What is range-of-motion (ROM)?

"Range-of-motion" (ROM) is the term used when referring to a joint's movement capability. Joint ROM is measured in degrees from a movement starting point to its ending point. Each of the body's joints has a set of measured "normal values". These normal values are used to evaluate our joints.

Some joints articulate (glide) along a single plane while others articulate in multiple planes. For example; a finger knuckle (hinged joint) articulates in a single plane that only bends back and forth. Conversely, a hip joint (ball and socket) can move in multiple directions including forward, backward, in and out to the side, and rotation.

Can you move your joints completely and freely?

• Are your joint motions limited and painful? For example; a normal shoulder joint ROM includes moving the arm forward, backward, out to the side, inward, and rotation. Damage to a shoulder muscles or shoulder joint can limit the ability to raise the arm over the head which means limited range-of-motion.

Does the spine have ROM?

• The spine has many ranges-of-motion. They include flexion (bending forward), extension (bending backward), lateral flexion (bending side to side) and most important, rotation to the left and right. A healthy spine must seamlessly perform each of these ranges of motion in varying combinations without pain. Anything less may be due to injury and/or may be a pre-cursor to injury.   

What makes spinal decompression different than traction?

• Spinal decompression is an advanced form of traction. Traditional traction is either static or intermittent. Static traction holds the traction "pull" forces for a predetermined length of time. Intermittent traction cycles the pull forces back and forth to produce a repetitive "pull-release" pumping.  

AntalgiCare™ decompression has the following characteristics:

1. It can change and redirect the pulling angles. This enables your doctor or therapist to reach areas within the spinal anatomy that the older one-directional systems can't reach.   
2. It can increase and decrease the pull force intensities as the instrument cycles.
3. It can set the gentle pull forces by poundage or by distance. Distance pulling works well for non-elastic geriatric patients. Poundage pulling works well for elastic younger patients. 
4. Lastly, during the cycling, it can vary the "holding times" of each individual pull and release cycle.     

Controlling and adjusting these characteristics through sophisticated computer programming is what evolved traction into decompression. The ability to control all of the above treatment variables is what makes Antalgic-Trak™ unique.   

 What are typical conditions treated using Antalgic-Trak's AntalgiCare™ Therapy?

Back Pain	Pins & Needles
Disc Bulges	Pinched Nerves
Disc Herniations	Neck Pain, Headache
Failed Spine Surgery	Numbness and/or Tingling
Sciatica / Hip / Leg Pain	Arm Pain, Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist
Spinal Compression Injury	Osteoarthritis of the Neck or Lower Back