Can Continuous Passive Motion Speed Up Injury Recovery?
Continuous passive motion machines are a first phase rehab device used after an injury or surgery typically to the knee. Used for other soft tissue and joint injuries including back, shoulder, elbow and hips.
Using continuous motion for back pain is also common. The benefit of a CPM machine is that it is used to move a joint without the patient having to exert effort. This can also be a downside to rehabilitation with these devices as well.
Since the device is passive, meaning no work from the patient, many doctors do not approve of their use as the patient does not play an active role in recovery.
If you are actively bending your own joint the muscles around the injured area are also being worked thus further strengthening the area. With a passive motion device that extra strength gain is not achieved.
The key benefit of continuous passive motion after surgery or an injury is to relieve stiffness in the joint. A stiff joint can cause pain and poor mobility. After an ACL reconstruction, knee replacement or frozen shoulder surgery stiffness in the joint can be a major problem.
Should You Use a Continuous Passive Motion Device?
While there is some debate and difference of opinion among doctors as to the effectiveness of a CPM tool, there are some instances where it is recommended.
For patients who lack the mobility or strength of active rehabilitation a CPM machine may be the only option.
For post-surgical rehab active physical therapy is the clear first choice, but if your only option to a successful recovery is a CPM machine it is an effective tool. Often used as a first step in recovery continuous passive motion can get you moving well enough to begin a more active role in recovery.
Clinical Trials May Support the Use of CPM Devices
In a study published in the American Journal of Therapeutics involving patients with subacute low back pain (LBP) a continuous passive motion device was shown to help.
A CPM device similar to the readily available Kyrobak was used on the lumbar spine to treat low back pain in three patients. After 12 sessions of lumbar continuous passive motion for 30 minutes 2-3 times per week over a 4-5 week period significant improvements were shown.
This leads us to believe a CPM machine can be an effective tool in the injury recovery process. As with any injury rehabilitation many different tools must be used to achieve the desired path to full health.
When back pain sets in it effects more than just your back. It effects your whole mood and outlook on life. More and more people are trying to decide between Back2Life vs Kyrobak (or any other number of remedies or doohickeys) to deal with the problem.
First of all, be aware that all three machines claim to relieve the back pain you experience either occasionally or chronically. That said, let’s take a look at the features, pros and cons of a few back relief machines.
What is Back2Life?
Back2Life is a continuous motion machine that helps in the alignment of your spine, relieve the pain in your back, and release any pressure which may bear down on your backbone.
According to most sufferers of chronic back pain, they experience stiffness of their back muscles and muscle spasms together with the pain. This condition is not only painful but uncomfortable.
While there have been numerous machines that have been designed to exercise damaged knee joints and shoulders, the technology using continuous motion has never really been applied to lower back pain issues until Back2Life came along. To use the back 2 life machine, you have to lie on your back with your legs draped over a kind of column that sits behind your knees.
How Back2Life Works
The electrically-powered device performs an elliptical motion that pulls your legs upwards. This action stretches your lower back into a forward position and applies traction to your spinal vertebrae. According to an osteopath from North London, Dr. Eyal Lederman, Back2Life is very accurate in the way it treats lower back pain, even comparing its ability to that of a physiotherapist or an osteopath like himself.
Back2Life’s repetitive gentle rocking movement contracts and then releases a “locked” or stiff back. All this takes is a 12-minute session right in the privacy and comfort of your own home. You get around 12 movements on your back for 12 minutes, meaning one movement per minute. Because you control the machine’s movement, there is no likelihood that damage can be done to an existing injured back.
Features of Back2Life
Apparently, an already damaged back’s condition can worsen without exercising it because of adhesion – tissues that stick together — which you may get when chemicals are released by the injured soft tissue or muscles. Back2Life has the ability to stimulate movements between the spine’s face joints to decrease stress in the spinal vertebrae; this action results in the relaxation of tendons and muscles.
The back to life machine has an adjustable feature to accommodate heights between four feet eight inches to six feet six inches and up to 300 pounds of the weight of the user. The machine lifts the tailbone while flexing the spine and, over time, the rhythmic slow motion gradually aligns your spine while improving your mobility and relieving pressure off your spine simultaneously.
