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