Andy Barlow, DC, and board-eligible chiropractic neurologist, keeps statistics on every aspect of his practice. And this is one of the reasons he knows that the Lordex Lumbar Decompression System has been a boon for his Tupelo, Miss-based BMR Chiropractic.

He and his partners, Matthew Mackey, DC, and Lee Rutherford, DC, purchased the device in March 2006 and found it so effective and popular with patients that they purchased a second one 2 months later. The practice gets more than 600 patient visits per week, and about 90 patients per week use the decompression system.

At $59,000, the Lordex Lumbar Decompression System is at the mid range of other decompression products. (The name Lordex is a combination of "lordosis" and "exercise"—it consists of the Lordex Decompression Unit and the RX1, a strength rehabilitation component.) But cost and the potential return on investment was only one of the criteria that Barlow and his partners considered while they were shopping around for a decompression table. The other was support from the company. "Once you buy this piece of equipment, you still have contact with the company," Barlow says. "That is hugely important. When you look at [buying a decompression table], it's like buying a car. And if you're going to buy something [this expensive], it has to have a wow factor."

And the Lordex Lumbar Decompression System not only had that wow factor, but has also been a good investment for BMR Chiropractic, with the two units more than paying for themselves in the 18 months since they have been implemented. Barlow credits the success primarily to the unit and the marketing tools provided by the Lordex Spine Institute. "If a chiropractor can't generate, conservatively, $15,000 to $20,000 a month using the Lordex system, it's the doctor's fault," he says.

The treatment process for a patient is a systematic step-by-step path that begins with an initial examination.

Corrective Care Plan

During the first visit, the patient receives an examination and spinal x-rays. The second visit covers the interpretation of the examination and the x-rays, with the patient receiving details on his or her exact diagnosis. The third visit outlines the corrective care plan—which can include the Lordex system—for the patient. According to Barlow, on average, about 72% of these new patients sign up for the corrective care plan.

Pictured with Barlow are Raven Gann, CA (left), and Sandy Gann, office manager (seated).

The corrective care plan is a 25-visit set of treatments that patients pay for up front. Barlow credits this as a key to the business and clinical success of the practice. Because these patients have already paid for their treatments, they do not miss their appointments. Even if they do, Barlow counts it against their pre-paid plan (unless they had a legitimate emergency). The plan outlines in detail the course of treatment, including the use of the Lordex Lumbar Decompression System.

The corrective care plan is an out-of-pocket expense for the patient, and if he or she cannot pay for the course of treatment either via cash or credit card, Barlow will help the patient set up financing with Care Credit, a company that specializes in financing health care treatment not covered by traditional insurance. Most patients do not have any hesitation paying. "They're the ones who've tried other methods, including having failed surgeries," Barlow says.

The high percentage rate of enrollment—it peaked in May 2007 at 77%—reflects the demographic Barlow is working with. Most of the patients have serious back pain ranging from sciatica to herniated or bulging disks, degenerative disks, stenosis, or spinal arthritis. Many patients have undergone several failed back operations to correct disk and other spinal problems to no avail.

The Lordex is designed to treat only the lumbar spine and can specifically target a particular disk.

The Treatment

The Lordex system uses a closed reduction decompression that alleviates pain by taking the pressure off the nerves and disks in the lumbar region of the spine. The unit is able to produce long-term pain relief by creating negative pressure in the disk, taking the pressure off the spinal nerves. Treatments typically range from 25 to 30 minutes and are set at an intermittent cycle of 45 seconds of pull and 15 seconds of rest. This translates to about 30 cycles of decompression during a 30-minute session.

Patients are placed on the table face up and are fitted with a pelvic harness and a chest vest. A wedge is placed under the knees to support the patient's legs, and a small lordotic bladder will be put in place to support the lumbar region of the spine. When performing the stretch, patients will be lifted in a vertical direction as the table slowly separates to relieve spinal pressure, and manipulates the vertebrae in such a way that the disk slips back into its normal position. According to materials on the Lordex Web site, "this allows for vital circulation to be restored to the damaged, painful areas of the lower back. This stimulates [the] body's natural healing process."

