Pneumatic vest - a new lower back pain treatment option
A general review of medical literature shows that
patients with moderate or minor lower back pain symptoms
often respond well to conservative (non-surgical) treatments,
while patients with severe, acute lower back pain occasionally
require a surgical intervention.
The problem for some patients, however, is that their
pain and symptoms do not warrant surgery, yet they are
not getting significant symptom relief from non-surgical
treatments. For this group of patients, a relatively
new product, called the Orthotrac Pneumatic Vest is
available and research is underway to test its efficacy
for patients who meet specific criteria. Lower back pain symptom behavior
The symptoms of lower back pain (which may also include
unspecific pain radiating into the leg) vary among patients,
but can usually be classified as mechanical or non-
mechanical. Mechanical pain refers to pain that is:
-
Worse with activities that load the spine (such
as standing, walking, bending and lifting), and;
-
Better with activities that unload the spine (such
as lying down or sitting in a reclining position).
Because symptoms increase with activity many of these
patients become more sedentary because of the symptom
relief realized by avoiding activity. This is unfortunate
because an overwhelming amount of research supports
that maintaining or re-establishing functional activity
is desirable for a healthy (less painful) back, and
for good health in general. For those reasons inactivity
and bed-rest are almost never recommended for patients
with lower back pain. In the long run, dealing with lower back pain by avoiding
activity often results in a downhill cascade of negative
effects associated with a sedentary lifestyle, such
as weight-gain, depression, weakness and muscle atrophy,
an inability to work, and lack of enjoyment from activities
of daily living. This type of symptom behavior is typical for many patients
with a variety of common lower back pain diagnoses,
such as: The Pneumatic Vest treatment option
A new device may enable this sub-group of patients to
better participate in their daily activities by reducing
their function related symptoms. The Orthotrac Pneumatic
Vest, worn during functional activities, is a custom
made vest that uses pneumatic lifters to “unload”
some of the weight from the patient’s lumbar spine,
thus simulating a state of decreased weight-bearing
on the lower back. (See Figure
1.) Patients most likely to benefit from using the Orthotrac
pneumatic vest tend to meet the following four specific
criteria:
-
Lower back pain and/or leg pain symptoms that typically
increase with standing or walking activities
-
History
of noticeable symptom decrease after 20
to 30 minutes of lying down
-
The ability to stand
up straight, since this is the functional position
when wearing the vest
-
Approximate waist measurement
between 24 inches and 57 inches.
The purpose of this device is to relieve symptoms that
are produced by weight-bearing activities and improve
the patient’s ability to function. Therefore,
the patient wears this device whenever he or she is
experiencing symptoms during functional movement. For
most patients, these symptoms are experienced during
a sustained period of walking or standing. There is no minimum wear time and most patients determine
quickly which pattern of use works best for them. Currently,
the only side effects that have been noted are occasional
local tenderness at bony prominences of the spine and,
rarely, a patient may experience temporarily increased
symptoms when the vest is fully inflated.
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