Low back pain is a very common condition. The Need for diagnostic imaging for patients with low back pain has often been exaggerated. ‘Evidence indicates that routine imaging is not associated with clinically meaningful benefits but can lead to harms’, reports Annals of Internal Medicine.

Usually diagnostic imaging in this condition should be indicated only if low back pain is associated with progressive neurologic deficits or signs or symptoms that suggest a serious or specific underlying condition. This evidence-based recommendations from the American College of Physicians(ACP) and the American Pain Society (APS) appear to be grossly neglected. Routine imaging does not seem to improve clinical outcomes and exposes patients to unnecessary harms.

Overuse of imaging imposes severe financial burden on patients who already suffer lower productivity due to the menacing low back pain. Reducing unnecessary tests or ineffective treatments decrease the costs associated with low back pain. In addition to the direct costs imaging also causes additional expenses by leading to additional tests, follow-up, and referrals. It may also result in an invasive procedure of limited or questionable benefit.

The appropriateness of many of the low back imaging studies obtained in clinical practice has long been questioned. The ACP/APS low back pain guideline recommends selective imaging for patients in whom it is clinically indicated.

There are numerous factors that explain why routine imaging does not seem beneficial. Most lumbar imaging abnormalities are common in persons without low back pain and are only loosely associated with back symptoms. Although advanced imaging can detect more and smaller abnormalities, these abnormalities are not necessarily clinically relevant. This means a rapid MRI need not always be of greater practical value than radiography for evaluating low back pain.

Many abnormalities detected with advanced imaging are so common in asymptomatic persons that they could be viewed as normal signs of aging. The presence of imaging abnormalities need not mean that the abnormalities are responsible for symptoms.

Acute low back pain has a favorable natural history and the expected yield of routine imaging is low. Most patients show significant improvements in pain and function in the first 4 weeks; routine imaging is unlikely to improve on this. Imaging results rarely affect treatment plans. Thus they often have a low impact on clinical outcomes.

Routine imaging is associated with potential harms:

• Lumbar radiography and CT contribute to cumulative low-level radiation exposure. They may promote the development of cancer.

• The use of iodinated contrast in lumbar CT is associated with hypersensitivity reactions and nephropathy (disease associated with the kidneys).

• The average radiation exposure from lumbar radiography is 75 times higher than for chest radiography. This is particularly harmful to young woman because of the proximity to the gonads (sex glands). The amount of female gonadal irradiation from lumbar radiography is supposed to tantamount to having chest radiography daily for several years.

Most clinicians routinely order imaging for all cases of lower back pain even in the absence of a clear clinical indication though ACP/APS guideline suggests a trial of management without imaging in adults with no risk factors other than older age. The use of advanced imaging modalities like MRI and CT scans is skyrocketing. A large number of clinicians hastily jump to these modalities irrespective of any guidelines.

Patient expectations and preferences about diagnostic testing also add to the cause. They expect a clear diagnosis for their low back pain. Some attach a clinician’s decision to not obtain imaging with low-quality care. There are patients who think that their pain is not legitimate or important if the clinician doesn’t order for imaging. Wanting diagnostic testing is a frequent reason for repeated office visits for chronic back pain. There are ones who insist that they need imaging even after the physician explains that it would be unnecessary.

The potential solutions include:

• Clinicians should adhere to the ACP/APS recommendations on use of imaging so as to reduce overuse. Most patients do not need immediate imaging, and an initial trial of therapy before imaging is warranted in many cases.

• Advanced imaging should be reserved for serious situations, i.e. only when the results are sure to influence clinical decision making. Conditions like major trauma, severe neurologic compromise, or vertebral infection qualify for being imaged using an MRI or CT scanner. In the absence of strong risk factors for cancer and lack of neurologic signs, initial imaging with lumbar radiography and evaluation of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a reasonable approach.

• Patients should be educated about the pros and cons of imaging. Face-to-face information with patient hand outs, self-care education books, online materials, mass media educational campaigns help.