How Kyrobak Works
The Kyrobak ®, on the other hand, uses the same continuous passive motion (CPM) technology but has taken lower back pain relief a notch higher by combining it with oscillation therapy.
This gives the Kyrobak Continuous Passive Motion and oscillation therapy machine an advantage over Back2Life. As mentioned, some action on the part of the user is needed with Back2Life but not with Kyrobak.
If you take a look at the Kyrobak instructions using Kyrobak is easier. Since you lie down on the device after you have placed it on a couch, the floor or your bed; there is no requirement for you to raise your legs or any other physical movement on your part except to lie down.
Like Back2Life, Kyrobak employs a non-invasive, gentle, and relaxing procedure to give you relief from back pain. Unlike Back2Life, however, using Kyrobak requires only ten minutes of your time.
When reading back 2 life reviews you’ll notice another advantage of Kyrobak over Back2Life is that with the former, leg elevation is not required in order to obtain the benefits of back pain relief. With Kyrobak, the most “extreme” physical activity you will do is lie on your back with your hands flat at your sides.
Some Notable Differences
Back2Life is cheaper than Kyrobak but only by a few dollars. The former is heavier while the latter is lightweight. On the other hand, while both machines come with an instructional manual upon purchase, Back2Life comes with an instructional DVD and a brochure while Kyrobak does not. As to customer satisfaction, Back2Life reviews by Amazon customers gave the product 3.6 stars out of five.
Amazon customer reviews, meanwhile, gave Kyrobak 3.3 stars out of five. This spells quite a difference when it comes to customer satisfaction. While both products have their share of mixed reviews from Amazon customers, Back2Life apparently has more satisfied customers than Kyrobak. Back2Life’s focus seems to be exclusive and limited to the base of the spine and the lower back.
Kyrobak, on the other hand, has the advantageous ability to treat non-specific lower back pain such as sciatica, for instance, which involves radicular pain, meaning the pain radiates into the lower extremity directly along the root of a spinal nerve as a result of inflammation, compression or injury to said root. Sciatic pain can be felt in only one leg while it radiates down to the back of one thigh and affects both the calf and the foot.
Although Back2Life does not have any pertinent information on its usage by those who have pacemakers or other devices, Kyrobak does mention in its official website’s FAQ section that it has undergone tests to ensure that it does not create any interference with operations of some other devices, including the previously mentioned pacemakers. Kyrobak also does not generate any form of electric current to any part of the body.
Which Machine Should You Get?
There seems to be only one thing to consider between the Back2Life and Kyrobak machines. The ease and comfort of use. Back2Life may be more inconvenient to use, given that you need to elevate your legs. Which may be difficult if you are already experiencing back pain.
Kyrobak is clearly easier to use since, again as mentioned, all you have to do is lie down. The winner in the Back2Life vs Kyrobak back pain machine war is undecided. Based on customer satisfaction Back2Life takes a bit of a lead. Check out their respective websites to help you make an informed purchase decision.
Kyrobak tends to sell out quickly on Amazon so if you cannot find it for sale there you can try eBay. Kyrobak eBay sellers offer the system both in new and used options.
True Back for Sciatica and Other Back Pain Issues
If you are looking for something to help back pain other than an electronic pain relief device there are some well regarded options.
Take for example the TRUE BACK another “As Seen on TV” product that is promoted as a non powered back aid. What is True Back? The manufacturers proclaim it to be a natural, drug free, convenient and affordable orthopedic traction device. This relieves the body of daily stress, tension and discomfort.
Think of the True Back as a trip to the chiropractor without the lengthy and expensive trip. A simple way to increase your range of motion and flexibility which helps alleviate pain.
Frequent users have reported the True Back has helped alleviate long time sciatica and mid-back pain. An improvement in flexibility of the neck and lower back has also been mentioned.
I don’t know about you but I spend way too much time driving to and from work. I sit too long in an uncomfortable car seat only to spend hours sitting at a desk. And what do we do once we get home and have a moment to relax? Plop down in front of a TV. All of those positions compress the vertebrae. This causes permanent fusion over years or decades of misuse if not taken care of.
