Inclined Bed Therapy (I.B.T.) Experiment Proposal

[millyjayne]

whats inclined bed therapy ? and whats it supost  to do ?

[Andrew K Fletcher]

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An interesting post from Greg on the USA Psoriasis Forum IBT Thread

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Bed styles in ancient Egypt remained very much the same for over 2000 years. They are among the most intriguing of furniture items because of their structure. Many were slanted down at an incline from the headboard. A footboard ensured that the sleeper would not slip off in the middle of the night. Furniture makers also constructed side rails on many beds. Writes Sibal, "….almost all beds featured legs in the form of animal legs, ranging from heavy bull’s legs to gazelle-like forms with hooves, and the feline type with paw and claw, frequently identified as  lion’s legs." The mattress was usually made of wooden slats, plaited string, or reeds, which then held woolen cushions or some other soft material. Sheets were made of linen.

Then there is the question of the headrest. Perhaps not everyone used these as pillows, but some physiologists have pointed out the ergonomic benefits on the spine of sleeping with the head resting in this position


My reply to Greg:

Hi Greg Thanks for your quote. Was beginning to think I was the only one reading this thread. Can you share with us your own experiences using IBT?

As you rightly state, the pictures do speak for themselves. And a lot certainly can be learned from the past.

I have read the Dead Sea Scrolls Translations to find out more about why ancient beds may have been tilted. Found a passage stating: The flow of blood through the body i the same as the flow of sap in a tree and the same as water flowing in a stream or river.

During the Tudor Period an illness plagued the whole of Europe killing millions of people. Until a tempest took away the unusually foul air. Presumably they meant High Humidity. The very rich and the very poor suffered the same unforgiving demise, which took them in their sleep as they lay down. The illness was called The Sweating Sickness, again suggesting high humidity.

They learned to place two guards by the bedside of an afflicted person and I can see the logic in preventing them from laying flat. These guarded people apparently survived. They had no other form of medication against this condition.

I have also been informed that in Canada there is a very old fort that holds two gigantic sloping beds that can sleep 12 people. What was this type of bed designed to do?

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My baby refuses to lay flat , or be held in a flat position. If i lay her flat she will sit up on her elbows.Could something be wrong with her spine?

Reply.

· It's same for my baby. He's 4 month old now. He likes to be held up, not flat position. I think nothing is wrong.
o 2 months ago

Reply.
· Hi. I doubt that something is wrong with her spine. My daughter absolutely refuses to lay flat. Shes five months old and will still not lay flat. She cries and cries until I sit her up straight or she moves herself. I just think sometimes babies do not like certain positions I have definitely found that out with my little girl. I wouldn't worry too much, but if you honestly think something is wrong then contact your doctor.
o 2 months ago

The Death of Queen Elizabeth the 1st invloved her refusing to lay down, she would stand for many hours, resting only in a chair, much as many of our elderly population find to easy their aches an pains and inevitably prolong their health and life by avoiding the flat bed. Eventually the Great Queen surrendered to the advice of her doctors and lay down never again to recover.

Perhaps this therapy is a little too Alternative?

[Diletta]

I have subscribed to this theory to some extent and had raised my bed about a year ago.  However, the bed in question was a very old futon and the incline wasn't very even, ie the wooden slats were sagging a little in the middle.  We recently had a new wooden bed made, and had it designed to be raised if we wanted.  We have also invested in one of those visco elastic 'memory' foam mattresses.  Husband and I are sleeping much better, and in the last month I have noticed that my skin is very good indeed. In the mornings the patches are very faint, and fade even more immediately after a shower and good moisturising.  They redden a bit over the day, but are not itchy, are flaking minimally, and are not spreading..  They are quiet enough that I am not too self conscious at the swimming pool, so this has been a great boost. 

I also take a variety of food supplements ie Vit D3, fish oils etc. but have been taking these all year and part of last year, so I can't see that the improvement would be down to those alone..