Source: ‘Diagnostic Imaging for Low Back Pain: Advice for High-Value Health Care from the American College of Physicians’: Annals of Internal Medicine.

Source-Medindi

by Dr. Nithin Jayan

Read more: Does Routine Imaging in Low Back Pain – Do More Harm Than Good? http://www.medindia.net/news/healthwatch/Does-Routine-Imaging-in-Low-Back-Pain-Do-More-Harm-Than-Good-80842-1.htm#ixzz1Dylv7n6r

Or how about the story of the treasure seeker spending his life looking for the mother lode only to find the most valuable treasure was in his back yard the whole time? If only he had known. If only someone had told him.

Running a business in the medical industry can be much like the two examples above. There may be a certain route you have been taking to serve the public and make a profit. But what if there were an easier route that got you more profits quicker? What if instead of looking all over the world or Internet for a goose that lays golden eggs, you had someone show a treasure you already have but just didn’t know it?

Marketing and business gurus constantly teach us that the quickest way to expand practice or business revenues is to focus on your current customer base. Specifically, to sell more to those with whom you already have a relationship of trust.

But what can you offer them without jeopardizing their trust in you? Obviously it has to be something of value to them…something they would be grateful to you for thus deepening their value and commitment for you.

Did you know that there are several highly reimbursable items with excellent patient outcomes available to you right now? They are so effective that they just might be that “easier” route to patient success and increased profits.

Take electro-therapy for example. TENS units are medically coded and have an average reimbursement of around $350 while the wholesale cost is around $30 depending on the unit. That’s over a 1000 percent markup! And TENS is proven to aid patients who suffer in pain by providing a pleasant sensation that overrides the pain within the nerve channels. It’s so effective that the American Society of Anesthesiologists recommends it as a good way to treat chronic pain. Plus there are several other electro-therapy modalities such as microcurrent, IF, EMS and galvanic that each have their own strengths. While they are not Medicare reimbursable items, many private payers will cover them. Plus there are several manufacturers that offer dual units—units that combine TENS with say, microcurrent or EMS. This way you can prescribe TENS to a patient who needs both modalities, and he/she will get the added benefit of the other.

Another highly effective and high reimbursing device is the SR 500 Decompression Back Brace which reimburses at an average of $930! Other back braces have similar reimbursement rates but only the SR 500 Decompression Brace works to treat the cause of most lumbar back pain instead of the symptom. (To learn more about it click here). The increase in patient satisfaction due to the healing and pain relief your patients experience will lead to an increase in referrals.

There are many other ways to increase your revenue from your current customer base. Billing items such as conductive garments, conductive bracing and many other products and treatment modalities are just some examples.

Before you invest a small fortune trying to increase your practice revenues by advertising to get new customers, consider the “treasure” that is lying right in your own back yard. Help your current customers by giving them more options to treat their pain and to heal. As you do you might just find what you had been looking for all along.

In the 1960s, adults who developed low back pain were undiagnoseable. Plain X-rays don’t reveal much about this condition, and physical exam usually reveals little. Physicians of that era, anxious not to cause harm, usually recommended an extended period of bed rest, which was often quite effective.

Beginning in the 1980s, however, with CT and subsequently MRI scanners, physicians could see all sorts of abnormalities in and around the spines of individuals with back pain, some of which seemed to be surgically manipulable. Surgery rates for back pain began to climb; technology melded with medicine to address what was in some cases incapacitating illness.

The problem, however, is that three decades later there is increasing evidence that surgery for lower back pain generally doesn’t work. A publication in International Orthopedics in 2008, for example, shows that although surgery carries with it a risk of complications, it appears to offer no benefit for patients with back pain. (This is a general finding for large populations … Patients with significant pain should still see their physician to get individualized advice.)

There was such a tremendous interest in that article and in microcurrent in general that we are compelled and pleased to follow it up with this article that takes a more specific look at some effective protocols.

