California Technology Assessment Forum recommendation on ADR

[nopain]

Who knows if Prolotherapy works. That wasn't really my point. Prolotherapy advocates like to point out C. Everett Koop as a patient/believer. I'd imagine it's like any other treatment - proper patient selection + and experienced Physician.

More interesting to me as a Cervical Spine patient, I don't read a lot of back related ADR literature. So this interested me a bit when I read what Mark wrote...

An MD came up to the audience mike and began talking about a new training regimen called 'pilandes, or something like that.

I don't know what Pilandes is or if it's the same as Pilates? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilates (Yeah I know Wikipedia - accept my apology).

Seems like a Yoga type modality to me. Again I don't see how exercise will restore a disc that has completely collapsed. Anyone that watched this past Weeks US Open at Torrey Pines probably knows Tiger Woods has torn cartlidge in his knee. He played through the pain. He "Pilates" right through it! Mind over matter! And now he is off to have surgery, because exercising his bad knee joint caused more pain and damage.

So it's hard for me to fathom that a modality that exercises a severely damaged joint in the back would be any more effective than exercising a severely damaged joint in the knee. And believe me I understand the benefits of exercise to ones body. But mechanical failure is physics and gravity.

I'm sure Mark has knowledge of this interview with Dr. Rosen on the Charite http://www.ethicalspinesurgeon.com/a...ealthpoint.htm.

What I find troublesome is the exclusion of data, but more so the implication that the company behind the device was so eager to push it forward that they were willing to push aside science in the name of profit.

That sets a really bad precedent for other companies who "play by the rules".

It puts the new trials of other disc replacements at an immediate disadvantage in the eyes of the medical community. It's like having a trial by jury except there is no exclusionary process to weed out the juror bias.

I get very frustrated when I read these things.

[Poncho]

I'm impressed with the interesting and well researched responses on this forum.

Unfortunately, many of those that make these so called "informed decisions" based on so many "evidence based" documents may or may not truly understand what living in chronic pain (especially neurogenic) is all about. There are just too many companies out there trying to gain market share for their company - if they can just slide through the approval process to push through their device for a patent......I think most of you can finish out what I am thinking here.

I'm glad that Mark went to represent us as a spine community to shed some light on what living as a spiney with minimal options is all about. Even spine surgeons truly don't understand what living this kind of life is about - unless they suffer a similar injury.

We all need to keep fighting and researching (we - meaning myself included)

Soon, I will try to put up more articles available in the medical community where I work. Hopefully, discussing them will allow for a constructive critical analysis of the data. If such a discussion can help just one person - then I/we are fulfilling our mission on iSpine (in my eyes).

Wishing all less pain / no pain today.

Sincerely,
Poncho (Ponchita)