Significant Reversal of Spinal Cord Injury Is Achievable Using Inclined Bed Therapy

Tel: +441803 524117 U.K: 01803524117

In order to convince the Medical Profession, that Gravity is of paramount importance to human physiology, we need to repeat an earlier pilot study, which has already shown to be highly productive in reversing a substantial amount of neurological damage in spinal cord injuries.

8" (20 cm's) 4" (10 cm's) Castors off the bottom

If you have a motorised adjustable bed which does not afford your legs to be lowered, this can be addressed by placing a strong plywood board under your mattress, so that when the head end is raised the whole mattress tilts.

Start at a six inch incline until you are comfortable with the changes, then go for the full 8 inch incline.

I have been researching the effects of gravity on spinal cord injuries since 1994 and have already proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that even complete spinal cord injuries dating back as much as 18 years can be reversed to some degree by simply tilting a bed and altering the posture while seated!

I want to share this important information with people who have spinal cord injuries and hope that some of you will help me with my research, by assisting me with this very important study.

The intervention is non-invasive, does not involved drugs, and has already been shown to work! It now needs to be tested on a larger scale.


My discovery is in how gravity drives the cerebrospinal fluid, in a simple flow and return system, inducing some nerve regeneration, and also appears to facilitate effective guidance to regenerating nerves, much the same as how gravity induces and guides direction to seedlings This is achieved by altering posture to make use of gravity and can repair a significant amount of the damage in complete / incomplete spinal cord injuries. However, this does not solely relate to spinal function and a vast amount of other benefits have been reported, namely restored bowel and bladder function, increased metabolism, reductions in infections, visual improvements and in particular addresses the problem of urinary infections by assisting the renal function, muscular atrophy, and osteoporosis have responded well to this intervention. A general decrease in pain has been noted by some people that have already taken part in the pilot study. However, during nerve regeneration / redirection, people have reported a temporary increase in pain. Spasm and general muscle tension is improved significantly also. One of the first things you should notice is an improvement in body temperature. Instead of cold hands and feet, you will find that you have nice warm hands and warm feet.

Goose bumps occur, finger / toe nails and hair grows more profusely. Toe nails, when they are in poor condition, have been reported to shed and a new nail grows which is stronger and smoother than the old nails that have been lost in two cases.

This therapy is also of benefit to many other medical conditions, including multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and Parkinson's Disease. Much of my initial work was with people suffering from illnesses. Moving on to spinal cord injuries brings a logical conclusion to this theory, and perhaps the most challenging test to the theory, which is why I want to present this therapy to everyone who is not resigned to accepting that there is nothing that can be done to recover from a spinal cord injury.

Two years ago, I tried to introduce this concept to the forum, only to find that a few people became hellbent on destroying my offer of help. The reasons for which they did this are still unknown to myself. After receiving a substantial amount of abusive and personal attacks, I decided to turn my back on the forum, and did so for two years, Mainly because my father was dying of cancer, and became the subject of one persons unprovoked outbursts on this forum. This was the final straw for me at the time!

I have now had a long time to consider the fact that I also behaved extremely selfishly by turning my back on the majority of the people on this forum, and hope they will forgive my somewhat shallow actions, in allowing the abuse to deter us from completing the study.

What should happen when I tilt my bed?

Instantly, your circulation will increase, your metabolism will also increase, generating additional heat. Heart rate will drop by 10-12 beats per minute, and respiration by 4-5 breaths per minute. You should feel more relaxed and notice that your spine is in gentle traction during the night the following weeks you should begin to feel able to breathe more easily, more relaxed, and have more energy within the first 4 weeks. Urine density, clarity and odour will also change within a few weeks, and body temperature significantly warmer.

How long does it take before I begin to notice significant neurological improvements?

This appears to be related to how long you have had your injury, and how severe your injury is. Obviously, one would expect a relatively new injury to respond far quicker than an injury dating back 10-20 or more years. I simply do not have enough data to predict how long this will take to work in each case and hope you can accept that we need more data in order to establish the limitations of this therapy. It is well documented that horizontal bedrest brings about many serious medical conditions, including neurological damage. Perhaps there might be something wrong with the way that the majority of us sleep? NASA has conducted a huge amount of research into bed rest, in order to induce the medical problems associated with micro-gravity conditions during short term and long term space travel. Some people have noticed improvements within 4 weeks, others in four months.

