Therapeutic bed

The therapeutic bed is, as its name suggests, a bed and mattress intended for use by people who experience sleeping difficulties or physical discomfort, both of which the bed tries to relieve through its design and features.

Therapeutic beds can be used by anyone, however those who will gain the greatest benefit tend to be people who suffer from back ache, general joint and muscular discomfort and people who are large or who have an illness like arthritis. A more comprehensive list of ailment that these beds can assist with is listed at the foot of this page.

What is a therapeutic bed?

As with nearly all bed types, there is no definitive meaning for the term therapeutic bed, however these beds are marketed by many manufacturers and retailers and they generally have a consistent set of features.

Therapeutic beds, sometimes marketed as “wellbeing” beds will have high quality mattresses, often comprising visco elastic memory foam, latex foam or a composite of springs and foam. They may even include other materials like gel and many water beds are described as therapeutic.

The general idea behind this type of bed is that it offers the best possible support to the person lying on it. The most effective way of doing this is by having a mattress that supports the body, and especially the back and spine, in its natural profile. This means that the mattress must be able to compress and deflect around large heavy body features like the hips and shoulders whilst filling the concave curve at the base of the back. This is particularly important for “back sleepers” as it supports the natural “S” shaped curve that this section of the spine follows. Visco elastic memory foam mattresses and latex foam mattresses are particularly good at holding the body in a natural lying down posture.

Adjustable beds

Another feature, often found on the more expensive therapeutic bed, is electric adjustment. Electrically adjustable beds allow both the angle of the backrest and the leg supporting sections of the bed to be adjusted by remote control. This means that subtle changes to the beds support can be controlled by the person lying in it at the flick of a switch. This makes it possible to either, get an ideal sleeping position, or to change posture whenever discomfort or restlessness interrupt sleep.

Adjustable beds come as single and double units and, in the case of the adjustable double bed, both sides of the bed can be controlled and operated individually by the use of separate remote controls. This means that two people can sleep in different positions independently.

These beds are ideal for anyone who has to spend long periods of time in a bed and who wants to be able to elevate the back supporting portion of the bed in order to eat, read or sit upright.

More features

As previously mentioned, it is possible to find therapeutic beds with mattresses made from different materials and compositions of different materials, e.g. a base of pocket springs and two upper layers of different density memory foam. It is also possible to have other more active therapeutic features as part of the bed’s construction and these may include the following.

Heated mattress

Heat is one of the best therapies available. It can relax and rest muscles, ease joint pain and generally help the body and mind into a state of relation – vital for getting to sleep. An increasing number of therapy beds now offer (often as an option or extra) a mattress that can provide gentle heat. The heat settings are controlled by a remote unit and normally include thermostatic heat settings and a timer.

Massage

A second therapy feature found on some more expensive beds is massage. When this is the case the massage is control by a small hand held remote attached to the bed.

Massage beds vary greatly. Some offer a single massage function whilst other may offer a choice of massage simulating therapies, e.g. Swedish or shiatsu techniques. These beds may also enable the massage function to be focussed on a particular part of the body, e.g. the back or legs.

Massage beds normally have a timer function, usually a massage speed setting and a treatment duration timer. Many have programmes that can be selected or customised and it is sometimes possible to combine the massage therapy with heat treatment.

Conditions and ailments that a therapeutic bed may assist

Firstly, if you have any serious illness, a degenerative disease, or a long term health problem you should consult you doctor or occupational therapist. Treatments like heat therapy and massage therapy can have a negative effect of some conditions.

Example conditions that a therapeutic bed may help to relieve

• Sleeping problems from discomfort during sleep to restlessness and insomnia.
• Obesity and weight problems that result in sensitive pressure points and discomfort.
• Arthritis and similar degenerative illnesses.
• Joint and muscle pain (that does not ease after rest or sleep)
• MS
• Swollen feet and ankles and aching resulting from varicose viens.
• Waking up feeling tired and un-rested, or stiff and worse than you did when you went to bed the night before.

Variations and specialisms in therapeutic health beds can include -

• The bariatric bed for people who would find the size and capacity of a standard bed usuitable.
• The Adjustable bed where features like mattress height and inclination can be changed to suit a person or patients needs
• An electric beds where the movement and control of any adjustable components is powered by motors.

Accident prevention

One of the dangers associated with patients sleeping or resting in therapy or high dependency beds is the risk of injury resulting from falling out of the bed. Two ways of preventing, or at least lessening the seriousness of, any such accidents is to use bed rails and bed fall out mats. The rails can prevent falls and the impact absorbing matting can lessen the impact and resulting injury.