John Patrick Boren, DC, founder of Lordex Corp in Houston, Texas.

What spine management system can you offer to your patients? Chiropractic Products spoke with John Patrick Boren, DC, founder of Lordex Corp, in Houston, Tex, about the system and equipment he designed.

What is the Lordex Lumbar Spine System?
Lordex is derived from the word lordosis. The lordotic curve distributes the vertical weight on the lumbar spine. Any alteration produces abnormal rhythmic loading. The first steps involved in this process are either impact trauma or repetitive stress usually superimposed on a spine that has undergone disuse atrophy. Atrophy from disuse (lumbar extensor muscles) renders the lumbar spine dysfunctional. The resulting mechanical spinal pathology may then result in disc dehydration, dessication, facet sliding, lax ligaments, fissure formation, nucleus migration, pressure on the dorsal root ganglion, microvascular change, ischemia, pain, and neurological deficit.

Surgery is performed frequently to decompress the offending nerve root, but does nothing to attend the actual cause of the herniation that caused compression. Patients who have not succumbed to surgery have better results because of intact anatomy, when undergoing the Lordex Lumbar Spine Procedure.

The major difference between surgery vs nonsurgical Lordex protocol is that surgery is forever. A 20% loss of functional capacity can be expected in most cases due to destruction of muscles, tendons, and ligaments during the surgical process.

Interestingly, the second most common surgical intervention (following laminectomy) is fusion. Instability is the origin of most mechanical spinal pathology, however further destruction through surgical fusion often times changes the microhemodynamics, producing a myriad of unwanted clinical systems.

The Lordex Spine System incorporates strength restoration and lumbar spine decompression therapies consistent with human anatomy and physiology. Mechanical unloading, distraction, and positioning reduce interdiscal pressure and allow an imbibition of fluid into the disc. The term is not interchangeable with surgical decompression, which requires the invasion and destruction of muscles, tendons, and ligaments (ie, the support stabilizing structures) to get in and out of the spine.

What is the history of Lordex Corp?
Lordex was founded by Boren, who began his chiropractic journey in 1974. While attending Texas Chiropractic College, Boren designed and engineered exercise equipment under the name Olympus Sports Medical Equipment. He went into private practice, but his love for orthopedics and spinal mechanics led him to continue building equipment. In the 80s, Lordex Corp was founded and advanced the field of exercise science at the Human Performance Lab of Southwest State University in San Marcos, Tex. With numerous university and clinical studies, the Lordex System has emerged as one of the most sophisticated nonoperative method for treating the most common causes of LBP.

Tell Us about Lordex’s commitment to the profession.
Lordex has remained committed by providing both the tools and a procedure that places the profession in mainstream health care. The gap between medicine and chiropractic can easily be bridged when the allopathic physicians recognizes the logic and value of working with chiropractors who can offer their post-op patients a comprehensive plan to improve outcomes.

What do you see for the future of chiropractic?
The future of many chiropractors may not be influenced by WC or no-fault insurance, but by services performed and outcomes delivered to their patients. A procedure that is repeatable, reliable, and verifiable and is not technician-dependent, creates a comfort level for doctors that elevates the perceived value to patients. CP