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Brace Yourself with a Pneumatic Vest for Back Pain |
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Written by Chad Cook
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Thursday, 11 January 2007 |
Brace Yourself with a Pneumatic Vest for Back Pain
We are told that over 90% of adults today suffer from some
type of lower back pain; this could be acute or chronic. We
are also told that there are six million or so Americans
that are currently undergoing treatment for this back pain
everyday, Clearly this is a problem that affects many of us.
Frequently, chronic or acute pain affecting the back can
become debilitating. It can strike you when you stand, walk,
sit for long periods, or even when performing simple daily
tasks that many of us take for granted. Sometimes the only
relief from this type of back pain is to lie flat and
motionless. As one can imagine, this really reduces the
quality of life. True, most people who suffer from such
chronic back pain, do not require surgery, but what are
their options? There are now many available, fortunately,
and they are developing new forms of treatment everyday. The
new line of treatments include:
Spinal injections
Physical therapy
Bracing
Chiropractic
Pain medications
One method in particular, seems to stand out for the large
amount of attention it has been receiving of late, and that
is the Orthotrac Pneumatic Decompression Vest. The vest is
designed to limit the movement of the spine, making any
unstable area of injury stronger and reducing stress on weak
discs. Generally, these braces are used following surgery,
or in cases of extreme pain itself. Generally, when these
vests are prescribed to be worn, it is for the whole day in
order to help people to accomplish the daily tasks in life
that are often taken for granted by people that do not have
this persistent back pain. These activities can include
simple things like shopping, doing the dishes, making beds
and so on.
There are various different vests manufactured. Some are
made of very soft materials that are not as restrictive, and
some are firm enough to almost completely immobilize the
wearer. The pneumatic vests these days have many uses and
are not like the spinal braces of old, however the materials
and the general properties are quite similar. Both the
spinal brace, and the pneumatic vest are designed to relieve
the burden on the lower back, and they both use lifters that
are inflatable.
Have you ever noticed that when you are lying prone, any
pain that you may have been experiencing vanishes? The
reason for this is clear: it is because the back has shed
the burden of weight that it had been carrying. This is
known as unloading, but it can hardly be considered a
practical cure, nor is it healthy because you can hardly
live your life from a prone position. Perhaps you have a job
or are going to school. You can't afford to lose income or
fall behind in your studies. This is why people who live
with back pain find it to be such an interference in their
lives. Not only is there the mentally debilitating
persistent pain, but the greatly diminished quality of life
as well. So how can these vests help? In essence what these
vests do is transfer about half of a person's body weight
from the lumbar spine down to the pelvic region known as the
iliac crests. Due to the inflatable disc separators and
lifters, most of the stress the body goes through is
absorbed through the inflators. For patients with simple
back pains the vest is to be worn for no more than 20-30
minutes a day. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule
in cases of other conditions which can include:
Spondylolisthesis
Facet Syndrome
Degenerative disc disease
Foraminal stenosis
Spinal stenosis
Nerve root entrapment
Herniated or bulging discs
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