| Vertebral axial decompression therapy is a very | | | | with walking, but more particularly, by lying down, |
| useful tool for people who have horrible back | | | | which unloads the spine and reduces intradiscal |
| problems because it is relatively inexpensive and it | | | | pressure. The causes of mechanical low back pain |
| does not involve surgery. Data was collected from | | | | may include degenerative disc disease, degenerative |
| twenty-two medical centers for patients who | | | | spondylosis with limitation of range of motion, facet |
| received VAX-D therapy for low back pain, which | | | | arthropathy, relative lateral recess stenosis from a |
| was sometimes accompanied by referred leg pain. | | | | combination of the above, microenvironment presure |
| Only patients who received at least ten sessions and | | | | changes affecting the thecal and epidural space from |
| had a diagnosis of herniated disc, degenerative disc, | | | | disc bulging, subligamentous and/or extruded |
| or facet syndrome, which were confirmed by | | | | herniation, and segmental instability. |
| diagnostic imaging, were included in this study. | | | | A number of potential mechanisms are specifically |
| The data contained the patients' quantitative | | | | addressed by the lumbar vertebral body separation |
| assessments of their own pain, mobility, and ability to | | | | achieved during therapy. With aging, disc desicction |
| carry out the usual 'activities of daily living'. The | | | | occurs, disc height is lost, and this process is |
| treatment was successful in 71% of the 778 cases, | | | | accelerated with activities which produce high physical |
| when success was defined as a reduction in pain to 0 | | | | loading of the lumbar spine. Osteophytes develop |
| or 1, on a 0 to 5 scale. Improvements in mobility and | | | | along the anterolateral and posterior border of the |
| activities of daily living correlated strongly with pain | | | | vertebral bodies, and facet arthropathy increases as |
| reduction. The causes of back pain and their | | | | degenerative disc change advances . Normal vertebral |
| relationship to this therapy are also discussed. | | | | body separation is lost as the disc degenerates. blood |
| Although imaging procedures, including CT and MRI, | | | | supply to the nerve roots of the cauda equina is |
| are able to accurately define structural pathology, the | | | | sensitive to compression. Even at pressures of only |
| correlation of these anatomic findings with | | | | 5-10 mmHg, the flow in over 20% of the venules |
| physiology, back pain, and other clinical complaints is | | | | was completely stopped. Flow in all the capillaries |
| imprecise. Although surgical decompression, epidural | | | | stopped at pressures between 20 and 50 mmHg. A |
| blocks, and spinal instrumentation can sometimes help | | | | pressure of 30 mmHg is slightly less than one pound |
| patients suffering from back pain, these treatments | | | | per square inch, so solute transport is easily reduced. |
| do not completely take the biomechanical function of | | | | Even vertebral distractions of 1 or 2 mm per disc |
| the disc into account, and may leave patients | | | | would reduce ligamental redundancy and help to |
| unrelieved of their suffering. | | | | restore canal/foraminal patency, reduce venous |
| Low back pain is aggravated by activities that | | | | congestion and increase axoplasmic flow. |
| increase axial loading on the spine, such as sitting, | | | | For greater resources on Vax-D and especially about |
| standing, and lifting. Patients may describe some relief | | | | spine or even about Lumbar please visit these links. |