Patent ID: 6152950
Filing Date: 2000-11-28
Classification: A61H

Abstract:
A therapeutic apparatus useful in the treatment of low back pain, the apparatus comprising:a frame having a base and a support extending upwardly from the base;a table having a bed and a pedestal supporting the bed above the base, the bed having an upper bed portion and an opposing lower bed portion slidable therefrom and adapted for movement while supporting a person in a supine position on the bed;upper body anchoring means adapted for anchoring the upper body of the person to the upper bed portion;a lower body harness adapted for attaching to the lower body pelvic portion of the person, the lower body harness having an inflatable air bladder adapted for positioning within the posterior cavity of the lumbar spine formed between the lower back of the person and the bed when the person is in the supine position on the bed, wherein the inflatable air bladder enables the local paraspinal muscles of the person to relax during a pulling force on the spine of the person;traction means adapted for placing the persons spine in traction, the traction means carried by the upwardly extending support of the frame and attachable to the lower body harness for providing a pulling force between the upper body anchoring means and the lower body harness, the traction means vertically movable along the upwardly extending support from a position generally along a horizontal plane passing through an axis of the spine to a vertically displaced position for providing a pulling force at an angle to the horizontal plane and directing the pulling force to a preselected portion of the horizontal plane and thus adaptable for directing the pulling force to a preselected portion of the spine, wherein the traction means comprise a track carried by the upwardly extending support of the frame and a traction unit slidably carried by the track, the traction unit having a strap extending therefrom, the strap attached to the lower body harness for providing the pulling force to the harness created by the traction unit; andangle determining means operable with the traction means for indicating the angle of the pulling force to the horizontal plane and thus to the axis of the spine through which the pulling force is exerted.