How to pick good bed wedge for heartburn problems?
Monday, March 8th, 2010 at
12:12 pm
I am trying to buy a bed wedge which are supposedly good for easing heartburn. I’ve read that the minimum recommended elevation is 6-8 inches. The bed wedges come in 8, 10 and 12 inches elevation. It seems to me that the elevation should somehow depend on your height, but I am not sure. I am about 6 ft. Does anyone know which bed wedge is best? Thanks for any help!
Filed under: Alternative Medicine
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Some great summaries of studies regarding bed wedges can be found at BedLift.com - See this:
" Using continuous monitoring of pH (acidity) within the esophagus among several alternative positions at rest, this randomized clinical trial detected a significant decrease in the time that the esophagus was exposed to highly acid conditions when using a foam wedge to elevate the head, and also showed a decrease in the time necessary for the acid to be cleared. Interestingly, use of a wedge-shaped mechanism was significantly more effective than elevation through the use of standard bed blocks."
and
" METHODS: The subject was placed supine on a standard hospital bed. The head of the bed was then elevated to 30 degrees according to 2 protocols: (1) supine for 10 minutes without leg elevation alternating with 10 minutes of side-lying, or (2) supine for 10 minutes with leg elevation at 10 degrees alternating with side-lying every 10 minutes. Body displacement and mean sacral interface pressures in both protocols were compared by using repeated measures analysis of variance.
RESULTS: The 30-degree head-up position with 10-degree leg elevation significantly reduced the amount of body displacement at the acromion compared with no elevation of the legs. There were no significant differences in mean sacral interface pressure in either position. C
CONCLUSION: Leg elevation at 10 degrees in the 30-degree head-up position was effective for reducing body displacement at the acromion; it was not effective for reducing sacral interface pressures."
Trial and error. I am not certain there there is an "exact" best elevation - certainly not one elevation for everyone.
An inexpensive option would be to get some wood to put under head end of the bed frame, or the posts, or whatever is at the top end. Arrange them to safely support the bed at whatever height you want to try. Adjust it higher or lower as needed.
Good luck - hope you can find the solution that works for you.
You can find more here : bedlift.com
Good luck.
It’s all personal preference. Any amount of lift is good, and the recommended 6-8 inches you’ve heard is about the mean size that most wedges come in. I couldn’t seen using something over 10" because the amount of lift seems to me to be too great and would compromise comfort. 5 or 6 inches isn’t really anymore than 2 pillows would be stacked. If I were you I’d go with a 7 or 10 inch wedge, depending on your height.