Just about anybody with lumbar back pain has heard of the "Spinal Decompression" therapy offered using the DRX9000 "space age device."  It has been advertised everywhere, and has created a lot of "Buzz" in the Boulder Colorado community. 

?Is it Safe?   Yes and No.  Most doctors are very careful when they examine a patient, and go through an extensive checklist to make sure the patient is considered a "good candidate" for the treatment.  "Good Candidate" means that you would have a strong likelihood of getting some improvement in your back pain, and very little chance you could get hurt or have your condition worsened.  A small percentage of lumbar disc patients need to be decompressed while lying on their stomach...to be treated on their back would chance further disc injury and more pain.  The DRX9000 is not able to treat patients on their stomachs, Period.  Yet, stories are told in the medical community of patients being made worse with treatment.  Is it possible the doctor tried to fit the square peg into the round hole instead of telling the patient they were NOT a good candidate?  Yes.  I have personally had 2 disc problems, and been significantly aggravated by a well-intentioned Doctor using a DRX9000.  I was put into the machine by a technician, and the "start" button was pressed with the poundage of decompression based only on my body weight.  In a few minutes, the pain was unbearable, and I felt like my muscles were being torn, so I made the tech turn the machine off, reset the decompression tension to half of the prescribed setting, and then had an OK experience.  I am a doctor, and was shocked by the sense of "auto pilot" that the people use with the DRX9000 (in my experience only).  A good practitioner will always start slow and low, and stay with you for as long as it takes to get the right settings worked out.

How many visits will it take?  Nobody knows for sure, but most patients need at least 10 and up to 25 treatments to get good results.  This is normal, since the treatment is speeding up the healing of a very deep tissue, the disc.  As you know, a bad ankle sprain can take up to 8 weeks to heal.  The disc is no different:  it takes time.

What should I look for in a good spinal decompression Doctor or clinic?  Here is a brief checklist of things the spinal decompression doctor should do:

• Complete History and Physical exam, including x-ray and MRI review.
• Functional movement exam:  which movements make the pain better and which make it worse.  Is the pelvic ring (Sacroiliac joints and pubis) intact and strong?  Would a trochanter belt help or hinder your movements?
• Are there any genetic factors, nutritional deficiency, birth defects, that may be important?
• Is the spine stable?  Is the vertebra sliding back and forth with flexion or extension?  If so, you may be injured if you get spinal decompression...everything moves more and the nerves can be damaged.
• Is there a movement disorder?  Is the pain reproduced each and every time you do a specific movement (and is that really stressing the disc or some other pain-sensitive structure)?  If we find a movement disorder, we ALWAYS correct it first...and sometimes that solves the whole pain complex.
• Are they clear about the fees, the expectations, and the outcomes?   Are you being promised the "best thing since sliced bread"?    Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it just might be.

I have studied and been certified in Advanced Spinal Decompression techniques by Jay Kennedy DC.  "The Kennedy Method" is considered to be the highest level of training for spinal decompression, and if you get your care from a Kennedy Method doctor, you can be sure the above criteria will be met.

For more info on this subject go to:  Spinal Decompression

 Dr Douglas Kennedy (no relationship to Dr Jay Kennedy)