VIDEO: Dr. Dreisinger Provides An Overview Of The SpineZone At Alvarado Hospital
Dr. Dreisinger demonstrates how the SpineZone treats patients at Alvarado Hospital.
Dr. Dreisinger:
Hi. I am Dr. Ted Dreisinger, clinical coordinator for The SpineZone, part of the Advanced Spine Institute at Alvarado Hospital. The SpineZone is a clinic dedicated to treating chronic back and neck pain. About 80 percent of the population is going to have back pain at some time in their lives, and of that 80 percent, 20 percent of them will have chronic back pain, the kind of back pain that just doesn’t get better on its own.
So here at SpineZone we spend time treating patients, evaluating them, and then measuring where they are and seeing how they perform. We have about an 80 percent success rate, and we are delighted to have you here and show it to you.
At the heart of SpineZone is measurement. Let me ask you how tall you are. Actually, that’s just a question for you to think about. The reason you know how tall you are is because you measured your height. At SpineZone we know where patients begin in the clinic because we measure where they are. We measure their functional outcomes by them picking web-based outcomes tools that allow us to see where they perceive they are in terms of the things they can do in their activities of daily living.
But beyond that, we then measure them on two very sophisticated and large machines. The machine on my right here is the lumbar strengthening device. We test and strengthen patients in this. So once a patient is in it, we find out what their range of motion is, and from that range of motion we determine what their strength is isometrically.
Once we have the test measured, measuring what their strength is, then we are able to safely prescribe exercise, and that’s key. If you know where somebody is in the beginning you can prescribe safe exercise and then monitor them through the rehabilitation process.
In addition, we have a cervical machine that does the same thing for the neck. This is another rather large device that we put patients in. We are able to measure the range of motion and strength of the cervical spine. Again, safely, this is the key. If we measure safely then we can prescribe safely, and once that’s done we can put patients into the program and follow them all the way through and monitor their success.
One of the unique features of the Spine Zone is our ability to measure patient function. We ask patients to sit behind the computer and look at a series of activities, and as they look at the series of activities, they determine whether they can or cannot do them. It’s from “able,” “slightly restricted,” “restricted,” right through “I don’t know.” And these tasks go from more simple tasks to more difficult tasks.
These are standardized tests that are used to be able to determine the patient’s function, and so we not only have the objective measure from the machines, but we have the subjective measure by the patient, and we see this change over time.
Once we have measured a patient and we know where they begin their basic exercise, we are then able to prescribe activity that’s safe for them. Instead of having them exercise every time on the big testing machine that we showed you a little bit earlier, we bring them to this machine where we are able to exercise them in the very same motion but with a little less encumberment for them.
So they are able to get in the machine, exercise back and forth safely, and able to get an ability to increase weights as they are going through rehabilitation. That means that we can measure them as they are in therapy.
Then for the neck patients it’s a very same kind of idea that we have for the spine. This is a cervical machine. Once we have tested the patient on the big machine, we can then prescribe exercise safely for them here. They sit in this device, they move their neck back and forth, and this is where the exercise is done. So in both cases we are able to prescribe from the testing machines, exercise here, and monitor progress as they go through therapy.
One other unique machine to the Spine Zone is the thoracic rotation device. It’s a rather large machine as well, but it’s designed to isolate the pelvis so that core muscles can be strengthened. That’s key also in back pain. You hear often how important core muscles are. Well, core muscles are important, and so this device allows us to be able to measure and strengthen the core muscles.
You can see the device, as the patient sits in it we can rotate it in one direction as they are sitting. Then they resist in the opposite direction and that causes in this case, strengthening on the left side of the stomach. These would be the transverse abdominis muscles. Once that’s done, then we load them to the other side so that now they are exercising in the opposite direction against load.
Now that you have had an opportunity to visit The SpineZone, I hope you appreciate just how unique this clinic is. First, patients are able to exercise muscles they have never used before in their lives, not just exercise them, but measure them safely and then through rehabilitation allow them to have a successful rehabilitation experience.
About Thomas Dreisinger, Ph.D.:
Dr. Thomas Dreisinger is clinic coordinator of SpineZone, a state-of-the-art rehabilitation program recently added to the comprehensive services of the Advanced Spine Institute at Alvarado Hospital. He is also president of Therapy Advisors, which has developed scientifically based treatment protocols for spinal rehabilitation. In addition, he is the current research coordinator for U.S. Spine & Sport Foundation.
Throughout Dr. Dreisinger’s more than 30 years in orthopaedics, rehabilitation and physical medicine, he has developed an injury prevention program that drastically reduced carpal tunnel surgeries for Tyson Foods, Justine Industries and MagTek employees. He was a founder and managing partner of Progressive Spine Care and Rehabilitation, a fully computer-automated spine clinic in Columbia, Missouri. As vice president of Prevention First, Dr. Dreisinger assisted 3M, major U.S. Airlines and other clients with establishing successful spine and upper extremity injury prevention protocols. Dr. Dreisinger is also past chairman of the board for the U.S. Branch of the world-renowned McKenzie Institute International and currently a Trustee of the International Institute.
For More Information On The SpineZone And The Advanced Spine Institute Visit Advanced Spine Institute & Minimally Invasive Spine Center At Alvarado Hospital.
