What is the Trendelenburg position of the electric nursing bed?

The Trendelenburg position is a feature integrated into most electric nursing beds. The position causes the person’s head to be down and their feet to be elevated so that their whole body is tilted down and their feet are higher than the rest of their body.

What is the Trendelenburg position?

The position was first used by the German surgeon Friedrich Trendelenburg in 1881 to give him better access to the pelvic organs during surgery.
An American physiologist later used it as a treatment for shock – it was thought that raising the legs above the head would help maintain blood flow around the brain.
Historically, the position was also used to treat hypotension (low blood pressure) and injured scuba divers. However, these uses have become obsolete and in some cases have been found to have a detrimental effect on these types of patients.
Today, the Trendelenburg position is widely used for patients with breathing problems, as raising the legs above the head helps to improve blood flow to the organs (perfusion). More modern uses, including the surgical repositioning of abdominal hernias, can be found here.

What is the reverse Trendelenburg position?

Reverse Trendelenburg – also known as reverse Trendelenburg – is a position where the head is 15-30 degrees higher than the feet.
Again, this position has been used in surgical and medical procedures to improve access to certain parts of the body, such as the prostate and upper abdominal area. In addition, this position helps overweight and obese people to breathe during surgery by reducing pressure on the head, which can often build up.
In contrast to the Trendelenburg position, the reverse Trendelenburg position impedes blood circulation. Although this is beneficial for head and neck surgery, the patient must be constantly monitored to reduce the risk of hypotension.

The Trendelenburg or reverse Trendelenburg position is achieved with an adjustable nursing bed. Most electrically adjustable beds and nursing beds have Trendelenburg and inverse Trendelenburg functions, for example the BAE 509.
Although it is extremely rare to use these positions for medical purposes in a nursing or home environment, they can provide you with additional postural control and practicality. Alternatively, you can use an adjustable nursing bed to elevate the legs into Trendelenburg, which helps with blood flow. It is important to note that these positions should not be held for long periods of time as this can lead to serious injury. There is also a remote control which can be controlled remotely, this allows the caregiver to deactivate certain positions and functions and provides reassurance if there is a safety issue. It also prevents the person using the bed from accidentally operating the Trendelenburg function and causing injury to themselves.