The TRUE BACK is designed to elongate the spine enabling the muscles in the back to relax and increase blood flow. This passive stretching movement can help lessen sciatic nerve pressure and back pain in general.
Does TRUE BACK Help Neck Pain?
If you have ever gone to a chiropractor you may have heard about a simple technique to align your spine. Lie on your bed and hang your head over the edge. This puts your neck in the correct position to align those crucial vertebrae in your neck properly. This same idea is expanded upon with the True Back helping your neck and back settle into it’s natural state.
It is interesting to note that the True Back is not simply for fixing or rehabilitating existing problems; it is also very effective at preventing future problems.
If you are considering giving True Back a try click here and read more reviews on Amazon.
Developed by Robin McKenzie, a physical therapist from New Zealand, the McKenzie Method is a comprehensive method of care primarily used in physical therapy that utilizes strategies of self-treatment. Also known as Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT), the McKenzie Exercises for sciatica pain in buttocks and hip minimize the use of manual procedures with only a trained therapist to support the patient.
What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is a kind of back pain which occurs when there is pressure or injury to your sciatic nerve which runs from your lower back all the way down to the back of each of your legs.
This pain spreads to the hip, buttocks, and leg. How will you know if the pain in your back is caused by sciatica? If you have any or most of the following symptoms, you are likely to have this condition:
Constant pain that occurs on your rear but only on one side.
A tingling or burning sensation down your leg.
Shooting pain in your lower back that extends to your leg which can make it difficult for you to stand up.
Numbness or weakness in your foot or leg.
Pain in your leg or rear which worsens when you are sitting.
Difficulty moving your foot or leg.
There is occasional pain from your lower back all the way to your toes.
Sciatica can be debilitating if it becomes chronic and severe while for some the condition may simply be inconvenient and irritating; it doesn’t mean that this will not get worse because it can and it does if it is left untreated. If you experience numbness in your upper thighs, fecal and/or urinary incontinence, and a progressive weakness in your lower extremity, seek medical attention immediately.
The most common cause of sciatica is the irritation of the root or roots of the lumbosacral spine or lower lumbar. Other causes may be:
A sedentary lifestyle.
Frequent wearing of high heels.
Breakdown of spinal discs that cushion the spaces between vertebrae (degenerative disc disease).
Sleeping on beds with mattresses that are too soft.
Narrowing of the lower back’s spinal canal (lumbar spinal stenosis).
Pregnancy (there is pressure on the woman’s sciatic nerve caused by fetal development).
One vertebra slipping forward over another vertebra (spondylolisthesis).
Herniated discs that have weakened as a result of aging; these can also develop in younger people when the gel-like centers of discs push through their outer lining and press on the sciatic nerve’s roots.
Tumors that may grow along or inside the sciatic nerve or spinal cord which put pressure on nerves branching off the latter.
Piriformis syndrome occurs when the muscle located deep within the hip that connects the upper bone of the thigh and the lower spine becomes inflamed or tight and irritates the sciatic nerve.
Getting Rid of Sciatic Pain Naturally
The McKenzie Exercises are preferred by people who spend a considerable length of time in seated positions. If you consider yourself a “desk jockey” or someone who sits behind a desk or in front of a computer much of the day like telephone operators, cashiers, call center agents, telemarketers, librarians, or self employed home business owners. you probably want to know how to get rid of sciatica pain naturally. Prolonged sitting causes intervertebral spinal discs to bulge out.
This, in turn, encourages the spine to take on a flexed posture and result not only in pain but inhibited extension of the spine. If your job calls for you to sit the whole day, learn how to fix sciatica without surgery with the McKenzie Exercises. These exercises enable displaced discs to return to their correct positions and help alleviate spinal pain by allowing the spine to move more freely.
The Five Stages of the McKenzie Exercises
There are five stretches for sciatica diagrams used in the McKenzie Exercises. Although they are all progressive positions, you may find it difficult to work through the five stages right away if the back pain you experience is acute. In this case, you should work through as many stages as you can, progressing further only if your pain has subsided.