It is important to understand that although microcurrent is the only electro-therapy that mimics the body’s own electrical current (and that is why it is so effective at healing) there are various frequencies and combination of frequencies that have been shown to effectively target specific ailments. Although microcurrent is not a one-size-fits-all-problems type solution, it has been through extensive research, trials and experiments that winning protocols have been discovered. Learning these protocols could mean significant success for your patients which will translate into significant increase in revenues as patient success and volume rises.

As with most any program or knowledge, those who have discovered these protocols don’t give them out free of charge.

Think of it this way: Someone invented the computer which is a wonderful blessing to the world. Then someone else created a software program that helps that computer become a useful tool for more people and for specific needs. (Think IBM and Microsoft). Both the maker of the computer and the creator of the program want to be paid. Same goes with the maker of microcurrent devices and with those that figure out how to harness their powers to tackle specific diseases and injuries.

While microcurrent can be used to aid the healing of many injuries, there is a short list of “no-go zones.” You need to be fully aware of them before prescribing microcurrent or using it on yourself. Outside of these areas lies a vast frontier of injury types, pains and diseases for which there are claims of microcurrent‘s miracle healing properties. Some are claimed proven improvements, some are simply observed improvements and many are just reported individual successes. Beyond these reports there is a whole lot of unknowns and thus room for more experimentation and discovery.

Two individuals who have successfully pioneered some specific protocols are Carolyn McMakin, MA, DC who is the clinical director of the Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Clinic of Portland, OR; and Robert C. Beck, D.Sc., who is the inventor of the original flash strobe for photography.

Let’s take a look at each individual and what they have discovered:

Carolyn McMakin

Carolyn’s introduction to microcurrent began in the early 1990s when she learned of a Canadian osteopath that was using a rudimentary but effective microcurrent machine made in 1920. She applied what she knew about fibromyalgia and myofascial pain to what she discovered about microcurrent and through clinical trials came up with what she calls FSM (Frequency Specific Microcurrent). FSM is exactly what it says it is…microcurrent tuned into specific frequencies to treat specific conditions. And they are impressive. According to Dr. McMakin’s website, FSM is “especially effective at treating nerve and muscle pain, inflammation and scar tissue. There is a kind of fibromyalgia associated with spine trauma that is particularly painful and difficult to treat even with narcotics. There is one frequency combination, and only one frequency combination, that has been observed to eliminate pain in patients with this condition. Shingles responds very well to only one frequency combination that eliminates the pain in 20 minutes and causes the lesions to dry up and disappear in approximately two to three days. There is one frequency combination that so far has been 100% effective in eliminating kidney stone pain. This frequency combination does nothing to remove the stone; it only eliminates the pain. The frequencies have created observed effects in asthma, liver dysfunction (reducing elevated liver enzymes), irritable bowel and many other conditions. It has been observed that patients who are treated within four hours of a new injury including auto accidents and surgeries have much reduced pain and a greatly accelerated healing process.”

The site also states that a certain frequency is effective in reducing swelling as a result of sunburn on laboratory rats. McMakin is careful however to clearly state than none of the frequencies are FDA approved and she makes no claim of any cures—just observed results.

McMakin offers seminars held at locations across the country where practitioners can come to learn FSP.

Robert C. Beck

Robert (or Bob as he likes to be called) has credentials so impressive they are in company with the likes of Thomas Edison. As stated earlier, Bob Beck is the creator of flash photography—a feat he accomplished when he was still quite young. It wasn’t until later in life that he discovered microcurrent when he read an article in Science News in 1990 which reported that Dr. Kalli of Albert Einstein College of Medicine had claimed to cure the HIV virus using two wires put directly into a Petri dish of infected blood. He observed that by delivering 50 millionth of an ampere the HIV virus somehow lost its ability to attach itself to receptor cells. As Beck soon learned, Dr. Kalli filed a patent for a small device that is surgically inserted into a vein where it provides the needed current to clean the blood of pathogens. However, the device had to be surgically removed once a month so a new battery could be put in.

