Study Results

1. Spinal decompression therapy for pain associated with herniated or degenerated discs or facet syndrome: an outcome study.

Gose EE, Naguszewski WK, Naguszewski RK.

Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.

The outcomes of vertebral axial decompression (VAX-D) therapy for patients with low back pain from various causes are reported. Data was collected from twenty-two medical centers for patients who received VAX-D therapy for low back pain, which was sometimes accompanied by referred leg pain. Only patients who received at least ten sessions and had a diagnosis of herniated disc, degenerative disc, or facet syndrome, which were confirmed by diagnostic imaging, were included in this study; a total of 778 cases. The average time between the initial onset of symptoms and the beginning of this therapy was 40 months, and it was four months or more in 83% of the cases. The data contained the patients' quantitative assessments of their own pain, mobility, and ability to carry out the usual 'activities of daily living'. The treatment was successful in 71% of the 778 cases, when success was defined as a reduction in pain to 0 or 1, on a 0 to 5 scale. Improvements in mobility and activities of daily living correlated strongly with pain reduction. The causes of back pain and their relationship to this therapy are also discussed.

Publication Types:

    * Clinical Trial

Diffuse Cervical Bulge

This is a common term you may encounter reading your MRI report. Diffuse cervical bulge means a generalized disc bulge of one of spinal discs of the neck (cervical spine). This bulging material may contact or "pinch" the thecal sac or nerve roots. There are a variety of symptoms in a case like the one above.

Some people may experience little to no discomfort, while others may have severe radicular pain, which travels to the shoulder blade, down the arm and into the hand or fingers. Some people may experience numbness and tingling of the arms and hands. Sometimes your MRI reports may mention certain words or phrases that are confusing. We will go over some of the common ones.

You may read "moderate disc desiccation with intervertebral disc space narrowing”. Desiccation refers to the state of extreme dryness. In biology, desiccation refers to the drying out of a living organism or tissue. This is a loss of water from the intervertebral disc. In a dehydrated environment, the disc will have a hard time trying to heal. Intervertebral disc space narrowing refers to the disc in between the spinal bones, which is beginning to lose material and substance. It is degenerating or "collapsing".

You may read "mild posterior osteophytes centrally impress on the ventral thecal sac”. Posterior refers to the back. It is an anatomical descriptive term.  Impress means to indent or affect. Ventral refers to the front, the opposite of posterior. Thecal sac is the outer covering of the spinal cord. This means there are bone spurs on the back of the spinal bones, putting pressure on or affecting the front part of the outer layer of the (neck) cervical spinal cord.

You may read "There is mild effacement of the cervical cord. There is mild to moderate narrowing of the right neural foramina and lateral recess”. Effacement means obliterating or erasing while right neural  to the Intervertebral foramen: an opening between vertebrae through which nerves leave the spine and extend to other parts of the body. Lateral recess is a descriptive term of the foramen. Erasing of the cervical cord is usually from the herniation of the disc tissue or from bone spurs. Also we have some narrowing of the opening between spinal bones, through which the nerves exit the spine. This is not indicating what is causing the narrowing, but it could be due to disc herniation or bony overgrowth (bone spurs).