Prevent Sciatic Pain While You Sleep
It could be extremely painful, not to mention terribly inconvenient, to experience sciatic pain while you sleep. There are actually various sleeping positions which can help relieve the pressure on your sciatic nerve. Here are some tips on how to sleep with sciatica that you might want to consider:
Align your neck’s level with your spine instead of below or above it to prevent neck pain when you wake up.
Sleep on a firm or harder mattress instead of on a soft one to lend support not only to your head but to your shoulders and knees as well.
For side sleepers, bring your top knee up toward the head and place a couple of firm pillows underneath it so there is no pressure on your sciatic nerve.
If you are a back sleeper, place one or two pillows under the knees and lift them above the hips.
How Long Will Sciatica Take To Heal?
If your sciatica symptoms are mild and do not last longer than 4-8 weeks, it is most likely a form called acute sciatica. In this case medical attention is most likely not needed. In order for a doctor to accurately diagnose the condition a complete medical history may help him determine one’s likelihood of chronic sciatica. As part of the treatment your doctor will have you perform many of these basic exercises that stretch the sciatic nerve.
Reduce Your Lower Back Pain Without Exercising
There’s good news for you if, for whatever reason, you are unable to do the McKenzie Exercises. Kyrobak is an automated device designed with the revolutionary Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) technology to help reduce the pain in your lower back and increase your mobility.
Regardless of whether the back pain you experience is the result of sciatica or other back pain causes, Kyrobak will provide you with passive, gentle movement in the affected area.
This will enable your joints to go through predetermined motions to loosen tight muscles and release pressure between your vertebrae to relieve pain. Kyrobak’s clinically proven CPM and Oscillation Therapy does not require you to do exercises or stretch; in fact, you are fully rested during a treatment. And because Kyrobak has a compact design, you can bring it anywhere and use it anytime.
Longer-Lasting Back Pain Relief
Kyrobak is capable of increasing blood flow and more oxygen to the painful area while allowing your muscles to relax. And Kyrobak is so easy to use. Just plug in its power supply and you are ready to start your treatment. Ten minutes every day is all you need to get back pain relief.
Doing the McKenzie Exercises for a painful sciatica is good but if you don’t have the opportunity, or even the luxury of time to do them, try Kyrobak.
According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), at least 31 million Americans experience pain in the lower back. Additionally, back pain affects eight out of ten individuals. It is so widespread that back pain has become the most common reason for absence at work with one half of workers or employees experiencing symptoms every year.
Additionally, between 75% and 85% of the U.S. population will experience back problems at some point in their lives.
Because of the reported adverse side effects of some drugs used as back pain medications, natural back relief products and home remedies have become the treatment of choice of back pain sufferers.
According to Leopold, people now are less tolerant of adverse side effects from using traditional pharmaceutical medications and resort to herbs, plants, spices, and other botanicals as well as taking supplements for pain relief instead of popping a pill. Take a look at some of the effective lower back pain home remedies that you may want to consider:
Herbs and Plants
Turmeric
This spice has long been used in alleviating pain from heartburn and arthritis. Although it remains unclear as to how turmeric is able to reduce the inflammation in the mentioned conditions, its action may be prompted by the chemical curcumin, a major polyphenol with active antioxidant properties. Curcumin has been found to be highly effective in the reduction of inflammation and swelling.
Capsaicin
A hot pepper derivative, capsaicin produces a burning sensation in the tissue that comes into contact with it. This action results in the blockage of nerve impulses from sending pain signals to the brain. Capsaicin stimulates and decreases pain’s intensity by releasing a compound that communicates signals between the spinal cord’s nerves to other body parts including the brain.
Ginger
Ginger has long been used to treat muscle and joint pain, back strains, bruises, and sprains. It has anti-inflammatory compounds, some of which have mild effects like those from aspirin. You can either make a compress of ginger paste (after ginger root has been boiled and mashed to a pulp) or drink ginger tea (sweetened with honey if you wish). Either way, ginger can help relieve your back pain, albeit temporarily.
Natural Supplements
Natural back relief products are replacing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers, in the form of supplements. According to licensed chiropractor Lauri Grossman, founder of New York University’s Department of Homeopathic Medicine, the best supplements for back pain include the following:
Magnesium and calcium as indicated on their label/s.
