Orthopedic dog beds

Amazing though it may seem, one of the top selling orthopedic products the world over is the dog bed, or at least the orthopedic version of it.

I find it quite amazing that so many pet owners are prepared to buy an orthopedic dog or cat bed, but do not see the relevancy of doing the same for themselves and their families.

This becomes all the more pertinent when you consider that the spine of a dog or cat is retained in the most natural of horizontal postures during nearly all aspects of the animals life.

With humans this is of course not the case. Our spines are held vertically and operate in what appears to be an unnatural and badly orchestrated mechanical way.

Even so, orthopedic pet beds are big business and, although comparatively expensive compared with their human equivalents, do offer some benefits to the pampered pets.

What to look for in a pet bed
Pretty well all of the guides that you would apply to a good human bed or mattress apply to a good dog or cat bed.

Contouring and support are paramount and materials like memory foam are ideal.

In the wild, animals see or make bedding areas that are spongy and compressible. A manmade bed should replicate this and visco elastic memory foam pets beds are probably the best.

Removable, washable and ideally waterproof covers will extend the life of the bed's mattress and they will also allow the removal of odours, dirt and accidents.

Here is a site, http://www.buddybeds.com/ with some dog beds and more information for those who have pets and are interested in the providing them the best possible sleeping surface.

Orthopedic and ergonomic pens

In addition to the more obvious orthopedic products that aid, assist, or relieve some symptom or problem, there are some “task easing” products that you can buy.

One example of these is an orthopedic and ergonomic pen.

These pens (or biros) come with an extra thick (and usually padded) barrel that allow them to be held without having to contort the fingers too much.

These pens have a diameter, just above the nib, that may be 3, 4 or 5 times the thickness of a regular pen and they often taper out towards the writing point to prevent the fingers from slipping down the pen.

This thickened bolster area is usually made from a “soft to the touch” material that requires a minimum of pressure to grip it, and the pens are usually light, but also well balanced.

Most pens have an easy push mechanism to retract the pen nib when not in use.

These pens can help anyone with arthritis, tendonitis or RSI and they are often available from high street stationers, book stores and other specialised outlets.

You can see some examples of these easy to hold and use pens at the following url - http://www.twenga.co.uk/offer/5805/2410169220951738428.html.

Cervical neck pillow

A cervical neck pillow is a special pillow that is contoured to correctly support the head and neck during sleep or rest.

These pillows are rather strange in appearance as they tend to have a “T” shape. They also allow for two different sleeping postures. Namely, back sleeping and side sleeping and this contributes to their unusual profile.

The shape of these pillows often incorporates a projecting wedge like support for the neck and a central arced cradle area for the head. This design is ideal for those who sleep on their backs.

Some orthopedic neck pillow designs will include a separate area of the pillow (usually to one side) for people who sleep on their sides, or who change positions during the night. This again contributes to a strange appearance, but one that is based on function.

You can see an example of this type of pillow on http://www.necksolutions.com/cervical-neck-pillow.html.

The reasons for using these types of pillow are obvious. Sleep and comfort in the bed are enhanced and the neck and spine are retained in the most natural and healthy of alignments.

The cradle shape of these pillows also prevents the head from rocking or rolling and the alignment of the spine from the neck to the base of the back is kept straight.

The alternative to this type of pre-shaped pillow is a memory foam pillow where the weight and warmth of the head and neck should, ideally, create this cradle effect for anyone using one.

Shoulder supports

With most of the products that I write about I have had some first hand experience of their use, however in this case I have not – although I nearly did.

My reason for covering shoulder supports is simple. I dislocated my right shoulder a few years ago and had a significant amount of muscle deterioration over the three and a half weeks that I was in a flexible brace.

Treatment for dislocated shoulders seems to vary greatly. Some doctors go for the immobilisation option (like mine) whilst others think that this approach is counterproductive and weakens the muscles to too great a degree during recovery.

All I can say is that I required over 4 months of physio to get my shoulder movement back and that it was a long and very slow process (though not really painful). On the positive side, I have had no problems since.

Shoulder braces “may” offer either, a protective option if the shoulder is not immobilised and restricted use is encouraged immediately after the accident. Or they may provide some protection against over rotation of the joint whilst the muscles build up their strength again after enforced immobilisation.

EITHER WAY, YOU SHOULD DO WHAT YOUR DOCTOR RECOMMENDS.

 
In my case I was advised against using one, simply because my doctor told me that I would become dependant upon it and see it as a crutch. He felt that once you start using these braces you never feel safe without them!

The problem for me was that the scare stories that I was given by a Pakistani doctor, during a check up at the hospital, made me reluctant to even consider squash or badminton again (both of which I played regularly).

He told me that I had a 95% chance of reoccurrence if I tried to engage in theses sports – even once my shoulder was back to full strength. (And dislocations are incredibly painful and something that, once experienced, you want to avoid at all costs.)

I now think that using a shoulder brace may have had some benefit for me if worn “only” to participate in these sports and I regret not having tried one out.

If you want to see what some of these products look like, you will see some examples here, http://www.physioroom.com/catalog/Shoulder_Supports/2042.html and http://shop.bupa.co.uk/general_supports/universal_shoulder_support-c56919p56930.html , but do consult with a doctors or orthopedic specialist and get their professional opinion first.

One of the big arguments in favour of these products is that they are used by professional sportsmen and women and, in the UK, rugby players often use them after an incident, or to protect against a shoulder injury during a match.

Memory foam applications

Moving on from some general information about memory foam, here are a couple of popular applications for this unusual product.

Bedding

The most frequent application of memory foam is in bedding and primarily mattress and pillow products. Both of these items are ideal applications for memory foam as they offer what are often described as orthopedic properties of support to the person using them.

