Arthur Jones, the founder of Nautilus, founded MedXTM in 1986. He wanted to perfect the testing of human strength, endurance, and range of motion. MedX is recognized as the Gold Standard for treating and reducing chronic neck and back pain, including spinal joints, the nervous system, and the musculoskeletal system. It also sets the bar in rehabilitative exercise.

Chronic spinal pain is due to muscle weakness, which increases as damage to the spine worsens, leading to herniated discs, facet syndrome, and degenerative joint disease. Before MedX was introduced, there wasn’t an effective way to isolate and strengthen the muscles of the spine. Colleges and orthopedic clinics around the world have done extensive research and over 60 scientific studies show the MedX to be preferable to similar systems because of its unique ability to isolate the muscles of the spine, determine the source of muscle weakness and injury, and then customize the exercise, range of motion, and resistance to isolate and strengthen this weakness. A strong, healthy spine provides the necessary foundation to help prevent spinal compression and degeneration, allowing people to return to regular activities.

These are the only machines available today that will effectively isolate the lumbar extensor muscles exclusively by stabilizing the lower extremity through an elaborate restraint system.

MedX Effectiveness

There are many devices and exercises which claim to strengthen the spine, but MedX are the only machines available today that are scientifically proven to isolate the lumbar extensor muscles exclusively by stabilizing the lower extremity through an elaborate restraint system. MedX helps people heal, even after other forms of treatment – physical therapy, massage therapy, chiropractic treatment, epidurals, and medication – have failed. There are plenty of devices and exercises which claim to strengthen the spine, but they remain unproven by scientific testing.

The MedX approach is very powerful and successful at increasing function in a controlled, quantifiable manner, efficiently producing the best results over the shortest period of time. Thousands of patients are living proof. Many patients that demonstrated success tried physical therapy, chiropractic, and other pain management techniques first without achieving the results they had hoped for until they tried MedX. Dr. Rudnick has witnessed the effectiveness of the MedX, which is why there is a MedX machine in the office. He especially likes the fact that the MedX rehabilitative program can be modified for each individual patient and that the results are quantitative.

The MedX Lumbar Extension Machine

Tucson Chiropractic Center is the only chiropractic clinic in Tucson that offers MedX lumbar and cervical medical evaluation and treatment. The MedX lumbar extension machine provides functional testing and rehabilitation of the lumbar spine. It is a unique method of stabilizing the pelvis, providing true isolation of the deep muscles of the lumbar spine (erector spinae and multifidus). Weakness in these muscle groups has been associated with chronic lower back pain and susceptibility to future back injuries, pain, and disability. The muscles in the abdomen, hips and legs are restrained so that only the muscles in the lower back are targeted. Weak lumbar muscles can be responsible for back pain, leg pain, stiffness, and many other debilitating complaints.

The MedX Cervical Extension Machine

The cervical machine is similar to the lumbar machine in that it isolates the deep musculature that normally stabilizes the cervical spine. Because the cervical spine supports the head, weakness in this area often leads to chronic neck pain and headaches. Most especially, those headaches that start at the base of the skull, radiate around the front of the head, and are often felt behind the eyes. MedX rehabilitation is so effective because it isolates and strengthens specific areas of the cervical spine. The muscles in the torso are restrained, targeting only the muscles in the neck. Because the cervical muscles in the neck must continually support the head, weak muscles can lead to poor posture mechanics, and increased symptoms. By training specific movements and not allowing abnormal compensations, the patient not only regains needed strength, but also learns to move the spine properly again.

MedX Testing

MedX’s data recording and processing software allows operators to determine a patient’s physical limitations and show improvements in neck and back strength safely and accurately. The software calculates accurate range of motion and muscle strength at numerous joint positions by factoring out torso mass, stored energy, tissue compression and/or joint elasticity, as well as a lack of reasonable effort by the patient. Reports are generated showing individual results while offering comparison between age and gender normal findings. MedX’s computerized reports offer physicians, therapists, patients, and third-party payors, quantifiable data to use in determining a patient’s level of disability at the beginning of treatment, and their degree of improvement at the end of treatment. Improvements in isolated neck and lower back strength have been shown by extensive research to correlate with increased improvements in quality of life and increased function.

MedX Treatment

The ingenuity behind MedX’s success in helping patients become pain free and regain functionality is its ability to isolate the deep muscles of the spine during strengthening exercises. MedX equipment is designed to accurately test the neck and lower back, identifying existing or potential problems. Precise measurements of range of motion, strength and endurance are then compared to established norms. This allows for the accurate assessment of the spine in a number of different ways and takes into consideration the individual needs of each patient. A customized treatment and rehabilitation program utilizing this same equipment isolates and strengthens injured muscles in the neck. This leads to fewer flareups of symptoms and a much easier overall rehabilitation process. Unlike other spine strengthening exercises that involve muscles in the arms, abdomen, or legs, MedX targets only the muscles responsible for maintaining the alignment and anti-gravity properties of the spine. Poor spinal strength, alignment, and compression due to spinal weakness lead to dysfunction and pain.

We are able to test each individual’s neck strength and compare it to age-matched norms—other men or women at a similar age and weight. This shows us how strong your neck should be if it was healthy. The MedX machine also assists in monitoring your progression on each individual rehabilitative session. This allows us to effectively document muscle weakness and gives us baseline measurements so we can effectively predict a positive outcome, discontinue treatment, and follow your progress as we increase strength to optimal levels. Because we can isolate the source of the neck or lower back pain and rehabilitate it specifically, we are able to see a significant improvement and patients report less pain and more mobility within the first few weeks. Even patients who have suffered from neck or lower back pain for years note significant improvement rather quickly.