Copyright © 2004-2020
David Allen
BAXYM - COMPUTER CONTROLLED SPINAL SIMULATION TRAINING
THE FUTURE OF SPINAL THERAPY SHOULD NOT NEED TO INVOLVE ME!
“Turn for the Better” as a back care therapy system has been a success both in my own clinic and also in the hands of a small number of independent therapists locally who have learned the principles from me. It is a transferable skill and is clearly able to be learned by other therapists.
In “Turn for the Better” the combination of a number of simple standard therapy techniques together with a particular understanding of how they can be best applied seems to produce results that exceed the expectations of many patients. Before coming to my clinic, patients may have thought they had “tried everything” and “seen everyone” both in the NHS and in the private healthcare sector. Many had been resigned to a lifetime of pain and restricted mobility before finding out about “Turn for the Better” and having their symptoms transformed.
The standard questions after successful treatment are:
“Why doesn’t everyone do this?” and “Why isn’t this treatment available on the NHS?”
My answers are always the same. I believe the treatment should be available as one of a number of standard approaches at a National level. This would run alongside other forms of physical therapy, exercise based therapy, drug therapy and surgical interventions. Every physiotherapist in the country already has the skill sets required to do this treatment but they have not learned the logical steps necessary to put it into practice. I believe it would be for the good of back pain sufferers in general and the budget of the NHS in particular if “Turn for the Better” style treatment were to be more widely available.
I understand that Back Pain is “Big Business” and that there are many people who make their living promoting their own version of back pain treatment. This may or may not be particularly effective. Some people may even have a vested interest in discouraging any new approach that could perhaps threaten their position.
My view is that “Turn for the Better” should not threaten or replace any existing therapy. I view it instead as a tool that can be used alongside any and every pre-existing back care technique to enhance the effectiveness of that treatment both for the professional performing it and the patient who receives it.
I understand and accept that my position on the periphery of medicine means that established specialists within the medical system may be sceptical about what I say. They may question why they should pay any attention to me at all. I believe, however, that the public at large could benefit immensely from improved treatment if it were to be delivered by empowered State Registered Physiotherapists working within the NHS. Further I would also claim that improved diagnosis and treatment should slash the prescription and referral costs of the NHS Pain Clinics, and reduce the Social Service and Benefit costs from work days lost due to back pain.
I came into this business by accident - as an outsider to the medical establishment. My circumstances meant that I needed to look again at the function of the spine after all conventional medical treatment had failed me. I used simple direct observation and my years of experience in practical mechanical engineering to discover what I believe to be the essence of the problem at the heart of most spinal dysfunction. The fact that my thought processes had not been conditioned by a conventional medical training may have helped me look at the problem in a different and more effective way.
My view of the future is that Therapists should be able to try out “Turn for the Better” on a back simulator much as a pilot may use a flight simulator. When they learn the process for themselves they will no longer need me to convince them of the benefit!
Together with my colleague Paul Gregory, we are in the process of developing a new computer controlled Spinal Simulator called Baxym - click on the Logo on the left of this text for more information. This is intended to simulate a number of the most common spinal dysfunctions that we see in the clinic and which can be treated with Turn for the Better. The idea is that Therapists can safely train and refine their techniques on what is basically an advanced computerised mannequin before moving on to human patients in their professional practice
Before I die I believe it is my duty to help get the work that I have done out into the public arena for the benefit of society at large. As I have stated previously, my goal is to save others from having to face the same trauma of back pain I have undergone myself.
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