Did you know that our position when taking medicine influences how quickly it affects us? A new study delves into a variable that had not been taken into account… until now.
The recommendation comes on the heels of groundbreaking research by experts at Johns Hopkins University. The results of the study, which have been published in the journal Physics of Fluids, delve into how body posture affects the speed of absorption of pills.
The research combined the concepts of fluid mechanics with physics and biomechanics, creating a model called StomachSim. to offer a realistic understanding of how medications (in pill form) move within the gastrointestinal tract.
The goal was clear: determine if there is a relationship between body posture and the rate of drug absorption. It is accepted that a drug begins to work in the body after its chemical content moves from the stomach to the intestines.
The closer you get to the end of the stomach (which is called a den) and then pours into the early part of the small intestine (duodenum), the faster its effects are appreciated in the body. And this is especially true of quick relief pills.
The latest research studied four common body postures when taking medication and, through the StomachSim simulation model, classified how quickly the drug is absorbed based on the position of the stomach inside the body at that time.
It was found that if a person is lying on their right side after taking a pill, the pill falls deeper into the stomach and closer to the opening of the small intestine. According to the study, compared to the upright position, lying on the right side accelerates the process of drug dissolution and absorption by 2.3 times.
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Thus, if it takes 10 minutes for the headache pill to dissolve and pass into the small intestine while lying on the right side, it would take 23 minutes to do if taken standing up.
If you are lying on the left side, which has been classified as the worst position, the drug dissolution pathway is the slowest and occurs 10 times slower compared to the right leaning posture.
It may also come as a surprise that standing upright and lying on your back were equally effective. The results are of vital importance, especially for people suffering from stomach ailments that slow down the process of dissolution and absorption of medicines.
The same goes for the elderly or those confined to their beds with limited body movement. The team now plans to study the impact of body posture on the digestion of food.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism