Looks Great: Any evidence-based data?

[ans]

http://tinyurl.com/ycoxs4t

I mean it. Some of their stuff looks great and I've heard good and bad stories on forums. I wrote to them asking for any articles in refereed journals but missed a call by a "patient advocate". Man, this gets my incipient journalistic instincts up. They're shrewd businesspeople and and I wonder what their veracity is.

[CharlesinCharge]

Be VERY careful about using places like this, for two reasons. First, they are almost always not covered by insurance and the out of pocket cost can be thousands of dollars. They require you to pay up front and then they bill your insurance, and if your insurance does not pay you are stuck for the bill.

Second (and more importantly), they claim to be able to help any kind of back pain, including Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD). That is simply not factually correct. If a person has pain caused by nerve impingement (bulging disc, herniated disc pressing on a nerve) or facet pain (nerves in the facet joints that are irritated), then the laser treatments can help. However, if your pain is discogenic (coming from the disc itself, which is usually verified by discogram and the classic condition of DDD), the laser treatment is TOTALLY USELESS. Decompression (microdiscectomy) or laser ablation of nerves only works if your pain is nerve based, not disc based. If the disc has gone bad to the point that it is the pain generator, it must be removed and that means fusion or ADR surgery.

Note in my signature that I tried a minimally invasive laser surgery prior to having my ADR surgery---I was talked into it by the surgeon who said it would help even though I had DDD and all my pain was coming from my discs. I did not get even 1% pain relief, and wasted over $7,000 on the treatment. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!!!!

[ans]

Charles: I certainly am! I'm sorry that you are out ~ $7K.

I too thought, huh, DDD pain? It sure would be nice if it worked re: discogram-confirmed pain. No refereed articles; I might as well buy Extenze-Z or whatever on those late night commercials.

My best - Allan

[ERvet]

Originally Posted by ans

I might as well buy Extenze-Z or whatever on those late night commercials.

My best - Allan

I think the Slap Chop would at least be more entertaining, and practical.


Susan/ERvet

[ans]

Thanks!