Introduction
Over 15 years of design, testing and refinement has gone into the development of the Relief Pyramid. Originally, the device was a one-piece monolithic foam product available in two sizes, short and tall. The new and improved Relief Pyramid is two-piece adjustable unit, incorporating a reversible top pad. This simple enhancement allows for customization of the Relief Pyramid height to accomodate different patient sizes.

A Brief History

The component concepts behind The Relief Pyramid are not new. Archaeologists have found beds used by the Ancient Egyptians that raised the head during sleep, decompressing the skull (or occiput) from the upper vertebrae of the neck (atlas of the cervical spine). There is evidence that Orientals used similar devices thousands of years ago. More recently, Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of Osteopathy, designed his own version of this bed-like device that he called the Saints Rest.

The idea behind all of these designs involves the principle of occipital decompression. Unfortunately, devices designed for nighttime use involved spending extended periods of sleep in the same position. Another relatively recent adaptation of the occipital decompression idea, also impractical for most of us, was Dr. Still’s “rope tied between two trees.” Yet, the desired objective of all these devices is the same: decrease suboccipital muscle tightness, gently stretch the dural tube and realign the occiput on the atlas to relieve tension headache.