What about oedema? (fluid retention)

The current interpretation of oedema is that it is caused by fluids moving out of the main circulatory vessels into the surrounding tissue, predominantly in the lower limbs. And that raising the feet and legs provides temporary relief from the swelling that develops.

My interpretation based on the case histories I have, is that renal function is compromised by poor posture, and is effectively improved in the inclined position. This aids the circulatory vessels to remove more toxins and solutes from the blood and surrounding tissue so that it can be excreted in the urine more effectively. This allows the oedema to be pulled back into the circulation from the surrounding tissue and into the urine, which would also explain why the density of urine significantly increases on an inclined bed as opposed to a flat bed.

When My Father was in Hospital, they refused to elevate his bed. This resulted in an immediate increase in his leg oedema, which we had resolved for many years after his bed was initially tilted back in 1995. His severely ulcerated legs, which had troubled him since he was 29 years old, had also healed, but consequently deteriorated rapidly during his stay in hospital. I had a real battle on my hands with the staff of the hospital, and living 200 miles away it was difficult to keep a close watch on what they did and did not do for him. On returning back to see my Father I noticed his legs were so swollen, his bed clothes had to be cut away from him. I could not lift one of his legs it was so huge and badly swollen.

Finally, I lost the plot and began shouting instructions at them and threatening them with legal action. Finally, they accepted my advice to tilt his bed and within a few days all of the swelling had vanished, but alas, the damage to his ulcers had been extensive, and possibly led to his septicemia and ultimately his death.

There have been many more people that have reported oedema improvements by raising the head of the bed instead of raising the legs. However, if you already have a substantial problem with oedema, then you may get an initial shift of fluids down to your legs ankles and feet, before your kidneys can deal with the problem. This should be short term, and can be resolved by alternating the legs from horizontal to tilting them down in order to minimize the initial shift in fluids.

You will also notice that the inclined bed will alter the amount of urine you are producing, particularly if you have a lot of excess fluids to excrete.

What about thrombosis?

Thromboembolisms have been observed to diminish due to the substantial improvements in circulation, even vanishing without a trace over several months, providing further proof that the circulation responds to the correct alignment with gravity.

What about a collapsed vein?

This is a very serious problem, and has been noted by a lady with a spinal cord injury who participated in the pilot study. The veins in her leg had collapsed due to her spending many years in a wheelchair. Her circulation was compromised in her foot due to the decrease in venous pressure caused by tilting the bed. Normally, this does not affect the vein, and indeed the veins are designed to accommodate negative pressure/tension, whereas the arteries are designed to accommodate a positive pressure. On this occasion however, the veins became too constricted due to their poor condition and caused her foot to change colour. This was addressed by placing a cushion under the affected leg, while sleeping inclined and the problem improved.

However, this same altering of internal venous pressure by tilting the bed has been shown to provide amazing relief from varicose veins, whereby the veins are visibly pulled in and this happens in a very short timescale, from 4 weeks of inclined bedrest, my wife's varicose vein went flat. It had been bulging for 16 years, following the birth of our eldest son.

What about Balance?

Balance is greatly improved over the weeks using the inclined bed. Not long ago, I was at a garden centre with my wife, and noticed a very narrow rail used to pull the plant trolley along in the huge greenhouse. I decided to see if I could walk along the entire length of track, which measured around half an inch wide. I was amazed to find that I had full control over my balance and did not fall off the track. Although I got a few strange looks from people shopping there.

How do I participate?

Make a note of how you are prior to taking part, so that you have a benchmark to begin with. Note down the levels of sensitivity, what you can and can't do, giving as much detail as you feel comfortable with sharing with everyone. ( You may already have a comprehensive understanding of your physiological situation) But people using this forum would like to know where you are coming from when you post a diary thread).