Grossman added that Arnica Montana creams and gels are helpful too, and are not likely to interfere with any medication you are on. Also known as leopard’s bane, Arnica Montana is used by practitioners of homeopathic medicine as a traditional treatment to reduce swelling and dissolve blood clots. Compresses soaked in Arnica Montana have been known to provide back pain relief.
Fish Oil
Although fish oil is more renowned for treating cardiovascular conditions, it is also effective as a reliever of back pain because of its ability to reduce inflammation.
A study conducted by the department of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center revealed the following findings from the use of Omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) found in fish oil and other sources:
60% of the participating subjects had overall pain improvement.
60% of the participating subjects reported less pain in their joints.
80% of the participating subjects were satisfied with the resulting improvement.
Continuous Passive Motion and Oscillation Therapy
For those of you who prefer a non-oral form of treating back muscle spasms naturally as well as relieving back pain through technology, Kyrobak’s patented Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) and Oscillation Therapy may be a better option for you. Kyrobak is a non-invasive treatment that has been in use for over three decades by medical professionals in chiropractic and rehabilitation.
The same CPM technology reduces the inflammation which causes back pain while it simultaneously sends signals to the body’s central nervous system to reestablish blood supply, muscle tone, and balance to the affected area. Kyrobak is a completely natural treatment that does not involve the use of pills, chemicals or other artificial methods of pain relief.
How Kyrobak Works
The Kyrobak device provides you with an automated motion to release pressure in your spinal vertebrae and relieve pain in that area using a cushion which moves continuously in a circular motion. It is a user-friendly device which can increase your flexibility and mobility, save you time and money from going to the chiropractor, and enables you to do the treatment anywhere and anytime because of its portability.
Stay on a speed for at least 60 seconds before stepping up to the next setting but remember to stay on whichever speed you find most comfortable. Start with your last speed setting which you used during the previous session when you use your Kyrobak again. The gentle movement you feel in your pelvic area has been clinically proven as a treatment to alleviate pain in the lower back so expect nothing less.
Quick Yet Longer-Lasting Pain Relief
For any queries which you may have regarding the device, check out the official Kyrobak website where you can read testimonials from satisfied users, FAQs, troubleshooting and maintenance tips, how to order, and get Dr. Steven Geanopolus’ “Lifestyle Change for Relief. At Last,” the book comes free with every purchase of Kyrobak.
Kyrobak and other home remedies for back pain are worth considering especially if you have tried other treatments that have proven to be ineffective. Don’t just wait for back pain to go away because that could take some time. Take action with Kyrobak and get some quick yet longer-lasting back pain relief. And if, for whatever reason, you aren’t satisfied, Kyrobak offers a 100% money back option, within 60 days.
Stimulation from electronic pain relief devices for natural pain relief can directly block the transmission of pain signals to nerves. The exact process of electrical stimulation’s benefits hasn’t really been pinpointed.
Additionally, electrical stimulation also promotes the release by the body of the naturally-produced painkillers known as endorphins. Different electrotherapy devices for this kind of stimulation include:
TENS also known as Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.
GS also known as Galvanic Stimulation.
IFC also known as Interferential Current.
TENS
A TENS device is basically a small machine to relieve back pain used to treat several painful conditions. It is about the size of a cigarette pack or a small, pocked-sized transistor radio and costs anywhere between $250 and $700.
TENS units enable users to adjust the intensity of the stimulation and some of them allow users to select either low or high frequency of stimulation of <10Hz or between 60 and 200 Hz.
Stimulation obtained from a TENS unit on high frequency may be tolerable for a few hours but the pain relief lasts shorter than the treatment. The stimulation provided by TENS on low frequency, on the other, is tolerable only between 20 and 30 minutes but can be more uncomfortable; the resultant relief, however, lasts longer. These conditions have led TENS users to experiment with different placements of electrodes.
GS
Considered to be the most useful back pain relief machine when it comes to treatment of acute injuries. GS applies direct current (DC) stimulation, unlike TENS or IFC units, to the swelling or bleeding in cases of major trauma of the tissues. The DC creates a kind of electrical field over areas being treated which can change blood flow with positive and negative pads.
