Posted on October 8, 2005.
An Inexpensive Bed Alternative and More
Coping with back pain and getting a good night’s sleep is never easy. The difficulty is often compounded when you must deal with the migrating pains associated with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Arden Gifford, M.D. has found an inexpensive solution for easing his back pain and improving his sleeping habits: a LoungAir — a multipurpose twin mattress that can convert to a chair or lounger.
Dr. Gifford likes the convenience of the LoungAir. “It is excellent for travel purposes,” he says, in part because of its convenient carrying case with an easy-to-use drawstring and heavy-duty strap. In a way similar to how he uses his LoungAir at home, Dr. Gifford enjoys that comfort of home when he stays in a hotel room because he simply places the LoungAir on the floor “in a portion of the bedroom away from the bed.”
When asked why he places his LoungAir on the floor, Dr. Gifford said, “I use the floor [as a] back brace.” He said it’s a continuation of the self-therapy he recommends for patients with back pain in which he suggests that they “lean against a wall or lie on the floor with knees bent to remove the curve in the small of the back.” Dr. Gifford further insists that “there is nothing at all wrong with the floor. People before the 20th century slept on the floor all the time; many still do. The bed is a 17th century wealth concoction, [that resulted] from the same thinking as McDonald’s Hamburgers and other convenience and luxury items in life: They are nice to show, and may taste or feel good, but they are not good for you.”
Dr. M. J. Gimeno (The Stress and Phobia Center, Clearwater, FL) treats “a variety of patients — some with panic attacks, anxiety, chronic pain, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, depression, and other conditions.” He “recommends the Loungair … for patients who need to be in a comfortable position for meditation, musical meditation, and directed imagery.” He likes the LoungAir because “for patients with chronic pain, it relieves a lot of pressure.”
For his patients with Fibromyalgia, Dr. Gimeno recommends a program that includes a “Fibromyalgia diet and supplements such as Co-Q10, Alpha Lipoic, [and] Benfothiamine as well as daily relaxation [and] meditation.”
As for himself, Dr. Gimeno says, “I own a LoungAir that I use to practice my own meditation to the sound of Mozart, and as an extra bed/chair for visiting friends and relatives. I like the flexibility that this unique item provides. It is not an inflatable bed! It can be adjusted to different positions and is easily transported from one room to another. It provides relief by decreasing ‘weight pressure’ on those sensitive trigger points.”
Dr. Arden Gifford also says he recommends the LoungAir because it is “small, portable, convenient, flexible, and medically and orthopedically sound in helping people sleep well and combat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.”
Dr. Gifford also recommends the LoungAir for GERD reflux patients, in part because it is something they can take with them when they travel.
Overall, Dr. Gifford likes the LoungAir because it’s “simple to put away” and is comparable to alternative options that can “cost two the three times as much.”
When I mentioned my frustration that putting the LoungAir on my bed made it too high for me comfortably climb onto it, he said, “The use I put to the [LoungAir] bed it not to put it on the bed. I place it on the floor [for the] firm underlying support; the sagging of the support of the bed is one of the features of a bed that contributes to back pain.” He also said that “the conformity of the air support is better than water because it does not roll and make waves, but simply supports with no pressure, unlike all other forms of mattress products that I have used.”
According to Dr. Gifford, “about 80% of back pain can be resolved by bed rest, but you have to have the right type of bed; placing the [LoungAir] bed on the floor provides the support. He said that putting the LoungAir “on another mattress is self defeating,” adding that for those with Fibromyalgia and muscle spasms, placing the LoungAir on the floor “provides support for the spinal column with the needed bracing to reduce spasms.”
Both doctors enthusiastically recommend the LoungAir. When asked if he had anything more he’d like to say about the LoungAir, Dr. Gifford said, “I use this Loungair everyday, and everywhere I go. It is excellent for travel purposes. … This is not a temporary toy, or something to stow in the closet until guests come; this is a real and effective medical prosthesis for me in that I spend 1/3 of my life in it and it makes me quite comfortable.”
Dr. Gifford added that he chose the LoungAir because “other products were either too large, or only flat, or had various other cumbersome features. The easy of use is that you don’t have a big bulky product that you have to struggle with to get inflated. It is small, convenient, and easy to use.” As his final endorsement, Dr. Gifford said, “The fabric is soft and does not have the swimming pool air mattress feel that sticks to your skin and is hot and uncomfortable.”
Pictures of the LoungAir
In Search of a Better Sleep and Relief from Fibromyalgia and Back Pain: A Review of the LoungAir
Other related information:
Things to Help You Keep Better Sleep
Related posts:
- My Fibromyalgia Story: Living with Fibromyalgia by Julie Wendell
- Light Therapy Products to Provide Relief from Seasonal Affective Disorders (SAD)
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A professional writer since 1984, Pamela Rice Hahn is the author of more than 20 published books.