Approximately 32 million people in the United States suffer some form of arthritis requiring medical care. Many medical authorities classify arthritis as the nation's number one crippling disease. It occurs in all ages from infancy to late adulthood, but medical studies indicate that 97 percent of people over 50 have some arthritic condition that will show up on X-rays.
    Basically, arthritis is an inflammation of a joint which causes pain and immobility. There are several types of arthritis, the most common being rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and gout.
    Medical studies have shown that equal distribution of the body weight in a controlled volume of water will benefit most arthritics. The even distribution of the patient's weight will reduce pressure on the major joints that are inflamed or affected by different forms of arthritis. Physical therapists have used heated water for years to soothe sore muscles and relive tension. Heated waterbeds have been used successfully to alleviate the sore muscles and joints that accompany arthritis, thereby reducing morning stiffness and decreasing the need for medications to relieve pain. Heat form waterbeds aids in proper blood circulation enhancing the healing process and reducing pain. The conventional mattress further reduces body heat. Affected joints must be protected from additional stresses and strains. Incorrect posture either standing up or lying down places additional stress on arthritic joints.
    Dr. Daniel Silver, an orthopedic specialist in Santa Monica, California, recommended a waterbed to a patient he was treating for osteoarthritis and disc disease. "I put that man on an exercise program including stretching and some medication," Silver explained. "But I also had him get a waterbed. Within a week, his back pain had diminished to the point that he no longer needed the medication except infrequently."
    Dr. Silver has slept on a waterbed himself and says: " Waterbeds are almost the perfect surface to sleep on. The heat, the subtle movement of the water, the fact that the body is totally and evenly supported, are very important beneficial qualities."

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    Patients who are immobilized due to spinal cord injuries, coma, hip fractures, diseases of the circulatory system, cancer, or any medical problem which requires prolonged bed rest, are susceptible to bedsores, also known as decubitus ulcers.
    The most common sites for bedsores are the sacrum, the bony process of the buttocks, the spine, kneecaps, skins, elbows, heels, ribcage, both sides of the ankle joints and shoulder blades.
    The incidence of bedsores in chronic illness varies from 10 to 30 percent. In the older population, people in their late sixties to early seventies, it is as high as 60 percent.
    When a person is confined to a bed or wheelchair for long periods of time, extra pressure is exerted on certain parts of the body. The tissue is pressed between the hard underlying bone and the surface of the bed at these pressure points. The blood vessels in the tissue became constricted, reducing the flow of blood to the tissue cells. If the pressure is prolonged, the cells being to die causing a decubitus ulcer.
    Treatment and prevention of ulcers depends upon reducing the pressure on the critical parts of the body. By using a flotation system, a person can prevent the formation of decubitus ulcers. Patients who already have formed ulcers experience more rapid healing when switched to a watermattress. The healing has been shown to be up to three times faster than without the use of a flotation system. The patient also enjoys the benefits of improved sleep and better overall circulation.
    The journal of the American Medical Association published a study done at the Easter Seal Rehabilitation Center of Eastern Fairfax County in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Five hundred patients slept on watermattresses over a three year period. None developed ulcers and those with previously formed ulcers experienced healing more rapidly than expected.
    Flotation mattresses aid in preventing and treating bedsores because there is two thirds less pressure exerted on the critical points of the body than with a conventional bed. On a conventional bed, the body weight is concentrated on the pressure points only.

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    Flotation has been found to dramatically reduce both pressure and pain of severely burned skin. The gentle movement and weightlessness of flotation has a sedative effect reducing the need for medication. Since blood circulation is not impaired, the healing period is shorter. The patient can also be made more comfortable because of the ability to adjust the temperature of the sleeping surface.
    Nurses Joan and Lawrence Noonan of Nyack Hospital, Nyack, New York, reported on the successful use of flotation systems in the treatment of burned patients in The American Journal of Nursing.
    "We believe the advantages of flotation are numerous," they wrote. "The patient is noticeably more comfortable and because he has less pain, can turn easily, exercise, eat and drink."

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