I've cut back bush beans before with some success. I wait til the main crop has been picked and they are making only a few beans then cut them back so that they are only about 8 inches or so tall and then wait for them to make a second though much smaller crop from the new growth. Make sure to water well for a few days after cutting to reduced the stress and to give them a little balanced fertilizer with some nitrogen because you are trying to grow a lot of foliage fast. I will not be doing it this year because I was late getting my beans planted and once the real hot weather arrives this technique isn't very successful.
The benefit of doing this is that the crop from the new growth after cutting back seems to have that young tender quality more like the early picked ones while the ones that grow off on the older vines seem less crisp. I have found that some of the ones cut back never seem to recover and regrow and the beans are usually smaller and less plentiful. If I had the room the best alternative is to plant a second crop about 3 to 4 weeks after the first so you have a steady supply but alas I don't have the room so that is why I have tried this several times.
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