It occurred to Beck that it would be possible to deliver the same current from the outside of the skin…specifically at the wrist where veins are close to the surface. Thus the Beck Zapper was born for use in blood electrification. But Beck didn’t stop there. He knew that many parts of the body do not get good blood flow…such as lymph nodes. So he invented a device that would deliver magnetic pulses directly to whichever body area the patient or doctor would desire.

Use of these two devices is Beck’s version of microcurrent implementation. He later added the admonition to drink Ionic/colloidal silver (a known natural antibiotic) and ozonated water. The four practices combined constitute The Beck Protocol. Beck has many proponents willing to testify at any given moment as to the effectiveness of his regimen. But of course the government regulators disagree and consider such testimonials to be misleading.

There are other protocols out there. Simply doing a Google search for “microcurrent protocols” will reveal McMakin’s and Beck’s sites, as well as some others.

No matter your specific approach, one this is for sure: Microcurrent is a mighty current. It has shown impressive results that can help your patients heal and consequently boost your bottom line.

What is Sciatica?

Many folks confuse sciatica to be a diagnosis. It’s not. It’s a symptom of a different problem. But finding the problem can be…well, a problem. Think of it this way: You pull out a string of Christmas lights to put on your tree. You plug it in to be sure they work…but they don’t. So you check the fuse. It’s good. Now what? You systematically start looking at each bulb to find the one that is missing or burned out. It’s a painstaking process of hit and miss. That’s the same kind of problem doctors are facing—albeit much more intricate and critical—when they are trying to pinpoint the cause of sciatica.

Finding the source of sciatica can be difficult at best because it can be caused by a number of different conditions anywhere along the roots of the five sciatic nerves. The roots stem from the lumbar and sacral nerve lines which string down the spine in the L4 to the S3 vertebrae regions. Just about anything can go wrong in that area and cause sciatica to manifest itself in your buttocks, leg, knee or foot. You’ll know it when it occurs because it hurts! But moderate to severe pain is not the only challenge. Numbness, tingling, pins and needles and muscle weakness are signs of sciatica as well.

The most common culprit behind sciatica is nerve pinching. Nerves can get pinched in a variety of ways ranging from lumbar misalignment, a sacroiliac joint misalignment, Piriformis syndrome, greater Trochanteric Bursitis and most commonly, disc herniation.

How is Sciatica Diagnosed?

The standard protocol no matter what kind of doctor is consulted is for an examination to be performed first.  If the sciatica does not extend below the knee, it is less likely that it is due to a disc problem, and it’s more likely that it’s due to a lumbar misalignment, a sacroiliac joint misalignment, Piriformis syndrome or Greater Trochanteric Bursitis. If on the other hand the sciatica does extend below the knee, it is somewhat more likely that it is due to a disc lesion.

Once the examination is performed the next steps differ depending on what type of doctor is doing the examining. If it’s a chiropractor, it is most likely that after the examination he will take an x-ray to rule out any kind of pathological process (such as bone cancer), and then treat the patient with chiropractic adjustments and physiotherapy.  If the patient does not respond favorably within a week or two to this conservative approach, then the doctor will request pre-authorization from the insurance company for an MRI.  It is unlikely that an insurance company will approve an MRI until after conservative treatment has been tried first and failed.

If however the patient is complaining of neurological symptoms such as numbness in the leg or weakness of any of the muscles of the leg, particularly the inability to walk on their heels (a condition called foot-drop), or loss of control of bowel or bladder function, then those neurological signs justify immediate approval and performance of an MRI.  To not do an MRI in such a case could constitute negligence and could jeopardize the patient’s life, if not their ability to walk normally for the rest of their life.

If the patient goes first to an MD instead of a chiropractor, it is likely that they will first be prescribed some pain killers and anti-inflammatory medication.  If that doesn’t work then they’ll prescribe physical therapy.  If the therapy doesn’t work then they’ll order an MRI.  Unless of course the patient demonstrates neurological signs and symptoms in which case the same urgency exists as in the above paragraph.

