Scientists have invented a machine which treats back pain without the patient having to move. Traditionally, patients with lower back pain are encouraged to do physical exercise as part of their treatment.
Now experts have devised a machine that can carry out continuous passive movement (CPM) exercises in the home.
Machines have been used to exercise damaged shoulder and knee joints, but no one had applied the technology to lower back pain, which affects up to 80 per cent of the population at some stage in their life.
To use the device, patients lie on their back with their legs draped over a column which sits behind their knees. The electrically powered Backlife then performs an elliptical motion, pulling the legs upwards. This stretches the lower back forward applying traction to the vertebrae in the spine.
Several hospital trials using the device have shown an improvement in back pain relief. One study in Israel demonstrated that patients treated with Backlife reported a 70 per cent improvement in pain relief compared to 8 per cent for patients receiving a dummy treatment.
North London osteopath Dr Eyal Lederman says the device is highly effective. "It does the work of an osteopath or physiotherapist in a very accurate way.
"Damaged backs need exercising, but there is a danger that too much over-strenuous exercise could cause damage. Laying down and using the Backlife for 12 minutes a couple of times a day will help bring relief and promote healing.
"The gentle rocking motion repeatedly contracts and releases the lower back if it is stiff or locked.
"A session lasts 12 minutes and you will get about a dozen movements of the back in that time. It uses the scientific knowledge we have that back pain and injury responds best to exercise.
"It is controlled so there is virtually no likelihood of any more damage being done to an injured back.
"Research has shown that not exercising a damaged back can worsen the injury. You can get adhesions - a sticking together of tissue caused by chemicals released by injured muscles or soft tissue."
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Nicola Lee, 32, who works as a medical adviser for the Royal College of Nursing, put her back out a year ago while cycling near her home in Co. Durham.
She made things worse when working in her garden and has two slipped discs.
Nicola has just started to use a £250 Backlife machine and hopes it will ease her pain and encourage her slipped discs back into place.
"There is the prospect of surgery if I can't get the discs sorted out," she says. "I'm hoping the machine will help the discs pop back by relaxing the compression of my vertebrae.
"The gentle stretching is helping and the machine has given me more mobility. But I haven't had it long enough to tell if the improvement will last.
"I suspect it will be the long-term effect of using the machine that will make the difference.
"Now I'm in a lot less pain and am able to do such everyday things as taking my dog for a walk without any stiffness or discomfort. The traction used by the machine on the spine is very gentle and I feel I is helping when I use it." Backlife was developed by Israeli doctors but was devised by the son of an El Al airline pilot who suffered from chronic back pain and was on the verge of giving up his career. The machine has allowed him to carry on flying.
"Backlife stimulates movement between the facet joints in the spine. This decreases the stress between the vertebrae and relaxes the muscles and tendons," says Dr Steve Lamm, a medical adviser to Backlife.
"We had X-rays of the spine taken before a rotation of the machine and during it. They showed the increase in the distance between the vertebrae during the treatment session."
Several hospitals have acquired machines for their physiotherapy departments. And the developers hope they may be bought by GP surgeries who can then loan them to patients.
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