Patent ID: 7201729

Claim:
An apparatus for treating back pain comprising: a fixed first body support section positioned on said apparatus so as to lie below an upper body portion of a patient's body when said patient lies supine on said apparatus; a moveable second body support section positioned on said apparatus so as to lie below a lower body portion of said patient's body when said patient lies supine on said apparatus, said moveable second body support section being moveable toward and away from said fixed first body support section so as to apply a distraction force to said patient's spine when said patient lies supine on said apparatus, said second body support section having a pivotable support section connected with an electro-mechanical drive, said pivotable support section positioned on said apparatus so as to lie below said patient's pelvis when said patient lies supine on said apparatus, said pivotable support section configured to pivot with respect to the remainder of said second body support section about an axis that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said apparatus, said pivotable support section angularly displacing in a generally vertical direction so as to tilt said patient's pelvis and allow application of distraction forces to predetermined segments of said patient's spine upon movement of said moveable second body support section; and a controller, said controller further comprising computer executable code operable to (i) modify the angular orientation of said pivotable support section to isolate a desired region of a patient's spine to receive a distraction force such that a distraction force applied to said patient lying supine on said apparatus in a direction generally parallel to said patient's spine will be concentrated in said predetermined segments of said patient's spine, and (ii) cause said apparatus to cyclically apply a distraction force to said predetermined segments of said patient's spine in a direction generally parallel to said patient's spine.