Start a thread of your own in this forum, as Kerr Douglass has done in the private members forum. carecure.org/forum/showthread.php?t=39238

Several people have already began to sleep inclined, and I hope they will publish their diary in the European thread so that others can follow their example.
Once you have started your online diary in the European Forum, all you need to do is to add a diary entry as and when you or someone around you notices a change, recording things like unusual pains, changes in spasm, changes in skin tone and muscle tone, finger nails, (half moons may develop or become larger on nails)
Be patient as this therapy can take several months before it begins to show significant improvements.

Raise your seat by using an extra cushion in order to lift your seat higher than your knees. Obviously, this may not be possible when outside the home, due to safety issues using a wheelchair. But it has been shown to help to speed things along. Also, using a standing frame where possible.

Take Care:
Take care transferring into and off an inclined bed, as this may require assistance, given the mattress is sloping.

I would also suggest the use of a memory foam type mattress cover to prevent slipping and having to be pulled up the bed.

The idea is that your feet do not touch the foot board of the bed. This can cause the spine to compress rather than the traction effect of sleeping inclined. Also, you may develop a pressure sore on your feet if in constant contact with the foot board.

Consult your G.P. prior to taking part. This will at least alert him / her to what you are doing and may also generate some additional interest in our study.

Good luck, and thank you for your interest in my work.

Sincerely

Andrew K Fletcher

Links to Previous posts starting with the first thread.

More information Google: "Andrew K Fletcher"
sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthread.php?218...IBT)-How-is-everyone
sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthread.php?593...n-Walking-On-TV-News
sci.rutgers.edu/forum/archive/index.php/t-130642.html
sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthread.php?218...T%29-How-is-everyone
sci.rutgers.edu/forum/archive/index.php/t-22169.html
sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthread.php?491...on-of-Thread-Closure

"The upright posture alone improves locomotion in
spinal rats
There is ample reason to suppose the upright posture
should have an impact on the locomotor capacity of
animals with spinal cord transection. Sensory feedback
from load receptors in muscles of the hindlimb (Timoszyk
et al. 2005; Pearson, 2008) and cutaneous receptors
from the plantar surface of the hindpaw (Duysens &
Pearson, 1976; Bouyer & Rossignol, 2003a,b) can facilitate
locomotion, and even lead to the initiation of stepping
(Giszter et al. 2007). A comparison of locomotion in the
horizontal posture (Video 1) with the same animal in
C 2012 The Authors. The Journal of Physiology C 2012 The Physiological Society
J Physiol 590.7 The upright posture improves plantar stepping 1725
the upright posture (Video 2) demonstrates that there
is a dramatic effect of loading the hindlimbs. Rats with
complete spinal cord transections (Th9/10), when placed
in the horizontal posture, responded to tail pinch with
rhythmic EMG activity that was poorly coordinated,
resulting in failure of plantar foot placement, prolonged
extension and failure to produce a normal swing phase
of the locomotor cycle (Video 1, Fig. 2B, upper panel).
When the same animal was placed in the upright posture,
tail pinch led to sustained bouts of locomotion
with successful plantar foot placement, weight support,
and near-normal swing and stance phases of locomotion
(Fig. 2B, lower panel). The EMG pattern was dramatically
improved in the upright posture (Fig. 2B, lower panel),
with near-normal intra- and interlimb coordination. The
timing of bursts of EMG activity (Fig. 2B) in the extensor

"
physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/1...jphysiol.2011.224931

1: J Gravit Physiol. 2000 Jul;7(2):P23-5. Related Articles,Links

Responses of motor and sensory neurons of rodents to spaceflight.

Ishihara A, Ohira Y, Roy RR, Nagaoka S, Sekiguchi C, Edgerton VR.

Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.

Spinal motoneurons innervating skeletal muscles comprised predominantly of high oxidative fibers, i.e. slow oxidative and fast oxidative glycolytic, have higher oxidative enzyme activities than motoneurons innervating skeletal muscles comprised primarily of low oxidative fibers, i.e. fast glycolytic. These findings suggest that there is a close relationship between the oxidative phosphorylation capacity of a motoneuron and of the muscle fibers that it innervates. Since some skeletal muscles become faster and less oxidative after 4-14 days of spaceflight, it might be expected that oxidative enzyme activities in some motoneurons also may decrease after spaceflight. In addition, there is significant muscular atrophy after even short spaceflights and, therefore, it may be expected that some motoneurons associated with these muscles also would atrophy. In the present paper, we examine the issue of whether spaceflight induces changes in the oxidative enzyme activity and/or size of spinal motoneurons.

