Incline Bed Therapy for Varicose Veins

5 star (2) 
  50%
4 star (1) 
  25%
1 star (1) 
  25%

Mrs.p.howell (England) on 07/06/2016:
1 out of 5 stars

What a load of codswallop this information is about raising the bed 6 inches is. I suffer from a herniated disc in the bottom of my spine also varicose veins in my right leg in which I developed phlebitis in 1962 and have had recurring bouts during the latter years. After having numerous injections in my back which alleviated the pain and sciatica I have been pain free for 4years and my leg I have managed the phlebitis with 2types of cream and gel from the doctors and a compression stocking. My husband whilst he was on the computer read that raising the bed by 6 inches was supposed to do one good, so we gave it a go, the first night or the first morning when I got up I could hardly walk and my leg was really bad, never mind I persisted until I have had to give up sleeping on this bed and go into the other bedroom where the mattress was firm and flat but the sciatica and leg are only getting better very slowly for all I am taking painkillers. So I advise against those with disc problems and varicose veins to raise their beds.
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Jianyin (Miami, Fl) on 02/13/2012:
4 out of 5 stars

I have IBT for my varicose from last July until now Jan. 2012, but the effect is not so obvious. I think it may have some effect but not so dramatically. I am not sure if it is because I didn't make it right. I do raise the head 6 inch and the middle some 3-4 inch.

Please let me know if there is anything wrong with it.

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Veesue (Sheridan, WY) on 07/03/2009:
5 out of 5 stars

Inclined Bed Therapy: Hello All- I want to share my experience in the hopes that it helps others. My leg veins started "acting up," that is hurting and swelling after my first child was born in 1986. For 23 years I have suffered with burning, swelling, and discomfort in my legs. My feet also burn even more if the temperature gets warmer. I have tried the gamut: stockings, ice, elevating my legs, cooling creams...etc. I even went through the whole process to see if I could get them removed by laser treatment. Well, it was determined that I do not have varicose veins! While I do not have bulging blue/purple veins at the surface, I do have bulging amorphous bumps on my calves and thighs that look like deep veins are swollen and pushing out towards the surface. Just as unsightly as far as I'm concerned. And painful too. I was always aware of the discomfort, burning, swollen feeling...it just felt like my leg veins were being stretched. I was never, never, never without the urge to put my feet up just to relieve some of the pain and vein pressure. You could find me at my desk any day with my feet propped up on my computer tower under my desk.

Then I found some info about Inclined Bed Therapy and I feel like crying! At first I read something about propping the bed up at the feet.....that hurt my back and made sleeping difficult. Then I found this page on my favorite Web Site!! Earth Clinic! I am now sleeping with my head at the bottom of the bed (bed inclined approx. 4 inches--head higher than feet), and have done so for about a week. Already I am a new woman! I first notice a weird feeling last night, at the end of a long day...my legs just didn't feel normal. I walked around and was a bit freaked out...they didn't hurt nor feel extremely fatigued as usual. They felt like there was a cool layer of support on them...no feeling of veins bursting through, no pain, no feeling of my calves "jiggling," which I used to think was just fat, but now I know it was probably extra water retention. That is a crazy feeling. Now my ankles are normal size and although I have no pictures, the way my legs used to look is burned into my memory. They have a huge, definite improved appearance in just a week of Inclined Bed Therapy. I may even wear a pair of shorts above my knees in public this summer!!! For the first time in 23 years. Blessing to all!
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Andrew (Paignton, Devon) on 01/11/2009:
5 out of 5 stars

Andrew K. Fletcher
Paignton, Devon U.K.
+44 1803524117

Inclined Bed Therapy (IBT) Varicose Veins Study.
Inclined To Sleep Inclined Yet?

Dear Reader

We are seeking more people with varicose veins who are willing to put IBT to the test and feel that this is something that your readers and colleagues will definitely find fascinating and some who have varicose veins and oedema and wish to avoid surgery may want to Help in this important trial and join our Free study which has already produced positive results in only 4 weeks as predicted!

News Release:

An Important Scientific Study into the cause of Varicose Veins and Oedema and Inclined Bed Therapy (I.B.T.) is now underway, which makes use of the way the body uses gravity to move solutes through the vessels to improve circulation and alter the pressure inside the veins to significantly reduce swelling and oedema. Our study is free for anyone to participate in. There are no products to be sold or marketed.

What is Inclined Bed Therapy?

Gravity was identified as the driving force behind circulation in trees in 1994 and was applied immediately to how circulation in the body benefits from the same interaction with salts and sugars in the circulation. A video showing the use of IBT with spinal cord injury can be viewed here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3D7tBQfCxQ

IBT is simply tilting the bed so that the head end is 15 cm's or 6 inches higher than the foot end providing a level but tilted bed, hence the name Inclined Bed Therapy.0 People with varicose veins, oedema (fluid retention) are needed to participate in an online Diary Study, in order to prove that simply altering our sleeping position can have a positive affect on these problems.
If you or someone you know has Varicose Veins, the standard advise is to raise your legs and tilt your bed the other way to IBT, Or to undergo risky and expensive surgery that is prone to fail because it does not address why the pressure inside the vein causes it to bulge.

Which according to current physiology books makes sense. But what if that logic is incorrect? All the evidence from our study is showing that gravity is not a force we are struggling to overcome but a force that drives the fluids within the body.

Are you prepared to take the 4 week challenge and provide us with your observations? Or do you know someone who has varicose veins and would like to watch them slowly but surely shrink and improve every night they go to bed instead of becoming more unsightly and uncomfortable?

Our study is located on the Naked Scientists forum, who have a regular slot on BBC Radio.

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=9843.msg121037#msg121037

My wife's calf showing clearly her varicose vein shadow, which went flat after 4 weeks of Inclined Bed Therapy back in 1994 and has not returned to its former state since. http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=9843.msg121037#msg121037

Alun has already confirmed my statement on the study thread that Varicose veins will shrink after 4 weeks of IBT and has supplied us with photographic before and after 4 weeks of IBT along with a diary account of his observations. And he is not alone. http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=9843.75

We are hoping to find at least 50 more pioneering volunteers who wish to avoid surgery and it's inherent risks and failures, who are willing to provide us with photographic and a written account of their own experiences sleeping inclined.

So far our study is running towards a predicted outcome that flies in the face of current physiology literature.

Look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely Andrew K Fletcher
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