VAX-D for back pain

What is VAX-D?

In the last few years, some orthopedic surgeons have decided that they want to practice medicine like the cosmetic surgeons. Everyone knows that there is money to made with back pain. There are hundreds of treatments for back pain and none of them works well. The orthopedic surgeons have already tried the surgery route and in most cases have made patients worse. So now there is a treatment called VAX-D.

VAX-D stands for vertebral Axial Decompression (if you cant pronounce it, just go by its other name- bull shit therapy). It is the latest non surgical procedure for treating lower back pain. VAX-D has been used in Europe (they have no standards in Europe –so do not be impressed if they are always the first to use a treatment).

Is it FDA approved?

No, VAX-D has not been FDA approved for treatment but is still widely available in North America.

Is it safe?

The good thing about the treatment is that it is generally safe, there are no needles or anesthesia, and there is no cutting involved. All you have to do is lie on a flat table and your back is stretched in one direction. And this my friends is VAX-D.

What does VAX D do?

A lot of hype has been made about the table and the gadgets that go with it. For example, if you have a bone fragment impinging on your nerve in the lower back, this table will pull you in one direction and relive the pressure on the nerve. There is absolutely nothing novel about this treatment, except the name and its cost. The vendors of these therapy have created new vocabulary like negative pressure, disc space, and joint alignment – just hype to sell the treatment. A related treatment available years ago was the inversion therapy which did not do much. Retraction of back joints has been practiced in medicine for the better part of 50 years and is nothing new. People gave up on retraction devices because they never worked

What conditions can be treated with VAX D?

The providers of this therapy claim that besides chronic back pain, VAX -D can be used to treat sciatica, facet joint syndrome, herniated discs, degenerated discs from arthritis, and in individuals who have pain after failed back surgery.