PMID: 12697542 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

1: Life Sci Space Res. 1964;2:267-86. Related Articles,Links

Effects of gravity on the functions of the central nervous system.

Adey WR.

Space Biology Laboratory, Brain Research Institute, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.

The sensitivity of the mammalian central nervous system to gravitational influences involves both direct and indirect factors. Gradual loss of cerebral circulation with increasing acceleration beyond 5 G has been shown to evoke changes in patterns of brain electrical activity, with epileptiform discharges triggered primarily in the hippocampal system of the temporal lobe, and spreading into other brain systems. The relationship of these structures to judgment and discriminative functions is discussed. Complete loss of cerebral circulation is associated with electrical silence in the brain. The possible effects of weightlessness on intracranial fluid distribution are reviewed. Tests of vibrational stimuli in the monkey have disclosed "driving" of electrical brain rhythms at the shaking frequency, particularly in the range from 11 to 15 cycles per second. These effects are unrelated to photic stimulation, and are abolished by anesthesia or death. Tests of discriminative capability at frequencies producing maximum driving have shown increased response latencies and increased errors. The neurophysiological basis for adaptive phenomena in recurrent vestibular stimulation has been found to reside partly in the vestibular nuclei of the medulla, and not to require integrity of connections with higher vestibular centers. The potentiation of responsiveness to vestibular stimulation in the weightless state has been shown to have a basis in the exaggerated responsiveness of medullary vestibular centers following loss of proprioceptive influxes from the spinal cord. The possible contribution of weightlessness to anomalous psychophysiological functions is reviewed. This area presents a major challenge in experimental design, and may require evaluation of such phenomena as distortion of the body image, modified sleep patterns and changes in optimal sleep-work cycles.

Publication Types:
Review
Review, Tutorial
PMID: 11881646 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

1: J Gravit Physiol. 2000 Dec;7(3):45-52. Related Articles,Links

Neural and neuroendocrine adaptations to microgravity and ground-based models of microgravity.

Edgerton VR, Roy RR, Recktenwald MR, Hodgson JA, Grindeland RE, Kozlovskaya I.

Brain Research Institute and Department of Physiological Science, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. vre@ucla.edu

The functional properties of the motor system of humans and non-human primates are readily responsive to microgravity. There is a growing body of evidence that significant adaptations occur in the spinal cord and muscle in response to prolonged exposure to microgravity. Further, there is evidence that the processing of sensory information from the periphery, particularly that input associated with the function of muscle tendons and joints, is significantly altered as a result of prolonged microgravity. We present evidence that the fundamental neural mechanisms that control the relative activity of the motor pools of a slow and fast extensor muscle is changed such that a slow, postural muscle is less readily activated during locomotion following spaceflight. Another type of change observed in mammals exposed to spaceflight relates to the release of a growth factor, called bioassayable growth hormone, which is thought to be released from the pituitary. When an individual generates a series of isometric plantarflexor contractions, the plasma levels of bioassayable growth hormone increases significantly. This response is suppressed after several days of continuous bedrest or spaceflight. These results suggest a unique neuroendocrine control system and demonstrate its sensitivity to chronic patterns of proprioceptive input associated with load-bearing locomotion.


Psychosom Med. 2001 Nov-Dec;63(6):862-4. Related Articles,Links

Comment in:
Psychosom Med. 2001 Nov-Dec;63(6):859-61.
Depression, mood state, and back pain during microgravity simulated by bed rest.

Styf JR, Hutchinson K, Carlsson SG, Hargens AR.

