In 1956 I began the saga of cervical
spine problems with a ruptured disc eventually operated
in 1960. Meanwhile I had tried cervical traction with
no success. Eventually two fusions later, my neck is
comfortable. As a neurosurgeon, I have seen hundreds
of patients with chronic neck problems which often become
chronic and even disabling. Over 10 years ago I also
did a survey of patients with chronic headache and at
least 99% of them have postural neck and upper thoracic
spinal problems. Indeed, just look at most people and
you will see few with optimal posture or mobility. Millions
of individuals go through life with headache and neck
pain, often taking NSAIDS which are minimally effective
and carry many complications. All too many wind up with
unnecessary surgery which often makes them much worse.
In general, the indications for surgery should be significant
neurological risk---not pain!
In acute situations, neck pain is often
significantly improved by competently done chiropractic
or osteopathic treatment. Cervical traction in the conventional
sense is sometimes helpful and Transcutaneous Electrical
Nerve Stimulation may help. But for chronic neck pain,
the problem appears to be increasing degenerative and
mechanical postural compromise which is progressive.
A year ago I was asked by a company
in California to evaluate their product, Posture Pump®.
This July I had the pleasure of beginning an evaluation
of 34 individuals with chronic neck problems, many also
with headache. It will take me another month to complete
the detailed analysis. Patients were screened by me
under an IRB approved protocol, with history, physical
and neurological evaluations and plain X-Rays of the
cervical spine, including flexion and extension lateral
views to be certain there were no serious ligamentous
injuries that precluded use of the Posture Pump?. Actually
we had to screen an additional 30 patients, as some
had no measurable preexisting postural abnormalities
or had advanced disease with severe degenerative disease.
Selected patients then had measurements of flexibility
and extension of the cervical spine, had an MRI, underwent
20 minutes on the Posture Pump® and had another
mobility measurement and another MRI.
The Posture Pump® is a unique and
simple looking device which can be inflated to extend
and stretch the cervical spine. It can be localized
low, mid or upper cervical spine.
In another month I will write another newsletter with
more details. However the results are so striking that
I want you to be aware of the implications. Virtually
every patient had significant increased cervical mobility
after their 20 minute treatment. MRI changes are often
dramatic—with improvement in cervical curve, widening
of disc spaces and often apparent shrinkage of what
appear to be disc bulges, which I would have thought
are physically permanent. I will give a summary of the
measurement in the subsequent newsletter and show some
of these. If the changes we find after one month continue
to be as impressive as those on the initial testing,
it is conceivable that some of the chronic neck degenerative
problems might be reversible. Incidentally two patients
with acute migraine improved dramatically during that
20 minute treatment.
I have no financial interest in the
Posture Pump® Company. However, this approach appears
to be the simplest, safest and most inexpensive approach
I have seen to date for treating chronic neck pain.
Obviously proper medical evaluation needs to be done
by someone experienced in the technique before you proceed.
I suggest you contact the company for a list of recommended
practitioners.
Website: www.posturepump.com
Or email us your questions at: sales@posturepump.com
Posture Pro Inc. * 18584 Main St. * Huntington Beach,
CA 92648
(800) Neck-Pro (632-5776) or (714) 847-8607
