Vax D

There are new forms of back treatment that are widely promoted for treatment of back pain. One of the most common and effective is VAX-D, which treats radiculopathy secondary to degenerated and herniated lumbar discs. Contraindications include infection, neoplasm, advanced osteoporosis, bilateral pars interarticularis defect, grade two or higher spondylolisthesis, fractures, post-surgical spinal instrumentation, and cauda equina syndrome. Extruded lumbar discs are not excluded from treatment.

During treatment, the patient is put on a table with a motorized device that stretches the lower back. The device applies axial distraction to the lower back gradually and progressively during the decompression phase, which typically lasts one minute. The decompression decreases gradually during a thirty-second period and then is maintained at a low level for another minute during the rest phase.

The process is repeated. A normal VAX-D therapy session consists of fifteen cycles, with a maximal tension of seventy-five pounds during the decompression phase and twenty pounds during the rest phase. As a safety measure, the patient holds on to handgrips while traction is applied. The patient may let go of the handgrips at any time if pain develops, which immediately releases the traction force.

There is a reported success rate of 71%, and it has been found that VAX-D is superior to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in the treatment of low back pain. Lumbar intradiscal pressures have been measured in various settings. In studies of the L3-L4 intervertebral disc in normal individuals, it has been reported that intradiscal pressure varied substantially with position and activity.

Compared with the upright standing position, reclining reduced intradiscal pressure by 50% to 80%, whereas unsupported sitting increased pressure by 40%, forward leaning and weight lifting by more than 100%, and the position of forward flexion and rotation by 400%. There is a growing amount of scientific data on the effects of traction-like devices on intradiscal pressure. In one study of five patients with abnormal lumbar discs, it has been reported that intradiscal pressure was markedly lowered from baseline into a negative range by decompression applied with VAX-D.

Intradiscal pressure showed an inverse relationship to the level of force being applied. This is the main study cited by VAX-D proponents, who believe that this treatment can relieve back-related symptoms by decreasing intradiscal pressure. In addition, as many as a half dozen studies have subsequently demonstrated the efficacy of this procedure.

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