Basically, I am still trying to find that elusive cocktail of lifestyle changes which might give me more relief. The most effective treatment undoubtedly has been Bath PUVA, but now I am at a stage where I could say that the remission from it is really lasting and inflammation levels remain about the same week on week...  My doctor predicted about 6 months of remission, I well into the 6th month and I think that he would be very pleased with the 20 or so spots I have on me... from being at least 50% covered... this is huge stability...

Anyway, for what it's worth, the only lifestyle change that I can think of recently has been the new bed and the new mattress..

Any science there?  I'm not sure, but others just might be interested..

Best wishes, Eileen

[Andrew K Fletcher]

Eileen Good news regarding your improvements with psoriasis. Thank you for getting back to us and sharing your experience and observations. The answer as to whether changing your bed could assist your gradual improvements is yes, having a slope on a bed from head to toe is what we are trying to achieve. Having a dip in the mattress due to slats will undoubtedly compromise circulation. We also use the memory foam mattress. A little strange at first but love it now we have gotten used to it, great for preventing slipping on the mattress also.  Fluctuations in the psoriasis is to be expected during dietary changes, and Christmas is not good for people who have psoriasis so would be good to hear how diet changes during the usual Christmas binge alters your psoriasis.

Helen is doing fantastic on IBT. Will get some more photographs soon and share them.

Odd that more people are not willing to take part in our study?

Best wishes and fingers crossed for future improvements. If the theory is correct your skin should continue to improve to the point where it is no longer troublesome and obvious. Penny and a few others still experience minor relapses usually small areas on elbows, nape of back and knees but nothing like they were before inclined bed therapy.

Andrew

I have subscribed to this theory to some extent and had raised my bed about a year ago.  However, the bed in question was a very old futon and the incline wasn't very even, ie the wooden slats were sagging a little in the middle.  We recently had a new wooden bed made, and had it designed to be raised if we wanted.  We have also invested in one of those visco elastic 'memory' foam mattresses.  Husband and I are sleeping much better, and in the last month I have noticed that my skin is very good indeed. In the mornings the patches are very faint, and fade even more immediately after a shower and good moisturising.  They redden a bit over the day, but are not itchy, are flaking minimally, and are not spreading..  They are quiet enough that I am not too self conscious at the swimming pool, so this has been a great boost. 

I also take a variety of food supplements ie Vit D3, fish oils etc. but have been taking these all year and part of last year, so I can't see that the improvement would be down to those alone..

Basically, I am still trying to find that elusive cocktail of lifestyle changes which might give me more relief. The most effective treatment undoubtedly has been Bath PUVA, but now I am at a stage where I could say that the remission from it is really lasting and inflammation levels remain about the same week on week...  My doctor predicted about 6 months of remission, I well into the 6th month and I think that he would be very pleased with the 20 or so spots I have on me... from being at least 50% covered... this is huge stability...

Anyway, for what it's worth, the only lifestyle change that I can think of recently has been the new bed and the new mattress..

Any science there?  I'm not sure, but others just might be interested..

Best wishes, Eileen

[Andrew K Fletcher]

14th December 2008
Met Helen at a local pub in Paignton, where our son was in a singing competition. Handy because I had the camera with me and asked Helen if I could photograph her obvious skin improvements while using IBT. Helen has agreed also to do a short video interview so that everyone can hear how this simple therapy has changed not only her psoriasis but given Helen a huge confidence boost. Now she feels confident to wear short sleeve tops and ¾ trousers.

Helen continues to improve using Inclined Bed Therapy




If Helens was an isolated case it would be worthy of investigation. But Helen is not the only person with psoriasis to enjoy huge improvements without taking any drugs using this Free Therapy.

Andrew K Fletcher

[Andrew K Fletcher]

Has anyone continued with Inclined Therapy and if so could you please give us an update?

Helen has now added evening primrose oil, cod liver oil, fish oil and folic acid to her daily regimen. Her skin is now completely clear.

However, she has also put her bed back down flat following decorating and for some reason continues to improve over around 2 months and her skin remains completely clear of Psoriasis. How much of this is down to the sloping bed I cannot say and I am quite puzzled by this, but it is fascinating and thought you would like an update.