Their big advantage is the ability of the viso elastic material to support the person sleeping (or resting there head) in a balanced way that avoids excessive pressure or stress. Conventional bedding materials have a tendency to leave key skeletal parts of the body bearing most of the body’s weight, e.g. the shoulders and hips, and this in turn can result in aches and pains. Memory foam can help to avoid this.

Shoes

 
Another increasingly popular application of memory foam is in the inner soles of orthopedic and diabetic shoes. Here again, the visco elastic memory foam allows a constantly variable level of support to be provided by a material that avoids pressure points that could result in sores or foot injuries.

This has the benefit of potentially reducing the likelihood of calluses, hammer toe problems and many other foot and toe difficulties. In the case of diabetic shoes this can be a major advantage. But it will ease the comfort and aid the support level of any shoe, orthopedic or otherwise.

Picture panel loud speakers

This is a novel, but potentially “audio” and “home cinema” revolutionising product that I saw prototyped on TV several years ago.

The concept is a simple one

Instead of having large and bulky loud speakers sat on stands and taking up room, you have flat panel speakers that can be disguised to look like pictures. paintings, or flat un-obstructive panels on a wall.

The speakers are only a couple of inches wide, but can have an expansive frontal area.

The speakers work by using ELAC NXT exciters (see http://www.1388.com/articles/elac-panel-eng/index.html) that oscillate at high frequencies to produce sound.

Sound Quality

How good the sound quality is, I do not know, and it seems hard to believe that the audio quality could equal serious hi-fi products that require large boxes and powerful drivers.

Even so, this is a technology that has the potential to shape and change the speaker systems that we use and, with the options to buy them inclusive of artwork, they look set to have a broader appeal.

Current speaker sizes seem to range from just under a half a metre square, to approaching a metre square.

At this moment in time the marketing of these products seems fixed on their dual functionality as art and audio equipment.

Visco elastic memory foam

I have mentioned Visco elastic memory foam in a couple of posts so far. This material is both popular and scientifically supported when it comes to a number of orthopedic product applications, so I will expand on it here.

Memory foam came about as a result of the NASA space program and has since found its way into a number of products.

The obvious examples are bedding items like mattresses and pillows, but memory foam can also make an appearance as an insole material in orthopedic shoes and its applications are increasing all the time.

What memory foam does

For anyone who has never seen memory foam, it has too unusual characteristics that are linked together.

The first is that it moulds itself to the shape of any object that applies pressure to it - and it does so with an absolute minimum of displacement to the zones adjacent to the body causing the pressure.

As an example, this means that if you place your hand on a piece of memory foam and apply a force, and then remove your hand, you will see an imprint of your hand in the foam.

This gives memory foam a unique ability to conform to the shape of objects resting on it, but without causing a ripple effect or even a distortion of the foam a few inches to the side of the resting body.

The second characteristic of the foam is the “memory quality” that sees the foam return to its original shape a few seconds after the weight is removed. It is as if the foam creates a temporary imprint of anything placed upon it, but an imprint that disappears "before your eyes" once the item is removed.

In a future post I will touch on the orthopedic benefits of this “moulding property” of visco elastic memory foam. In the meantime, this http://www.here-be-dreams.com/bedroom/memory-foam.html link will tell you a little it more.

Orthopedic pillows

Whenever you see an orthopedic product with an apparently high price tag there is usually a reason for it. Very frequently these products will have something to do with back or spine support - and this may be more important than you think.

Most orthopedic complaints originate from the back and 8 out of 10 people will suffer from a back problem at some time.
Given this worrying statistic, investing in certain orthopedic versions of specific products may enable you to avoid being in that 80% “problem” bracket and keep you “back problem” free.

Pillows

 
One example of a good, and not too expensive, product that can benefit from orthopedic inspired design is the common pillow (the one used in a bed).

A good pillow should cradle your head, take the pressure away from the top of the spine, and be comfortable.

If you wake up with a stiff neck or twinges in your neck or shoulders, it may be your pillow that is to blame.

Traditionally duck and goose feather and down pillows were the popular choice followed by compressible foams, but you can now choose from some more advanced materials.

Memory foam pillows

 
Memory foam, also called visco elastic foam, is a complex manmade material that offers what many believe to be a superior level of orthopedic support to normal pillows.

These pillows adjust and shape themselves to the head and neck profile of the person resting on them. They also have a property that causes them to return to their original shape when not in use.

The big advantage of a memory foam pillow is the way in which it supports the head, neck and top of the spine. It does this in such a way that the spine is correctly aligned. This is not always the case with some other materials that may over compress, become lumpy, or lose their compressibility and load bearing resistance over time.

Memory foam pillows come in a standard pillow shape, or pre-profiled to the contour of the head and neck and prices are now quite low.

To find out more, take a look at this page:
 http://www.putnams.co.uk/neck_pillows_orthopedic_memory_pillow.htm

It will tell you more about these pillow products.

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Orthopedic Bed Wedge

An orthopedic bed wedge is a "comfortable" foam wedge aimed at providing leg elevation when a body is in a lying down position.

Some of these wedges come with contoured thigh and calf supports for extra comfort. They are available in different elevations - usually starting at 150mm or 6 inches.

An orthopedic wedge can help the circulation in the legs and the “venous return” to the heart which in turn may help varicose veins and other circulation or venous problems.

These wedges also place lumbar spine under a mild degree of traction with can also be beneficial.
Orthopedic wedges may assist in the relief of acute back pain, or offer a relaxing posture after some kinds of surgery.

These foam wedges usually have a removable and washable cover for hygiene.

More info

Here is the url of a website offering these products: http://classic.backbenimble.com/new/pages/bedWedge/