It is important to note that X-rays do not show whether or not a disc is bulging or ruptured.  They only show the disc space, showing if it’s normal-sized, or thin.  If it’s thin it may or may not show signs of arthritis.  Occasionally an inflamed disc can show up on an x-ray as somewhat thicker than usual.

MRI’s and CT’s both show discs and will differentiate a normal healthy disc from an unhealthy one.  They will also show if a disc is bulged or herniated and will show how well hydrated it is.  Generally speaking, CT’s are best to show hard tissues such as bone, and MRI’s are best to show soft tissues like discs and nerves.  So if arthritis or fractures are suspected by the ordering physician, a CT is ordered.  If a disc bulge or herniation is suspected, then an MRI is ordered.  Other diseases can also show up on CT’s and MRI’s such as spinal cord tumors, bone cancer, bone abscesses, meningeoceles, etc.

Can Sciatica be cured?

The more correct question is, “Can sciatica be relieved?” Remember sciatica is a symptom not a diagnosis. So whether or not sciatica can be relieved depends on whether or not the cause of the sciatica can be fixed.

The good news is that since the most common cause of sciatica is an impinged nerve usually resulting from a herniated or bulging disc, the answer is yes: Sciatica can be relieved with a fairly high success rate depending on how the problem is addressed. Many successful tactics can be implemented by your chiropractor or MD. They range from spinal decompression to surgery on the extreme end to core muscle strengthening, stretches, yoga and acupuncture on the more conservative end.

If the diagnosis is something other than a disc problem, the treatments can vary quite a bit…more than can be covered in this article.

Conclusion

The cause of sciatica can be very hard to diagnose. If you or a loved one is suffering, definitely seek help. Visit your chiropractor or MD, based on your preference. To do nothing may cause irreversible damage that may affect your ability to walk. Rest assured, help is out there. Relief is within reach.

While swelling may be our body’s natural way of protecting a wound, it has many drawbacks that impede the healing process. When cells are damaged and swollen they become nearly impervious to our body’s natural electrical current. Without this electricity the cell is unable to oxygenate, absorb nutrients, eliminate waste, exchange ions, conduct protein synthesis and produce ATP (the protein that is chiefly responsible for giving us energy). Even the cells polarity may be askew, oscillating randomly. Only with time do the cells that can receive some electrical current heal. Those that are too damaged to heal die and are discarded by the body.

The problem with this natural healing process is the time it takes. Anyone who has ever had a sprained ankle or a torn ACL knows this. If only there was a way to speed things up.

With MENS there is a way.

Bombarding an injured area of the body with excess electrical current vastly increases the amount of electricity that penetrates the membrane of the damage cells—up to 500 percent some studies suggest. The more current that reaches the interior of a cell, the quicker it can expel waste, create ADT, process ions, and re-polarize. Only then can it absorb nutrients and oxygen and resume normal cell physiology.

More so than any other modality, microcurrent is effective at aiding and even speeding up the healing process. (Double-blind studies were conducted by Lerner and Kirsch). Although popular, TENS works best for temporary pain relief by occupying the nerve channels that transmit the pain signal. But because of the size of its wavelength (1000 times larger than microcurrent) it can’t penetrate the cell wall to aid in healing as MENS can. Ultrasound can penetrate the cell wall but its function is to excite liquids using vibrations. It has its own useful purposes.

To a medical professional (clinic, DME suppler, biller etc…) MEMS can represent a significant opportunity for additional revenue. Although it may be a little challenging to find a payer (private insurance and Medicare) that will approve microcurrent as a reimbursable device in and of itself, many microcurrent devices such as the InTENSity Select Combo or the InTENSity Micro Combo feature microcurrent combined with TENS, which is a reimbursable modality. Prescribe the patient this TENS unit for pain relief and he/she gets the needed bonus of microcurrent along with it.

