The Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Laboratory at the Loyola University Medical Center, endearingly known as the Windy City Lab, is a site of federally funded research into the biomechanical and clinical studies of flexion-distraction, the technique also known as Cox Technic developed by Dr. James M. Cox. The most current project involves the cervical spine.

At the Windy City Lab, Dr. Avinash G. Patwardhan directs a team of orthopaedic surgeons, engineers, medical researchers and statisticians whose publishing credits include over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals like Spine, J of Bone and Joint Surgery and the J of Biomechanics. It's quite impressive what this small but mighty team has accomplished.

Dr. Ram Gudavalli, chiropractic researcher from Palmer Research Center and director of the chiropractic clinicians and researchers in this particular project under the direction of Christine Goertz, DC, PhD, works closely with Dr. Patwardhan and his team. Consulting chiropractic clinicians who volunteer their time and travel to this project include

• James M. Cox, DC, DACBR
• George Joachim, DC, DACRB
• Ralph Kruse, DC, DABCO
• Robert Rowell, DC 
• Michael Seidman, DC
• Robert Vining, DC

Each time these researchers and clinicians assemble, excitement abounds at the ability to document what happens during this flexion distraction procedure and at the collaborative efforts of all involved.

Please check out the new website for Loyola's Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Laboratory, www.WindyCityLab.com. (Watch the image rotator on the homepage to see if you recognize the research team for this flexion distraction research project!)

Dr. James Cox is preparing a dynamic lecture mixed with straight-from-the-clinic patient cases, discogenic back pain condition details, a review of the non-discogenic conditions, hands-on practice for you. Plus he is having Dr. Gudavalli warm up the transducer for all of you to use, finetune and hone your application pressures for proper application of Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression. Plus you will get more time with the cervical headpiece and cervical spine flexion distraction protocols. Are you ready?

Join us on November 18-20, 2011, at National University of Health Sciences in SC1/Gym. The Cox Technic Certification Course Part II is a packed weekend you don't want to miss!

Click here for more details and here for registration.

18 hours of chiropractic continuing education credits are available as well.

See you soon!

We have our secure portal and can now start sharing some of the recorded Cox Technic related webinars from the past year. Some are free and presented by Cox Technic Complete (the program for online outreach for flexion-distraction physicians) and some are fee-based as they are academic presentations by Dr. James Cox.

The free webinars include case report presentations of actual patient cases from exam through treatment and outcome as well as discussions of the latest statistics in the world of spinal pain management. Dr. Cox's passion for spinal pain care and research shines in these and his passion will inspire you! Demonstrations of how the Cox Technic Complete program highlights these research and scientific advances and findings for spinal care for the subscriber. Cox Technic Complete pulls it all together from clinical office materials that are downloadable to the website that is personalized for your practice and optimized for internet SEO and localization telling your community that you are a back pain specialist with the treatment to help them get rid of pain.

The educational, academic fee-based webinars are on topics like pathologies in the chiropractic practice, FBSS patients, Cox Technic research studies and patient documentation. Dr. Cox shares his clinical practice style and his passion for chiropractic and research are evident and will likely inspire you.

More online recorded Cox Technic webinars are in the editting stage and will be uploaded over the next few weeks. Enjoy these for now!

Contact us if you have any questions or suggestions for future webinars!

Have you heard about back pain lately? Friends? Family? Football players? Even politicians are having back pain.

Do you hear about surgery and drugs for back pain relief? Sure. Do you want drugs and surgery for back pain relief? No? Many people are with you there. If surgery can be avoided, many want to do that.

Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression Spinal Manipulation is a non-surgical back pain relief protocol. Its protocols seek a logical amount of relief in a logical amount of time - 50% relief in 30 days - or further tests or imaging studies or surgical consultations will be arranged. Many people experience  50% even 100% relief of pain in that time of 30 days or less (often less!). When you hurt, any % of pain is a relief.

Cox Technic protocols call for this time to heal as it takes time to drop intradiscal pressures to be below the 20mm that cause symptoms like back pain, leg pain, neck pain, arm pain. Hirschberg wrote that it takes 3 months for a disc to heal. Now he doesn't say that back pain continues through that whole time, but he does write that time of low intradiscal pressures and irritation are needed for back pain relief. Cox Technic respects that. You get pain relief and tips on how to control your back pain condition so your visits are limited.

To see a back pain specialist in your area who offers Cox Technic, please click here for the certified Cox Technic physician referral directory.

Glycosaminoglyan in disc cartilage is well-documented. This set of researchers wanted to find out what happens to the glycosaminoglycan if the disc is damaged.

So, they punctured the lumbar annulus fibrosus.

After 5 weeks, they performed an MRI  to estimate disc volume and glycosaminoglycan distribution.

The results show that the disc volume increased significantly at 4 weeks after the puncture.

The disc’s nucleus pulposus (center) displaced from annulus fibrosus (surrounding rings) increased T1 weighting of disc and glycosaminoglycan significantly decreased. So basically if there is damage to a disc, glycosaminoglycan leaves the damaged disc,  and the disc changes.

Nutritional and chiropractic treatment seems logical to help repair the damage.

Read more about this research, the check out the Discat Plus formulation for disc health and Cox Technic for disc herniation treatment and relief.

Cox Technic Seminars heads to lovely San Diego for a continuing education weekend at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel - gorgeous! Near the Gaslamp District, you will get to enjoy one of the most unique sections of San Diego in your downtime.

