Effects of aided and unaided support of the neck while sitting (with back support), on autonomic nervous system activities

Abstract

AbstractAim: To compare the effects of neck support and no neck support while sitting (with back support), on the autonomic nervous system for the purpose of developing effective consciousness disturbance nursing techniques based on patient posture.Methods: Seven healthy women followed two patterns in a cross‐over design study: (i) sitting in a position with back support but no neck support, sitting with both back and neck support; and (ii) sitting in a position with both back and neck support, sitting with back support but no neck support. The intervention involved unaided support of the subject's neck with each subject supporting their own neck. Coarse Graining Spectral Analysis was used to measure the effect of the two positions on the autonomic nervous system.Results: Sitting in a position with back support but no neck support increased the function of the sympathetic nervous system and decreased the function of the parasympathetic nervous system more than sitting in a position with both back and neck support.Conclusion: Unaided support of the neck stimulated the autonomic nervous system. We infer from this, therefore, that consciousness disturbance patients may benefit in terms of preventing disuse syndrome and improving their consciousness levels by developing a nursing technique involving unaided support of the neck.