No matter the desired outcome microcurrent definitely has some impressive history of positive outcomes. Athletes such as Joe Montana have used MENS to speed recovery and return to the game.

North Carolina’s largest health insurer is coming under fire from surgeons across the country for implementing tougher restrictions on an increasingly common type of spinal surgery.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina’s new rules, which take effect Jan. 1, are designed to reduce overuse of spinal-fusion surgery, a costly and controversial procedure to ease patients’ lower back pain. The Chapel Hill-based insurer says it wants to ensure the surgeries are approved based on the latest medical evidence.

“We are not going to stop coverage, but we do want to make sure the ones being done are appropriate,” said Dr. Don Bradley, Blue Cross’ chief medical officer. “In some cases, we’re seeing technology being used when more conservative measures might be more appropriate.”

But some spine surgeons worry that the restrictions will limit care for thousands of patients and could set a new coverage standard among other insurers.

A coalition of surgeons representing nine medical associations, including the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the North American Spine Society, wrote to Blue Cross this month, urging the company to reconsider.

The group also suggested various changes that would ease the new restrictions.

“If this intrusion into the physician-patient relationship goes unchallenged, other insurers will follow suit,” said Dr. John Wilson, a neurosurgeon at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center who is president of the N.C. Neurological Society and one of nine physicians who signed the letter to Blue Cross.

“It will be a progression of ever-more restrictive policies that will handcuff us as we try to treat patients,” Wilson said.

The surgeon groups requested a meeting with Blue Cross executives before the rules kick in one week from today to discuss the new policy. But the insurer responded in an e-mail message that because of the holidays, a meeting could not be scheduled until the third week of January.

Wilson estimates that he performs about 100 spinal-fusion surgeries a year. Only a small percentage of his practice’s patients would be ineligible for coverage under the new Blue Cross rules.

“Even if it’s just a few patients, if we’re limited in how we can help them, it doesn’t sit right with us,” he added.

The new spine-surgery rules come as Blue Cross faces increasing pressure to keep costs down and control premiums. The company announced plans in July to slash administrative costs up to 20 percent by 2014.

“The tendency is to label us as the big, bad insurance company,” Bradley said. “We understand folks rely on us to cover the things that should be covered. They also assume that we’re making decisions about appropriate care” to keep premiums affordable.

Blue Cross reports that it covered 3,593 spinal fusion surgeries last year, up 22 percent from 2007. The insurer paid $105 million in claims for the procedures last year, up 44 percent from 2007. The procedures require longer hospital stays and cost more than three times the amount of a simpler surgery, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The new rules will require patients and physicians to get approval before spinal-fusion surgery. The insurer still will cover the surgery for some ailments, such as scoliosis, injury and tumors.

But Blue Cross won’t cover the surgery for degenerative disk disease. The condition is caused by aging disks and can cause debilitating back pain.

“We feel that to completely omit this as a covered procedure under any circumstance is overly restrictive,” the national group of surgeons wrote in their letter to Blue Cross.

The surgeries involve implanting rods and screws to repair vertebrae. JAMA reports that patients who had a complex fusion procedure were nearly three times as likely to develop a life-threatening complication and that the surgeries didn’t result in dramatically better outcomes.

But spinal implants have become a booming business for surgeons and medical-device companies since winning Food and Drug Administration approval in 1995. Minneapolis-based Medtronic is the biggest maker of spinal implants, accounting for about half of the $7 billion market last year, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Critics in Congress and elsewhere are calling for a review of Medicare’s coverage of the procedures. Spinal-fusion claims cost Medicare $2.24 billion in 2008, up nearly 400 percent since 1997 after adjusting for inflation, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Blue Cross has tried to work with physicians for several years to develop guidelines on the procedures, but it hasn’t stemmed the surge in the number performed, Bradley said.

“We have tried the kinder, gentler approach,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that it takes looking at each case each time, but other approaches haven’t really worked.”

