both.

[onionbargee]

I had cronic pain for 10 years due to a burst disk, you have my sympathies. It's horrible.

 

(bloody strong drugs was good for me, voltarol, Diazepam, oralmorphine)

 

A short trip in the air ambulance and an emergency diskectomy sorted that one out.

[mark99]

 

 

"Chalice" also shares with home the ability to get up in the night for a visit to the loo if I need it - "Sickle" means an annoying pulling on of clothes to go outside and visit the engine room!

 

Why not use a bucket?

[FadeToScarlet]

If I'm totally honest, though I love our "Sickle" to bits, I don't tend to sleep particularly well on her, and often wake up a bit jaded and someti,es with a lot of joint pain.

However that is nothing specific to being on water I think. It is more that, (like Junior), I'm trying to sleep in a space somewhat shorter than I am. Occupational hazard of a back cabin of a former working boat, particularly the "motors" where the bed holes are smaller and shorter than on a butty.

 

"Chalice" on the other hand has an adequate (but still not large) bed with a very nice memory foam mattress, and I generally sleep better on board her than I do on a king sized bed at homem for which the mattress cost a small fortune. Part of this, though, I think is due to the physical nature of a long day's boating, making a decent night's sleep more likely.

 

"Chalice" also shares with home the ability to get up in the night for a visit to the loo if I need it - "Sickle" means an annoying pulling on of clothes to go outside and visit the engine room!

Case in point- best night's sleep ever- Josher butty- one of the worst- Josher motor!

 

This is the point where being the same physical size, roughly, as the average person in the 1930s comes in very handy!

 

I will admit, though, that when we put the back cabin in, I'm going to have the bed slightly wider than the 2'5" it was originally.

[Little Else]

Everyone's asleep in West Wight

 

(Thats when they're not counting their extra digits!)

 

SAM

Ryde

(And for the geographically challenged that's on the right hand side of the Island)

W

 

Depends on which way you are looking at the island. If you look at a map the east Wight is on the right.

[madcat]

Based on past experience divorce has a beneficial effect on chronic pain.

 

Being on the boat helps me but I need to be away for a few days to really benefit and my system goes into meltdown when I'm back in the house.

Hot weather is wonderful. I just love warmth.

[Caprifool]

The mystery is solved. I did not have fibromyalgia, neuropathy, arthritis or anything ells the docs guessed previously. I have EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). A genetic deficiency of collagen affecting all connective tissue in the body. My mother was diagnosed a few months ago and since it is inherited, I had to go to the specialist to. I mentioned the boat thing to the doc. And sleeping better while gently rocking made perfect sense to him due to increased circulation.

[Magic Potion]

Hmsa webite is good source of info

[MHS]

The mystery is solved. I did not have fibromyalgia, neuropathy, arthritis or anything ells the docs guessed previously. I have EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). A genetic deficiency of collagen affecting all connective tissue in the body. My mother was diagnosed a few months ago and since it is inherited, I had to go to the specialist to. I mentioned the boat thing to the doc. And sleeping better while gently rocking made perfect sense to him due to increased circulation.

It's good to have a diagnosis, then you can understand what is happening, and hopefully what (if anything) can help.

We are back aboard for fortnight in a little over 3 weeks. No plans to move very far and hope some time in the July sun will help my back which has been bad since January.

[Caprifool]

It is very good being diagnosed. Apart from taking advice from fellow EDS'ers. And having access to adequate doctors, painkillers and physio therapy. I can now say f**k off to any one calling me fussy and lazy. Funny how invisible pain is often seen as make believe pain.

[Magic Potion]

You got that right but the support groups are pretty much on the ball.

[kingswood]

I agree the only time I feel relieved of stress is when on my boat, accept when the dam thing wont start. I think the doctor should prescribe it instead of pills I also sleep great on board I just get a great sense of feeling good and feel down when I cant get my fix

[roland elsdon]

I sleep better on the boat in England than I do at home in oz, I'm sure it's because of 25 years of living on boats prior to partial emigration it is more natural, and absolutely nothing to do with the fact that in oz I have a stressful job and constantly expecting the mobile to go off at 4 am to get me into work to deal with another drug addled idiot....

[Rebotco]

Generally speaking, I do feel much healthier and relaxed when out boating.

However I have noticed there are certain seasons when I do get a severe pain in the wallet area.

This tends to occur when the mooring fees or licence fees are due, and is usually brought on by receipt of an invoice.

Oh - and anywhere within a mile of a chandlery has a similar effect!