Back pain and traction.

[Loose rivets]

As mentioned in ‘slipped disc', I would like to collate some of my previous posts into one document, in the hope that it may prove useful.

One of the avenues I am investigating is ‘Spinal Decompression' using a computer controlled machine called DRX 9,000. Extraordinary claims are made about this $100,000 machine and the associated traction techniques.

I would like to know if anyone has any knowledge or even experience, of this device, and at the same time get some feel for the numbers of people that have some concern about their backs.

Thanks LR

[hixton]

Well count me in on the info.
I have had this slipped disc for 18 months now.
I`ve tried physio, osteopaths, chiropractic, acupunture, anti inflam steroids, reiki, tai chi, - all a complete waste of cash along with the self funded MRI scan.
The only surgery the NHS were prepared to do was to remove the disc, after which I would be 90% guaranteed to be left with some lower back pain for the rest of my life, but hey, it would cure the sciatia and I could go to a pain management clinic!

[Loose rivets]

As always I must give a remember, I'm a pilot not a doctor.
It is probably no comfort to know that you are in the company of a great number of people whose lives are drastically altered by back pain. $26 billion (yes, that is billion) a year spent in the US treating this problem. Mind you, of that astonishing figure, $11.1 is spent on 'office visits' Mmmm...
I am looking at the above mentioned machine with some interest, though I have come to NO CONCLUSIONS yet. The claims are too good to be true? Or are they?
Certainly, rushing into surgery is not the thing to do, unless there is a very specific and easily identifiable source of the symptoms. Sometimes it is vital to act quickly, so that more damage is not caused by abrasion or even cutting of nerves by bone fragments etc, but most of the time there should be a breathing space for detailed evaluation.
I post these links for evaluation only, in much the same way that I mentioned microspine in FLA. It sounded then, as though they were going down the right track logically, but only medium to long term statistics will be meaningful.
In haste.
http://www.microspine.com/
http://crespomd.com/
http://www.axiomworldwide.com/


Edit: I have just been speaking to the manufactures of the DRX, and it seems that there is not a machine in the UK at the moment. However, I think that there might be in the not too distant future.

[rhovsquared]

believe me back or neck pain is attrocious-since an auto accident-not my fault btw. in which i received a herniation between C6 and C7 causing horrible spasms and severe disability since then i cannot fly/ do lab work/drive/ focus etc it been 6 months so far and likewise insurance coverage problems. unfortunately pain from this cause is quite recalcitrant and recovery, as a see/feel/know, is excruciatingly slow. one thing that has helped a little for me is careful manual traction and accupunture...very sorry you're in this situation i hope you get better i really know how you feel and i know the frustration with therapies/doctors chiropractors/shamans and the fact that surgery can worsen matters

rhov

[Mary P.]

Hello Loose rivets,

I have had a slipped disc at the L5/S1 level for years now. Combined with flying a 737 was not always the easiest thing to do.
I have tried various treatments which have made life a bit better:
* Inversion table. Available at relaxtheback.com in the USA. It decompresses the dics. and you can do it at home when it pleases you. The cost: about US$300
*Swimmimg. It streches your spine.
* I tried a treatment in the US some years back called VAX-D. Look it up on the net. It was expensive and didn't anything more than the inversion table does.
*Sleep on a waterbed or a "Tempur" mattress. A waterbed especially is heated and keeps you back pretty toasty all night long.
Good luck,
Mary

[Loose rivets]

This is very rushed, and not at all what I was intending to do, but just to give some encouragement to those that are losing hope of a cure. All cases are different, but the science as a whole is progressing well. The following is just a quick overview of some modern techniques, specifically relating to discs that are diminished in thickness. The microspine system is the exception.

A comprehensive course of treatment on the DRX 9000 takes about 20 days, with further follow-up treatment at a more leisurely pace. In a good practice, there will be other procedures running in parallel with the traction. $4,600 is a ball park figure, but this is based on insurance companies footing the bill. But remember, this is not just manipulation.

The concept is claimed to be more far-reaching and permanent than just adjusting the spine. It is claimed that fluids are drawn into the intervertebral discs, due to negative pressures being created in the disc. Note that in the case of discs [that are not being repaired by the bodies's own repair systems], there is an absence of a blood supply. A healthy disc is reliant on this ‘breathing', but as the pain becomes greater, so it is far less likely to be ‘pumped' by normal activities. It's a vicious circle.

http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article1267.html


To check in to an American hospital, can, I am told, be as low as $35,000. This seems rather low to me. The briefing that I had was for a laminectomy on a 76 year old man with considerable stenosis, not a trivial op. He assured me that his bills from the Mayo clinic were all in, but I'm really not sure. The Mayo will I'm told, give an outline diagnosis on receipt of MRIs and reports sent in by Fedex!!! I find this odd, and know of no one that has actually done this.


http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=128&topcategory=Spine


The microspine laser treatment was $11,000 ish for the first level, then $10,000 per level. It was off to a local hotel for recovery. A recent MRI is required. The thing about this treatment is that it is minimally invasive, and they claim that they can cut away more ‘hardware' with a laser. No comment.

Another route to correcting the symptoms of a diminished disc, is to wedge the vertebra apart with a Wallis device. This is open surgery, because the wedge has to be strapped into place of course. This is practiced in the UK on the NHS and takes some weeks of recovery but mostly at home. This again is based on the premise that the disc has collapsed to some extent.

http://www.spine-health.com/research/trials/wallis/wallis.html

There is no doubt that if the discs could be persuaded to draw in life giving fluids, and then be persuaded to stay like that, it would be nothing short of miraculous. With the intervertebral distance correct, other components, like facet joints and nerve routing, are more likely to align.

In a conversation with a British neuro-surgeon, he dismissed the concept of disc material being sucked back in, as Bollocks. ‘It doesn't work like that..." he said, and dismissed the whole concept of traction as a curative procedure. He is a very experienced spinal surgeon. The makers of the DRX have had to overcome a great deal of scepticism, and here, there may be a financial factor... Only statistics will reveal the answer, but someone in pain does not want to wait that long.

There is little doubt that $4,600 would be a small price to pay to get one's life back, but for most people, the thought of lashing out such a sum, and then being no better off, is a nightmare. A great deal of thought has to go into choosing the correct route. There is one route NOT to take.

There is a procedure in which the soft material in the center of the disc is cooked with a catheter. I doubt that a disc so treated will ever be of value again. This technique has been used in the UK to alleviate pain...with some good results, but I doubt anyone will offer this procedure anymore. I hope.

My main doubts lie with the aging disc.

75 years of age is suggested as a maximum, but patients that can not be anesthetized because of age, are having traction in their late 80s. I guess this is on a ‘nothing to loose basis.'