GS involves application of pulsed electric current on painful or injured body tissues in order to stimulate contractions of the muscles. The positive pad used by GS acts like ice to cause reduced blood circulation to the areas under the pad to decrease swelling. The GS negative pad, on the other hand, applies heat to the same areas to cause an increase in circulation and speed up healing.
IFC
IFC is basically a higher kind of TENS. This device is modulated by a carrier waveform with a frequency as high as 4000 Hz that can also be produced by a TENS device. This waveform penetrates skin deeper than the average TENS device but with less discomfort for its chosen stimulation level. This waveform results in a signal deep underneath the skin resembling the signal sent by a TENS device under the skin.
Common Features of TENS, GS, and IFC Devices
Each of the devices mentioned may be considered a back pain machine for sciatica as well. Although not technically back pain per se, sciatic pain radiates on the sciatic nerve’s path and goes down from the lower back through the hips and buttocks to each leg. It occurs when a bone spur on the spine or herniated disk compresses a part of the sciatic nerve and causes pain, some numbness, and inflammation in the leg.
All three devices apply stimulation to muscles and nerve with electricity using adhesive pads which are placed on the patient’s skin. They are battery-powered, with some featuring adapters that allow power supply from outlets. And although side effects have been reported, these were rare occurrences of allergic irritations under the pads or transient pain experience from application of electrical charge.
What to Avoid When Using Pain Relief Devices
There are a few things to avoid, however, when using any of these devices. One of them is never to place the pads over a patient’s heart or a pacemaker because it could cause cardiac arrhythmia. The pads should not be placed over the patient’s throat either as it may lead to hypotension or low blood pressure resulting in a heart attack or stroke. Additionally, these pads should also not be used on:
Pregnant women since it could result in damage to fetal development.
Open wounds or areas already with skin irritation because of lower impedance as well as lower sensation than skin that is intact.
Patients who have been diagnosed with malignant conditions; electrical stimulation can enhance further tissue growth and lead them to metastasize.
Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) and Oscillation Therapy
Another electronic device for back pain relief called Kyrobak has introduced the Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) as a treatment. Similar to, but not quite like, undergoing chiropractic sessions, Kyrobak can help relieve cases of lower back pain and sciatica. Kyrobak has a compact design that allows you to use it on any kind of flat surface such as a couch, the floor or your bed.
Kyrobak is user-friendly. All you have to do is plug it in, position yourself on the device, and activate the power button.
Kyrobak will then deliver its patented CPM and Oscillation Therapy to gently massage your pelvic area to result in relief for your back pain. Does kyrobak work for lower back aches when sitting? Apparently not, because according to instructions, you have to be lying down for the treatment to yield results.
For your treatment to be successful, you have to use Kyrobak for at least ten minutes every day according to the physiotherapists who tested it. Wear clothing to cover the lower back and set up your treatment in an area near a power outlet where you have sufficient and comfortable space to lie down. You can put the device on a mat or rug if you choose to do your treatment on the floor.
Kyrobak may be one of the best electronic pain relief devices for natural pain relief on the market today. If you think this device can work for you, check out the official Kyrobak website for further information on how to order, FAQs including troubleshooting and maintenance of the device, testimonials, and the free “Lifestyle Change for Relief” book that comes with every purchase of a Kyrobak device, among others.
Read more about how this back pain device works along with more Kyrobak reviews in our detailed analysis.
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, on the other hand, uses the same continuous passive motion (CPM) technology but has taken lower back pain relief a notch higher by combining it with oscillation therapy.
Constant pain that occurs on your rear but only on one side.
Align your neck’s level with your spine instead of below or above it to prevent neck pain when you wake up.
This spice has long been used in alleviating pain from heartburn and arthritis. Although it remains unclear as to how turmeric is able to reduce the inflammation in the mentioned conditions, its action may be prompted by the chemical 
Although fish oil is more renowned for treating cardiovascular conditions, it is also effective as a reliever of back pain because of its ability to reduce inflammation.
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Another electronic device for back pain relief called