Cervical Lordosis Correction

[nopain]

Let me preface this posting with both an apology and a statement.

I apologize for posting on a subject that seems to be within the realm of Chiropractic. I could find ZERO Medical (Non Chiropractic) support for the statements I'm about to question.

Allow me to further preface: I have about as much faith in the Chiropractic Profession as I have in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, and the Easter Bunny. With that humor me as I proceed.

I have lost nearly all the Curve in my Cervical Spine. I was told today by my doctor that once my discs are gone I can not correct the curve because the discs allow the curve. I'm not sure I believe this statement as it falls under the "There is nothing that can be done, go home and live with it blanket".

What Doctors don't seem to understand is that pain on a scale of 3/10 doesn't sound like much until you have to live with it 24/7 for years and years. Then that little 3/10 becomes pretty significant.

So being the stubborn SOB that I am I had to start researching and within a few minutes I came across this site:

http://www.neckandheadacherelief.com.../neck-pain.asp

So I started researching Cervical Lordosis Correction Devices. This lead me to another site:

http://www.njspinecorrection.com/results.html

Please note "Patient #3" Age 63 female. (The person who made this site did NOT scale the images so they load very very slowly. But if you click on them and save them you can view them full size.

"Patient #3" clearly has Degenerative Disc Disease and major loss of Disc Height. Her neck is almost as junky looking as mine. "Patient #4" is nearly here age and has a beautiful spine. Genetics, lifestyle, who knows... anyways...

Clearly if these images are in fact "unaltered" then there is reason to believe that degenerated discs or not one can restore the curve in their spine (at least to some degree), For those of you reading this with lower back problems the next page has lower back XRays.

Now on to the questions:

Does anyone believe this is possible? The device used here is FDA Approved, however when I looked it up I am very skeptical.

http://www.bcbst.com/mpmanual/Piezoe...nal_Column.htm
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/pdf5/K050428.pdf.
http://www.advancedspinaltech.com/
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndID=161361190
http://www.roanokechiro.com/SMART%20Adjuster.htm - Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't but it sure looks "Hokey". But if it did work, I'd eat my words, in fact I'd love to eat them!

Other than these devices and chiropractors who seem to be using it, does anyone believe a degenerated spine can actually be corrected (in the presence of diseased tissues DDD) and returned to a proper Lordosis?

Anyone successfully reversed a (I believe the word is Khypotic Spine). Has anyone worked with a Physical Therapist that has been able to archive a reversal of the "Backwards" or "Straight" spine?

[sahuaro]

Most of those devices not only look "hokey," they look downright scary for someone with herniated disks!
I can only give you some of my experience: after c5/c6 herniated, I had an increasingly head-forward position and my mri indicated loss of normal curve in my neck. Having read that kyphosis can be a contraindication to ADR (or at least some ADR devices), I asked my surgeon about this and he explained that I did not really have kyphosis, that the loss of curve was the result of my injury and that the ADR would correct this. Now that I am post-op, I can hold my head back (but it's a matter of postural re-training now) but I'm not sure what my X-rays show in this regard--it will be a question for my next visit with him.
Incidentally, I had 7 years of PT, including traction, with no "restoration of the curve."

[mmglobal]

first 2 links are the same... I can't find the pictures you refer to?

[nopain]

Most people don't actually read the posts, they just scan them.

Anyhow I have corrected the link in the post above.

This is the correct link:

http://www.njspinecorrection.com/results.html

The patient I refer to has a severely degenerated spine but it appears they "fixed" the curve.