Frequently Asked Questions About VAX-D ® Treatment

A. Vertebral Axial Decompression, or VAX-D for short, offers a first choice non-invasive therapy for patients with disabling low back pain. Advances in medical technology have led to the development of the VAX-D Therapeutic Table.

VAX-D Therapy applies clinically proven principles to relieve pressure on vital structures of the lumbar spine that may be causing low back pain and peripheral pain associated with herniated lumbar discs, degenerative disc disease, sciatica, nerve compression and posterior facet syndrome. VAX-D Therapy is non-surgical and is an inherently safe procedure that is not just aimed at treating symptoms but is designed to alleviate the underlying problems that cause low back pain.

Q. How does VAX-D Therapy work to relieve pain and disability?

A. VAX-D utilizes a patented hand grip method of restraining the upper body while the pelvic harness is secured on the patient and attached to the movable tensionometer housing. The divided table provides for progressive distraction of the spine under controlled parameters determined by the computer logic controlled system. Decompression is achieved in the patient from the tenth thoracic vertebra through the lumbar spine to the sacrum. Changes in intervertebral discs and facet joints of the lumbar spine exert pressures on vital structures resulting in pain, muscle spasms and inflammation. The VAX-D Decompression Table relieves pressure and the factors causing pain through precisely controlled adjustments along the natural anatomical lines of the spinal column. It does so without applying undesirable twisting or rotational movements to the lumbar spine.

Q. Is there any evidence that proves there is decompression of the intradiscal space during VAX-D Therapy?

A. Yes! VAX-D Therapy has been proven to be equivalent to surgery in decompression of the lumbar spine in both clinical and major hospital studies and is not experimental. Radiological research studies were carried out in which fluoroscopic video of patients with a myelogram were recorded while patients were undergoing VAX-D Therapy. Distraction of intervertebral lumbar spaces was observed on VAX-D Therapy, and the filling defect of a myelogram from a herniated disc was decreased. Films were obtained showing a myelogram displacement from a herniated disc at L4-5 change from a convex image of disc bulge to a concave image, created by decompression of the intradiscal space during VAX-D Therapy.

Q. Where is decompression of the spine the greatest?

A. The greatest amount of intervertebral distraction and subsequent spinal decompression is achieved at the L4-5 disc space and decreases gradually toward the upper and lower levels of the spinal column. Intradiscal pressure measurements on patients undergoing VAX-D Therapy have shown that the extent of decompression in this area is in the negative 150 mmHg range. The relationship between the amount of tension applied and the changes in the intradiscal pressure follows a polynomial equation, with the threshold level being where the intradiscal pressure changes from a positive pressure to a negative pressure. This relationship and the precise control provided by the VAX-D Therapeutic Table enables the VAX-D Technician to provide the maximum decompression to the level of the lumber spine.

Q. What conditions will VAX-D help?

A. The majority of patients with herniated lumbar discs at one or more levels, with or without sciatic involvement, achieve remission of disabling symptoms sufficient to return to functional levels of activities with a course of VAX-D Therapy. Most patients with degenerated discs also experience relief of pain and disability with a course of therapy but many require a maintenance program to remain in remission. Posterior facet syndrome readily responds to VAX-D Therapy (A recent study of over nine hundred patients showed VAX-D Therapy to be successful in 75% of cases).

Q. How many sessions will be needed for my condition?

A. Most patients with low back pain syndrome achieve relief while undergoing therapy and require an average of one session per day, five days a week, for four weeks. This comes to a total of approximately twenty sessions to attain remission of debilitating symptoms. The actual number of sessions depends on the severity of the patient's underlying condition. For example, patients with herniated discs generally respond within fifteen to twenty-five sessions while patients with degenerated discs often achieve significant relief with the same number of sessions but may need ongoing therapy at regular intervals to remain pain free. On the other hand, patients with posterior facet syndrome usually achieve complete remission with fewer than twenty sessions. The more severe the patient's overall condition the greater the number of sessions that may be required.

Q. Are follow-up VAX-D Therapy sessions necessary?

A. Experience has shown the majority of patients that recover on VAX-D Therapy generally remain in remission. However, some individuals whose lifestyle or work environment tends to expose them to higher risk factors or who suffer from severe disc degeneration have found that a maintenance program, consisting of one or two treatment sessions per month on the VAX-D Table, offers a measure of protection against disabling exacerbations of their low back pain syndrome. Patients in this category tend to develop their own rhythm of maintenance visits that keep them relatively free of pain.

Q. Can VAX-D Therapy be used with or after spinal surgery?

A. VAX-D therapy has been used in conjunction with percutaneous discectomy with very good results. It has also been used as a follow-up therapy for patients that continue to complain of post-surgical low back pain. The impression gained in these trials was that the dual approach seems to offer an advantage. This was especially true in those patients that have more than one level of herniation in which only the major segment was excised percutaneously.

Q. VAX-D seems to work so well, why haven't I heard more about it?

A. The VAX-D Table is an FDA licensed medical device and the therapy has worked on thousands of patients.

VAX-D is too new to have become a household name. In addition, many family doctors are unaware of VAX-D and its efficacy for the treatment of serious low back pain. This lack of awareness is changing.

More and more physicians and health care providers are learning about VAX-D and the phenomenal results it has achieved in the various clinical studies.

The awareness of VAX-D Therapy seems to increase everyday and we expect VAX-D to be the standard of care for serious low back pain in the not too distant future.

Q. How is VAX-D different from traction?

A. Traction operates on a similar principle to VAX-D but is not as effective.

Traction, in some cases, helps to stretch the lumbar spine and can reduce the pressure on the back from 75 mmHg to around 40 mmHg. In many cases, however, traction triggers the body's normal stretch reflex and causes muscle spasms to occur that can actually worsen the pain.

VAX-D's patented Program Logic Control allows distraction pressure to be applied at computer precise timings that do not trigger the body's normal stretch reflex, therefore preventing muscle spasm from occurring. This allows VAX-D to achieve far greater levels of distraction than previously thought possible. Because of these patented principles VAX-D has been clinically proven to reduce intradiscal pressure into the negative realms of -150 to -200 mmHg. This reduction in pressure creates a vacuum like state within the discs that helps the discs and joints to get back into their normal positions and actually helps the back to mend itself, naturally.