Helens bed has been flat for 8 months now in total.

Andrew

[Andrew K Fletcher]

Helen is virtually clear of psoriasis using cod liver oil, folic acid, fish oil, evening primrose oil and vitamin C daily.

A relative came to stay with us for a week. Her psoriasis was red and angry around elbows and on her chest and other parts of her anatomy.

The spare bedroom has an inclined bed in it. Next morning she reported some improvements in her sleep and night time bathroom visits, she also reported improvements in her general aches and pains.

The next morning more improvements to report including a noticeable improvement in her psoriasis.

Day 3 psoriasis continued to improve and was now a healthier pink colour, and she had stopped complaining about itching.

Day 5  Further improvements in psoriasis and she had been able to walk further each day, around 3 miles without her usual aches and pains.

The improvements by day six were astounding and reminded me of the reason for posting this thread.

It’s a shame people on here can’t cooperate but there you go.

Andrew

[Gareth125]

Hi Andrew . I am very interested by your article on this subject . When I was about 13 ( about 27 years ago now!) I went to an accupuncturist to see if he could help me with my Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis . He had recently come back from China , where he had learnt more about his field. He told me that ancient Chinease medicine treats Psoriasis as a circulatory problem with an "over heating " of the blood. I wonder if you did some research in this area , you might find evidence that supports your theory. I am a firm believer that the ancients knew an awful lot about modern conditions and the treatments used at the time have been lost and forgotten over time.
The accupucture really helped my Psoriasis whilst I was having it , however it came back when I stopped going due to financial reasons.

here is a link . Though there are studies that show treatment with chinese herbal remedies may be more effective

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[Andrew K Fletcher]

Hi Gareth

We appear to have forgotten many ancient treatments and much ancient logic over time, often replacing it with wholly inadequate but more profitable drugs and surgery. In the Late Tudor Period, people slept sitting up due to so many people laying down and not waking again in the morning following the sweating sickness that ravaged Europe killing many millions of people, including some nobility and even a King.

They had no Tamiflu or vaccine to fight the illness, al they had in fact was the power of observation and quickly learned that those that did not lay down somehow managed to survive this lethal unidentified disease. Two guards were placed at a sick persons bed side, presumably to prevent the person from laying flat and sleeping. The guarded person often survived, while the uninformed person lay down and died.

As mentioned before on this thread, the Ancient Egyptians also practiced avoiding sleeping flat, even designing beds to prevent this. We do not know and perhaps never will why they made the beds this way in the first place, but we do know that sleeping on a five degree head up incline was widely practiced from the very powerful right down to the labourers who built the pyramids.

So it is not surprising that the Ancient Chinese, perhaps the most advanced of all the civilisations realised that many conditions were in fact circulation problems.

Multiple sclerosis is now thought to be a problem with circulation by a few who have gone against the unfounded logic that the immune system suddenly decides to attack the nervous system. The idea that blood reflux from the cerebrospinal vein is now thought to be the primary cause of the damage, first introduced by Doctor Franz Schelling, and now proven to be the case by Professor Zamboni and Colleagues who have identified swollen and twisted veins in 100% of patients with ms tested, where controls without ms had no such varicose veins next to the spinal column.

If you do decide to test drive Inclined Therapy, please take photographs of affected areas of your skin and nails so that comparisons can be made during and after 4 months.

If I can help, please do not hesitate to ask.

I will read the information on the link you have provided and already find it intriguing, thank you.

Andrew

[pedro59]

[quote author=. In the mornings the patches are very faint, and fade even more immediately after a shower and good moisturising.  They redden a bit over the day, but are not itchy, are flaking minimally,





[/quote]I've often noticed on NORMAL FLAT BEDS that Psoriasis is 20-30% faded upon awakening ..for the first few minutes...

so what happens whilst one sleeps?..

..I would hypothosize (especially seeing it happens on flat beds) that it is not to do with circulation but rather that Theta brain cycles (which are also produced during sleep cycles ) can reduce Cortisol secretions up to 97%..

Cortisol is the main stress hormone that aggravates Psoriasis....

..