Life Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, CA, USA. jorna.styf@orthop.gu.se

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop a ground-based model for spinal adaptation to microgravity and to study the effects of spinal adaptation on depression, mood state, and pain intensity. METHODS: We investigated back pain, mood state, and depression in six subjects, all of whom were exposed to microgravity, simulated by two forms of bed rest, for 3 days. One form consisted of bed rest with 6 degrees of head-down tilt and balanced traction, and the other consisted of horizontal bed rest. Subjects had a 2-week period of recovery between the studies. The effects of bed rest on pain intensity in the lower back, depression, and mood state were investigated. RESULTS: Subjects experienced significantly more intense lower back pain, lower hemisphere abdominal pain, headache, and leg pain during head-down tilt bed rest. They had higher scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (ie, were more depressed) and significantly lower scores on the activity scale of the Bond-Lader questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: Bed rest with 6 degrees of head-down tilt may be a better experimental model than horizontal bed rest for inducing the pain and psychosomatic reactions experienced in microgravity. Head-down tilt with balanced traction may be a useful method to induce low back pain, mood changes, and altered self-rated activity level in bed rest studies.

PMID: 11719622 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

1: Acta Astronaut. 1981 Sep-Oct;8(9-10):1059-72. Related Articles,Links

Pathophysiology of motor functions in prolonged manned space flights.

Kozlovskaya IB, Kreidich YuV, Oganov VS, Koserenko OP.

Institute of Biomedical Problems, Ministry of Health, Moscow, USSR.

The influence of weightlessness on different parts of the motor system have been studied in crew members of 140 and 175 days space flights. It has been shown that weightlessness affects all parts of the motor system including (i) the leg and trunk muscles, in which severe atonia, a decrease of strength and an increase of electromyographic cost of contraction have been observed, (ii) the proprioceptive elements and the spinal reflex mechanisms in which decreased thresholds accompanied by decreases of maximal amplitude of reflexes and disturbances in cross reflex mechanisms have been found. and (iii) the central mechanisms that control characteristics of postural and locomotor activities. The intensities and durations of disturbances of different parts of the motor system did not correlate to each other, but did correlate with prophylactic activity during space flight. The data suggest a different nature of disturbances caused by weightlessness in different parts of the motor system.

1: J Gravit Physiol. 1994 May;1(1):P19-22. Related Articles,Links

Artificial gravity in space and in medical research.

Cardus D.

Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Houston, TX 77030-3405, USA.

The history of manned space flight has repeatedly documented the fact that prolonged sojourn in space causes physiological deconditioning. Physiological deterioration has raised a legitimate concern about man's ability to adequately perform in the course of long missions and even the possibility of leading to circumstances threatening survival. One of the possible countermeasures of physiological deconditioning, theoretically more complete than others presently used since it affects all bodily systems, is artificial gravity. Space stations and spacecrafts can be equipped with artificial gravity, but is artificial gravity necessary? The term "necessary" must be qualified because a meaningful answer to the question depends entirely on further defining the purpose of space travel. If man intends to stay only temporarily in space, then he must keep himself in good physical condition so as to be able to return to earth or to land on any other planetary surface without undue exposure to major physiological problems resulting from transition through variable gravitational fields. Such a situation makes artificial gravity highly desirable, although perhaps not absolutely necessary in the case of relative short exposure to microgravity, but certainly necessary in interplanetary flight and planetary landings. If the intent is to remain indefinitely in space, to colonize space, then artificial gravity may not be necessary, but in this case the consequences of long term effects of adaptation to weightlessness will have to be weighed against the biological evolutionary outcomes that are to be expected. At the moment, plans for establishing permanent colonies in space seem still remote. More likely, the initial phase of exploration of the uncharted solar system will take place through successive, scope limited, research ventures ending with return to earth. This will require man to be ready to operate in gravitational fields of variable intensity. Equipping spacecrafts or space stations with some means of artificial gravity in this initial phase is, therefore, necessary without question. In a strict sense artificial gravity is conceived as a means of replacing natural gravity in space by the centripetal acceleration generated by some sort of rotating device. Rotating devices create an inertial force which has effects on bodies similar to those caused by terrestrial gravity, but artificial gravity by a rotation device is not the same as terrestrial gravity, as we shall see. Present research in artificial gravity for space exploration is projected in two main directions: artificial gravity for whole space stations and artificial gravity produced by short arm centrifuges designed for human use in space.

PMID: 11538748 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]