A single session costs $100, while a package of 10 costs $750.  Additionally, while we bring some pieces with us, we expect that our at home clients are capable of purchasing equipment. 

This is not the unfortunately typical at home program consisting of neoprene 2 lbs. dumbbells, stability balls, and a hug and a kiss workout.  Instead it's a high end fitness service that is guaranteed to be comparable to any health club or studio workout.  A Bowflex is recommended due to its versatility and quality of construction, and we can certainly provide guidance on any equipment purchase based on budget, space, etc. 

Simon Young, 73, contacted Back2Health: Spinal Fitness on November 16, 2008 suffering from severe leg pain.  In his words:
 
The sciatica began to come on slowly in April, 2008, and became more acute over the course of a month. I had an MRI at the end of May that showed a bulging disc at L5/S1. Early in June I began to fell better, and returned to regular activities. On June 18th I was playing racquetball, and I suddenly felt acute pain, that forced me to stop. I was totally out of action for 3 months, during which time I tried chiropractic, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, physical therapy, and finally osteopathy. By the middle of September I was feeling better, and decided to go back to regular activity. I played racquetball with no trouble, but my first day back on the tennis court, my back went out again.  
 
Mr. Young was referred to our facility by an osteopath in New Hampshire who possesses the medical version of the MedX Lumbar Extension machine.  Needless to say, the commute from Brockton to Hanover is a little shorter than Manchester, NH. 
 
Because Mr. Young's pain was strictly related to the lumbar area (i.e., no neck pain), it was decided that he would only use the MedX Core Lumbar Extension.  To be clear, while pain was radiating down his leg (sciatica), this was the result of issues around the lower back and pelvis (disc bulge and nerve compression).  Abdominal flexion and neck extension/flexion would not be needed in this particular case, although torso rotation might be a nice compliment to the lumbar piece down the road - and would conceivably aid his tennis game.    
 
Mr. Young started his lower back strengthening program at Back2Health on November 18, 2008.  Using a pain inventory, it was determined that his general pain was a 7 on a scale of 10 (10 being worst).  80 lbs. was used to assess his strength, and also his ease of motion throughout approximately 55o movement.  His performance was broken up into 3 mini-sets of 5 repetitions each.  This was chosen to gauge how he was responding to the exercise, and it was noted that with each mini set, pain was reduced and range of motion was increased.  Upon starting, Mr. Young was forced by discomfort to stop approximately 15o from full extension; with each successive set he managed to increase this range of motion by a few degrees. 
 
By his third weekly workout, Mr. Young was able to extend fully, and was using 20 lbs. more than what he started with.  Over the following weeks, and as the weight used continued to climb and the exercise became more demanding, the number of repetitions dropped to 4 (still within 3 mini-sets each). 
 
After 6 workouts, and noticing greatly reduced discomfort (~2 on scale of 10), it was determined that the demands could be increased again, in effort to strengthen the area as fast as possible.  2 mini-sets of 5 reps each were implemented, and as of January 8, 2009, 128 lbs. was used in this manner.  
 
Mr. Young has been instructed to keep '1-2 reps in the tank', as going to muscular fatigue can often irritate the lower back area.  As he comes closer to his reaching his limits on this machine, the weight increments will become smaller.  Additionally, it is expected that in the very near future Mr. Young can complete a single set of 6-7 slow and controlled repetitions.  While he certainly has good days and bad days, as is the norm when rehabbing an injury, a bout of snow shoveling did no worse than add a bit of soreness which did not linger more than a few days. 
 
It should be known that Mr. Young is utilizing several other forms of treatment besides MedX.  However, other than low-level infra-red laser treatments, all others are some sort of passive activity - certainly not enough to strengthen the area as efficiently as the MedX Lumbar Extension machine.
 
Regarding a return to athletic endeavors, Mr. Young sent the following:  Today, January 8, I played tennis. I was a little stiff, but experienced no serious sciatic pain. I plan to play again on Saturday.