A Blue Cross patient or surgeon could appeal any denial of coverage, and the process would include at least one review by a physician who isn’t employed by the insurer, Bradley said.

In late September, the company notified spine surgery practices across the state about the new rules. Before issuing the new policy, officials met with several spine surgeons in the Chapel Hill area and incorporated their input into the new rules.

In some cases, where doctors have tried physical therapy and other types of treatment, the only other option may be surgery, Wake Forest’s Wilson said. “To say you’re not going to cover them at all, you’re hurting some patients,” he added. “We don’t want there to be patients left suffering.”

Blue Cross continually reviews its coverage policies and makes adjustments based on the latest medical guidelines, Bradley said. But the new rules will take effect Jan. 1, despite the outcry from surgeons.

“We always listen to providers,” he said. “It’s unlikely we would not implement this. But if there’s new data that says our criteria are incorrect, we’ll be open to that.”

There are many myths about back pain including:

Myth 1: The spine can be easily injured.

Fact: One of the most common back pain myths is that compared with the rest of the body, the spine – being extremely delicate – is more prone to injury and can be easily injured. The truth is, that the spine is not delicate, as the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support and surround the spine render it a very well designed and sturdy structure that is both supportive and flexible.

Myth 2: Lower back pain increases with age and becomes debilitating.

Fact: One myth is that lower back pain at a younger age gradually gets worse as we grow older. Research suggests that, on average, lower back pain reaches its peak between the ages of 35 and 55. After the age of 55, back pain treatment may be required to treat the problem of disc degeneration that occurs as part of the aging process as a natural phenomenon. Spinal paralysis is not genetic and lower back pain is not among its symptoms. However, spinal tumors, spinal infections, and unstable spine fractures do increase the risk of spinal paralysis.

Myth 3: Causes of back pain are hereditary.

Fact: You cannot assume that your lower back pain is due to a genetic predisposition. Parents play absolutely no role in passing their lower back pain on to you.

Myth 4: Causes of back pain can only be discovered by expensive MRI scans.

Fact: High-end diagnostic tests like MRI are not the only way to diagnose the underlying causes of back pain. This is one of those back pain myths that have no scientific basis whatsoever. While a good physical examination and a thorough analysis of a person’s medical history usually suffice in understanding the causes of back pain, only a few specific cases need diagnostic tests. This usually happens when the patient does not respond to any appropriate common back pain treatments. While the results of an MRI scan may suggest certain spinal abnormalities, there is enough medical evidence to prove that people with no lower back pain can sometimes have more serious problems and abnormalities like a herniated disc or a degenerative disc as revealed by their MRI results. In addition, lower back pain cannot be assumed to be a good indicator of the severity of spinal damage.

Myth 5: Active people don’t need back pain treatment.

Fact: Athletes, sportspersons, and home makers who lead an active life assume that they will never need back pain treatment. While a good amount of physical activity provides quicker back pain relief if the body is well-conditioned, there is no hard and fast rule that states that active individuals are less prone to lower back pain compared to sedentary individuals. Irrespective of the level of activity, an individual may need back pain treatment. In fact, some sports such as golf, volleyball, and gymnastics can sometimes lead to back pain.

Did you know you can use electricity to ease your pain and speed up healing?? It’s true! Check out this nifty slide presentation that shows you how!

However, in the 1990’s with the onset popularity of spinal decompression therapy one company designed a new kind of brace from scratch…a brace that could achieve a similar effect achieved during decompression therapy. (Decompression therapy is the use of computer guided spinal adjustments that targets herniated or bulging discs while you are lying on a spinal decompression therapy table. The adjustments expand the space between the two compressed vertebrae thus allowing the disc to distract [return] into its proper place and begin healing.)

The resulting new brace is the SR 500…a brace that inflates with air and expands vertically once adorned. As it expands vertically it pushes up against the rib cage and down against the pelvic girdle. This action helps offset the effect of gravity and stretches the lower spine thus creating decompression.