During your up-time, Dr. Lee Hazen is the instructor for this Part I course. Certified or not, you are welcome to attend. Dr. Hazen leads the hands-on instruction so that everyone gets a chance to feel and do the technique the right way. Having spent nearly 10 years with Dr. James Cox, developer of Cox Technic, as an associate, Dr. Hazen brings his unique experience to the course. You will leave with much confidence on Sunday to treat on Monday.

Plan to come a day or two early even, but join us for the Cox Technic Seminar for chiropractic continuing education credit via National University of Health Sciences.

September 10-11, 2011 - Register before August 27, 2011, to avoid the late fee.

Read more about the course, then register today!

Twenty-two chiropractic doctors and students joined at the beautiful Hyatt Boston Harborside Hotel for a weekend of hands-on and academic experience. Lead by Dr. Ralph Kruse, the doctors from Norway to Illinois to Connecticut to Canada heard about the history of Cox Technic, saw videotaped cases of Dr. James Cox, the developer of Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression spinal manipulation, applying Cox Technic protocols from the spinal manipulation to ancillary therapies and exercise, gained insights into the biomechanics of flexion distraction based on federally funded HRSA grant studies and the clinical outcomes of flexion distraction, and felt how the proper application of Cox Technic should feel as both the doctor and patient. Always an amazing finding is how small the motion is to get the desired effect. One to 2 inches of motion from the treatment starting point is all it takes. There is no need or desire for 16° of flexion when applying flexion distraction properly. Further, dropping intradiscal pressures on the DRG is important. Pain is when there is more than 20mm of pressure on the DRG nerves according to Takahashi.

“You get the latest research presented in concise form, as well as individual hands-on with the technique that is invaluable. When’s the last time a seminar day flew by? Good stuff.”

– Boston Part I (7/11) attendee comment on evaluation form

So consider joining the next Cox Technic Part I Certification Course in San Diego on September 9-10, 2011. You’ll be amazed at today’s 21^st century, gentle, evidence-based, effective clinical protocols of Cox Technic that have evolved since you took it in school or heard about it from a colleague!

Check the website for more information on Cox Technic and on the seminars we offer. Then, contact us with any questions.

Just posted to the website and on YouTube, a new video about Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression with its developer, Dr. James Cox, is ready. Highlighting a demonstration of the proper protocols of Cox Technic, the video also emphasizes the research, the educational opportunities to learn more about it for doctors and patients, the tools availables to enhance the use of flexion distraction as well as the referral directory to certified Cox Technic physicians.

Check out the video today!

This is the second in the educational Cox Technic Webinar Series.

Dr. James Cox presents a webinar on the care of the post-surgical pain patient who has had spinal surgery and now has continued spinal pain. Widely known as the failed back surgical syndrome patient (FBSS for short), these post-surgical continued pain patients are demanding of chiropractic's conservative skill. Most patients have had a surgery - or several - and either don't want another surgery or can't have another surgery and want pain relief, any amount will do. These patients well appreciate the 50% or 80% or 90% (sometimes even 100%) relief they get under the Cox Technic chiropractor's care. Cox Technic protocols outline the protocols to follow in treating these patients who have hardware in their spines or not.

Join Dr. Cox for this discussion on July 13, 2011, at 12:30pm EST for his presentation in talk and imaging on the FBSS patient.

For more information and registration, please see http://www.coxtechnic.com/doctors/cox-technic-webinar-series.

Chiropractic and Back Pain. Chiropractic and Neck Pain. Chiropractic and Spine Pain. The public thinks of chiropractic for back pain by and large.

• 33% of 27,810 people chose chiropractors as their treating physician for low back pain in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. (NHANE) [in Deyo R: Spine 12(3)]
• Spine care delivery is 60% by the medical model and 40% by the chiropractic model. [Saal, Spine 22(14)]
• The total number of US adults who went to a chiropractor increased 57% from 2000-2003. [Davis, Health Svcs Research 45(3)]
• Paid costs for back pain care started with a chiropractor were 40% less than care started with a MD. [Liliedahl, JMPT 33(9)]

Chiropractic is reknown for its back pain care. Chiropractic has evidence-based technique to relieve and control back pain like Cox Technic.

The federally funded studies document Cox Technic Flexion-Distraction and Decompression's biomechanical effects on the spine as well as its clinical outcomes:

• intradiscal pressure drops to as low as -192mm Hg in the lumbar spine
• 28% widening of the area of the intervertebral canal
• flexion distraction is superior in relieving pain due to radiculopathy (leg pain) compared to medical care. (Gudavalli, Euro Sp J 2006) 
• 29 days and  12 visits are the averages for relief of low back pain when not taking into account specific conditions of back pain. [Cox, Topics in Clinical Chiropractic 1996, 3(3)]
• 13.2 treatments is the average for relief of neck pain radiculopathy. [Schliesser, Kruse, JMPT 26(9)]

Back pain and chiropractic fit together. The chiropractic physician is skilled in the diagnosis, examination and treatment of back pain as well as its prevention with nutrition, exercise and lifestyle choices. The chiropractic back pain research continues to evolve in support. Chiropractic physicians train specially to keep abreast of the latest research and Cox Technic treatment application in seminars. Back pain patients find Cox Technic physicians for their back pain relief when they search the referral directory of certified Cox Technic physicians.

Research leads the way in evidence-based care and in Cox Technic.

Contact Cox Technic if you have any questions.