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When acute pain occurs, painkillers should provide quick relief. The correct position in which they are taken can play a decisive role. Researchers at the renowned Johns Hopkins University found that a medication works up to ten times faster if taken in the correct posture.
As most medicines only take effect when the stomach releases the active ingredients into the intestine, the aim was to determine which position a tablet reaches at the back of the stomach the fastest. Posture is crucial to account for gravity and the stomach’s natural asymmetry.
Four different body positions were tested.
The team tested these four postures on a stomach model:
Standing
Sitting
Lying on the right side
Lying on the left side
Tablets work faster when lying on the right side
The result was surprising: when lying on the right side, the active ingredient reached the deepest part of the stomach the quickest and dissolved 2.3 times faster than when standing up. If you lie on your right side after taking a painkiller tablet, you can expect an improvement after about 10 minutes. However, the wrong position can delay the breakdown and absorption of the medication. Lying on the left side resulted in the worst dissolution. In this position, it can take up to 100 minutes for the pill to dissolve!
The findings can also be applied to other tablets.
These findings benefit older, weakened, or bedridden patients because the results can be transferred to other medications.
Other factors, in addition to posture, influence the speed at which the tablet works: it is best to take the medication a few minutes before eating, as a full stomach reduces and slows down the effect, and make sure you swallow the tablet with enough liquid.
source: gesund24.at/picture: Bild von Mohamed Hassan auf Pixabay
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