Since its invention and introduction to the U.S. market, the SR 500 has gained many fans, sworn advocates and users.  The exclusive US distributor of the SR 500 is Spinal Rehab Solutions, Inc. (and the owner of this blog). It has received numerous testimonial letters at its offices in Henderson, NV. Many of them tell of how the SR 500 has practically healed them, saved them from spinal surgery and/or has afforded them a normal life again. The following is one such testimony:

“I have been using the SR 500 for about 18 months now. I first injured my back over 17 years ago when I fell on a ceramic tile floor. The fall caused my L5 disc to bulge. Since then my lower back had gotten worse as my discs had degenerated. No doctor or surgeon could help me. Weekly visits to my chiropractor were all that was saving me. During this time I never stopped looking for a remedy. Every three months or so I would use Google to search for various key words for back pain remedies. Then finally I found the SR 500 and I have been wearing it religiously since. I love it! It works! I can definitely tell my back is finally healing. I am no longer in pain and am even able to start exercising again. My chiropractor even got mad at me because he knows I am doing something that is healing my back but I haven’t told him what! I estimate that in another 6 months my back will be totally healed.”

Kathy Benkert

Lathrup Village, Michigan

Here is another testimonal from a gentleman in Kansas City, KS–a man that happens to actually work in the medical equipment supply industry and was already familiar with the various constriction braces on the market. Here is what he had to say:

“I was first introduced to the SR 500 Brace at a company training. Spinal Rehab Solutions founder and CEO Steven Fontana had flown out to our corporate headquarters in Kansas City, KS, to educate our staff on how this new brace works so we could best represent it to our client base. As Steven began to explain how the brace creates decompression of the spine by lodging up under the rib cage and pushing down against the pelvic girdle, my interest immediately began to intensify.

I approached Steven after the training to inquire about getting one. I explained to him how I had been suffering from chronic back pain for the last 8 years (since my spinal compression fracture) and was on the verge of agreeing to back surgery.

Steven was kind enough to leave me with a sample brace and I began wearing it that day. I was very anxious to see if it would do what Steven claimed it would do—decompress my spine.  I had a 3 day ministry convention coming up where I would be standing in a booth long periods of time. I figured that would be the ultimate test for the SR 500.

Well, it has been a month since I first started wearing the brace and I can honestly say I am very blessed to have received it. My back pain is pretty much eliminated. I still wear the SR 500 from 2 to 4 hours per day. If I have a particularly long day on my feet, or have to do a lot of walking, or any serious lifting (not often, but occasionally) I still feel that old ache… but it is SIGNIFICANTLY improved! So much so, that I have really put off the idea of surgery!

I used to have nights when I couldn’t sleep, even with pretty  heavy doses of anti-inflammatory medication, and sometimes even with  prescription pain meds; I have not had a sleepless night (well, at least from back pain) since about a week after I began wearing the SR 500.

I wore the SR 500 for most of the time that I worked the 3-day ministry conference; I wore it under my polo, over a t-shirt, and it was quite comfortable for the extended hours I worked our booth. I am gearing up to work another 3 day festival on Labor Day weekend, and will be counting on my SR 500 to pull me through again!

Thanks again to Steven and Spinal Rehab Solutions for providing this incredible product to me.  I’m serious… I LOVE it!”

Jim Gillespie

Knit-Rite

Kansas City, KS

If you suffer from a bulging or ruptured disc please consider the SR 500 brace. It could help you like it has helped thousands already. You must first obtain a prescription from your doctor. Most insurance companies will cover the SR 500 as will Medicare. If your doctor is not familiar with the SR 500 you may want to visit www.SpinalRehabSolutions.com and print off appropriate material to take to him/her. If your doctor still will not prescribe you one (although rare, it has happened. Some doctors just don’t like new things or change, or they may have financial motives to steer you toward surgery or other remedies), then please move on to another doctor, or call the Spinal Rehab offices at 702-586-5107 to inquire about a doctor in your area that is known to be familiar with the SR 500.

Happy healing!