QuestionI am a 57 years old who had 19 treatments on the DRX. During the treatments, I started to get new sharp pains. After almost every treatment, it was very difficult to adjust to the upright position while "loading the discs".
On the 17th treatment, I gasped with paralyzing pain with an immediate flood of tears. I couldn't stand up, nor barely breathe due to this unexpected pain attack. The receptionist/aid gave me a walker to support myself with and the doctor came in. They both helped me to the chair where I used my typical ice and electirc stim. I was able to slowly and gingerly walk out of the office. After the 19th treatment, with the same very frightening experience, I stopped treatments. But, I continue to have the gasping pain unexpectedly--which I never had before!! What happened?
I have severe problems with my back affecting my cervical area which continues throughout my spine. It is diagnosed as advanced degenerative joint disease, advanced degenerative disc disease, with dessication, retrolisthesis, antereolisthesis, a "collasping spine" (adult scoliosis with a rotational component) Grade 1 spondyliothesis, foraminal stenosis, etc. etc.
The doctor had just bought his DRX and I was one of his first patients. I followed explicitly all of his directions: wear a back brace 24 hours a day, not drive or sit down at all during the 5 weeks. I was to lie down on my side in the back seat of the car being transported to his office, lie down or stand up at home, use ice, drink lots of water, take glucosamine, etc.
Yet, the doctor would use an arthostimulator before each treatment to try and align my back to correct biomechanical issues. Wouldn't that undo any value from decompression?
2. What is the correct angle tilt of the pelvic harness concerning the L5/S1? ( I had read in my search for information that the pelvic tilt should not be tilted upwards for L5/S1)
I am in search of accurate information about the research studies and effects of decompression and not just the advertising hype enticing hopeless back sufferers. It is always positive. Weren't there any cases who had negative outcomes like mine? Have you ever had patient experiences who had similar paralyzing gasping pain stepping off the platform? Why does this jolting pain continue to occur?
I appreciate your help. Thanks. Sharon
AnswerDear Sharon,
I will attest that there are patients who tried and failed with different treatment modalities only to find relief with the DRX9000 unit. The problem is how a DRX9000 owner markets and employs the unit. It simply is not a panacea for back pain sufferers. To lure patients with chronic lower back pain into shelling out $4000 (or more) and commit them to 20 treatment sessions raises serious ethical questions. Here are snip-its of exchanges from a physician抯 web site where this topic was discussed by different doctors:
<< ?there is no question that it works, the questions is how does it compare to other treatments. If you can get the same results with an F and D (flexion-distraction) table that costs $10,000 to the doctor and $40 to the patient, why buy a $100,000 machine that costs the patient much more? .>> Good question!
<< (a Dr. in a DRX9000 clinic) In clinical practice, I can't say that 86% "success rates" defined as resolution of symptoms is actually true. I would say that that only 50-60% actually achieve 80-100% resolution of symptoms. >> Does this mean that the public was duped into expecting 86% resolution?
<< I would also like to see how it compares to McKenzie protocols which also costs less and does not require a $10,000 table. I have a friend that works in a multidisciplinary clinic that is based around this (DRX-9000) machine. He also states that most of the patients there have already been to chiropractors, PT's etc... I wonder though what they were doing. From what I have seen, very few clinics provide service beyond passive modalities, including the P.T.'s (in my area) >>
So you can see, Sharon, your situation is not new. We have not seen clinical literature on adverse affects of the DRX9000 or similar devices. We also know that there are many different types of treatments available to a patient with chronic back pain, and, sadly, many patients never have the opportunity to receive them prior to more costly (DRX9000) or more invasive (surgery) procedures. Some MD's don't refer patients outside of a medical/surgical referral loop. Some think chiropractic and physical therapy are the same. Some think all chiropractors are the same. Some chiropractors don't employ anything more than joint manipulation, while some consider various gizmos (e.g. arthoro-stim) as equivalent to manual methods [and, by the way, an arthrostim or any other gizmo does not "align" a back]. Some PT's do what they believe is joint manipulation but it may not be the same as other types of joint manipulation methods. I can go on and on ...
The 86% figure that is quoted was based on two studies listed below, each with different flaws. The Shealy study had only 39 subjects and a conflict of interest, since the researcher used his own product. The Gose study did not use a DRX9000 unit, but instead a 揤AX-D?unit, and the DRX people poo-poo the VAX-D machine (though they didn抰 poo poo it years ago when they bought it).
Shealy CN, Leroy PL. "New Concepts in Back Pain Management: Decompression, Reduction, and Stabilization." Pain Management: A Practical Guide for Clinicians. CRC Press. 1998.
Earl Gose, William Naguszewski, and Robert Naguszewski. "Vertebral axial decompression therapy for pain associated with herniated or degenerated discs or facet syndrome: An outcome study." Neurological Research. 1998; 20: 186-190.
Sharon, here are some other references that have better scientific foundation. It can also shed light on other treatment options [1][2] You can access Dr. Murphy抯 article by going to this link: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/7/16
Personally, I've been holding out on the DRX and others, and find that I, too, can get an 86% success rate (in my biased, empirical opinion). I, too, have had patients gasp in pain coming off the table (usually the flexion-distraction table, but had simple strategies to bring them back to pre-treatment status or better, e.g. by exercising them on a rocker board; but this is my own experience and it may not reflect that of other doctors).
I hope some of this was helpful.
Scott F. Gillman, DC, DACBSP
1. Donald R Murphy, E.L.H., Amy A Gregory and Ronald Clary, A non-surgical approach to the management of lumbar spinal stenosis: A prospective observational cohort study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2006. 7(16).
2. Maruti Ram Gudavalli1, Jerrilyn A. Cambron2, Marion McGregor6, James Jedlicka2, Michael Keenum3, Alexander J. Ghanayem4, 5 and Avinash G. Patwardhan4, 5, A randomized clinical trial and subgroup analysis to compare flexion-distraction with active exercise for chronic low back pain. European Journal Spine, 2005.
