Patent ID: 7540877

Claim:
A method for treating back pain comprising the steps of: positioning a patient on a generally horizontal surface having a fixed first body support section adapted to be in contact with an upper body portion of said patient's body, and a moveable second body support section adapted to be in contact with a lower body portion of said patient's body, said moveable second body support section comprising a generally horizontal support adapted to be in contact with said lower body portion of said patient's body and a pivoting support adapted to be in contact with the patient's pelvis, said pivoting support being configured to lie directly under the patient's pelvis and tilt the patient's pelvis by pivoting about an axis that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis when said patient is positioned supine on said horizontal surface; isolating a desired region of said patient's spine to receive a distraction force by modifying the angle of said pivoting support with respect to said generally horizontal surface to an angle that will cause a horizontally applied distraction force to be concentrated in said desired region; and applying a horizontal distraction force to said patient's spine by moving said moveable second body support section in a direction parallel to said longitudinal axis and away from said fixed first body support section.