The Lordex system is fully automated with a computer system that Barlow uses to select and set up the appropriate parameters for each patient. The system uses a formula based on the patient's weight and where he or she is in the treatment process. For the first treatment, the patient will have force equal to half his or her weight minus 10 pounds. For the second treatment, the force is increased to half his or her weight. For the second treatment and beyond, it is half the patient's weight plus 10 pounds. The computer also allows the machine to target individual disks. For instance, says Barlow, the computer can be set for a specific amount of decompression to treat a bulge at L5 for one patient, while the lighter patient who follows may have a bulge at L2.

Like other decompression tables, the Lordex system has an automatic shut-off switch the patient can use if he or she feels any discomfort. "The patient has full control," Barlow says.

Once the Lordex decompression treatment is finished, patients then can be put through the exercise component of the Lordex treatment. This involves strength-restoration therapy on the RX1 to restabilize the patient's spine. Each RX1 procedure consists of pelvic stabilization, eccentric/concentric progressive resistance throughout the patient's range of motion in both flexion and extension, and release.

The success rate for the patients Barlow treats on the Lordex is very high. It is close to, if not exceeding, the 86% to 90% rate that the Lordex Spine Institute promises in its patient materials. Even with the high statistical rate of success, Barlow makes no promises to his patients. "I am straightforward with the patient, and that's part of the reason for my success," he says.

Among the patients that Barlow has successfully treated was a medical doctor. Like many of his patients, the MD had tried the more traditional approach of rehabilitation, injections, and surgery, but was still in pain. Barlow says that physicians in the Tupelo area are willing to send their patients to him, and he receives regular referrals from medical doctors. This MD patient, however, was not referred to the practice by his own primary care physician. Instead, he saw some of Barlow's advertising.

Marketing Plan

What helped to immediately offset the cost of the Lordex system for BMR Chiropractic was that Barlow and his partners adhered to the Lordex marketing plan. This included using print advertisements in the local papers, setting up an 800 number (1-800-STOPPAIN), and sending out DVDs about the Lordex system to potential patients who requested more information.

When patients come into his office, Barlow works to educate them about chiropractic and the use of the Lordex system, and this is probably the heart of his business and clinical success. "If you know how to educate [your new patients], you're going to get that 70% conversion rate for the care plan," he says.

But marketing is only part of the equation. The other is the reliability of the Lordex Lumbar Decompression System.

In-House Support

Part of the reason that Barlow and his associates chose the Lordex Lumbar Decompression System was the support the company gives it. Company representatives came to the practice and set up the unit.

Once the unit is installed, the Lordex representatives conduct extensive in-house training for all the personnel who will be using the machine. The company holds regular, free training symposia in Houston for its customers.

Soothing Treatment

One unique feature of the Lordex system is its built-in CD player. Patients are encouraged to bring in a CD of their favorite music, which they can listen to while they are receiving treatment. Barlow has found, however, that many patients simply fall asleep while they are receiving their treatment. This is because "it may be the first time in months that they haven't been in pain," he says.

Barlow says that he does not have a formal service contract with Lordex. It is more of a "gentlemen's agreement" with John Boren, developer of the Lordex system, who makes himself personally available to all of his customers. "I can talk to him, and if he isn't available right away, he will call you back," Barlow says. "That personal connection is very important at the beginning."

He says that his contact with Lordex has lessened as he has become more proficient at using the device, but he has occasional patients who present unique challenges. Barlow had a recent wheelchair-bound patient who could benefit from the Lordex system. Barlow called Lordex about the best and safest way to treat the patient. After receiving advice from Lordex, Barlow was able to successfully treat the patient. "It was nice to know that I have this support," Barlow says.

Apart from the company support, the Lordex system has proven to be durable and reliable. Barlow describes it as "solidly built. From the time we bought it, we've never had a problem with it." And that goes for the computer system as well.

Space is perhaps the only factor for which most practices need to make allowances. The Lordex system requires a room that is about 10 feet x 10 feet in size.

Though the Lordex Lumbar Spine System has become an important part of Barlow's practice, it is not the only treatments that he and his partners provide.

After Lordex

In addition to the Lordex, patients in the corrective care program will also receive adjustments along with the chiropractic biophysics corrective care protocol.

After their 25 treatments, patients enter into the spinal corrective care program. Treatment includes postural correction and traction of the lumbar and cervical spine.

C.A. Wolski is a contributing writer for Chiropractic Products. For more information, contact .