Is the Backstretcher proven effective?
Regular use of the Backstretcher leads to demonstrable improvement within a few weeks.
Multiple practice-oriented studies and pilots show that the Backstretcher a clearly positive effect on a broad group of people with non-specific back complaints, ranging from mild to chronically severe. The core of this effectiveness lies in the anti-kyphotic and muscle-relaxing effect, which directly addresses important causes of back pain.
All studies
The Backstretcher®
Back complaints are an enormous medical, social and economic problem. The Central Bureau of
Statistics (=CBS, Dutch Central Statistical Office) concluded in its most recent report with regard
to chronic disorders, that chronic back complaints can be found in third place with some 800,000
people suffering from them. In the (working) age group of 35–65 years old, it is the most common
disorder.
By order of the Ziekenfondsraad (Dutch Medical Insurance Board), the Vrije Universiteit (Free
University of Amsterdam) calculated that the social cost involved with chronic back complaints is
conservatively estimated at 9.3 billion Dutch guilders a year. Of this amount, 700 million is spent on
primary medical costs and 8.6 billion is consumed by claims to social legislation and loss of
productivity.
The Social Insurance Supervisory Board (=Ctsv, Dutch Board for Control of Social Insurances)
concluded, as part of a long-term international study, that 50% of the people who end up in the
ZW/WAO (Dutch Health Law/Dutch Disablement Insurance Act), already suffered from back
complaints with a negative effect on the work performance, two years before their resignation.
This conclusion is not only significant because it gives insight into the loss of productivity, but also
because the results of the study suggest that taking away “work restricting” back complaints should
contribute to keeping the people in question working.
Reason enough to extend the available arsenal for fighting back complaints and the socio-economic
problems that go along with them.
From epidemiological data about non-specific back complaints, it becomes clear that in
approximately 75% of the cases there is intensified thoracic kyphosis and the hypertonia of the
paravertebral muscles that goes along with it.
The Backstretcher is a wooden back bench with an antikyphotic and muscle-relaxing effect. In this
way, it deals with the most common aetiological factors of back pain.
The Backstretcher was developed in England by the physiotherapist Neil Summers, in cooperation
with several orthopedic surgeons and physiotherapists, in which the optimum form has been
established along the path of clinical empiricism.
The Backstretcher is used by lying on it for fifteen minutes a day, which means this is a passive form
of therapy.
The Backstretcher was successfully brought onto the market in England at the beginning of 1995 and
won several important awards, such as The Best New Health & Medical Product.
1. First impression of the working mechanism (survey)
The Backstretcher was demonstrated to 663 physiotherapists and manual therapists, the indication
“non-specific back complaints” was mentioned and they were asked for their first impression:
Conclusion:
The first impression of the experts is positive. The most valuable factor is that only 13% of the
663 respondents have a negative impression. This can, incidentally, be explained by the different
movements within the occupational group.
2. Chronically severe back complaints6
For 12 patients, who are being treated for chronically severe non-specific back complaints by a general
practitioner (J. van Niekerk) and a physiotherapist (M. van Straten), the Backstretcher has been added
to the treatment protocol, in which the emphasis was already on anti-kyphosis, under the direction of a
physiotherapist.
After two weeks, 11/12 of the patients showed drastic improvement, 3 patients did not even have any
complaints whatsoever. The results may be summarized as follows:
Complaint score
| Extremely severe | Severe | Moderate | Slight | Very slight | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beforehand | 4 | 5 | 3 | |||
| After 2 weeks | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
For 4 patients, the evaluation was extended by two weeks and further improvement could be observed:
Complaint score
| Extremely severe | Severe | Moderate | Slight | Very slight | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| After 2 weeks | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| After 4 weeks | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Currently, 13 to 15 months after the commencement of this pilot study, the Backstretcher is still used
by the (former) patients. So far, no patients have reported to either general practitioner or physiotherapist
with recurrence.
The conclusion of this research and its follow-up is that the Backstretcher has a positive effect on
most patients with chronically severe back complaints — under which antikyphosis is considered to be
indicated — and with regular use this effect can continue for years.
3. Chronic moderate back complaints7
For 28 people taking part in the company fitness program of the Provinciehuis (County Hall)
Utrecht and suffering from low back complaints (subjective) and intensified thoracic kyphosis
(objective), the Backstretcher was added to the regular company fitness program for a period of 4
weeks.
In this study, carried out by the physiotherapist P. Verweij, not only the degree of back complaints was
looked into, but also the improvement of work restriction, if this existed. This is done with an eye on
the importance of productivity and in order to prevent resignation.
The most important results are listed in the table below:
Key results
| Total number | Complaints worse | Complaints unchanged | Complaints improved <50% | Complaints improved >=50% | Complaints disappeared | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back complaints | 28 | 0 (0%) | 3 (11%) | 2 (7%) | 21 (75%) | 2 (7%) |
| Work restriction | 21 | 2 (10%) | 1 (5%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (14%) | 15 (71%) |
| ADL restriction | 24 | 0 (0%) | 2 (8%) | 1 (4%) | 9 (38%) | 12 (50%) |
Conclusion from these results is that the Backstretcher causes a very relevant improvement of the
complaints with approximately 90% of the people with chronic moderate complaints. These results
confirm the findings of the study with severe patients.
However, the additional functional improvement is extremely important: of the people who were
previously restricted in their work, over 80% are free of restrictions at the end of the research period.
4. Ankylosing spondylitis8
The Backstretcher was applied in a group of 18 patients with long-present Bechterew's disease. This
patient group has existed for over a year and takes part in an intensive physio-therapeutical
program. The patients have been suffering from this disease for an average of 15 years (spread
4–25 years).
This group originally made good progress, but is now in a stable phase, in which there is no further
improvement of the complaints. At this stage, the Backstretcher was added to the existing regime.
During the 8-week study, no additional effectiveness of the Backstretcher was observed.
Conclusion of this study is that the Backstretcher is not effective when an irreversible immobility of
the spine has occurred.
Incidentally, HELPmedical knows of casuistic experiences where the Backstretcher was successful in
Bechterew's disease, but these positive experiences have only been observed in patients who are in
an early stage of the disease.
5. Relaxation9,10
It has been suggested from different sides that the Backstretcher should be able to play a part in
relaxing and fighting stress. In the first place, the Backstretcher is used intensively for this purpose
in Japan. In the second place, HELPmedical regularly receives feedback from users about the
“relaxing effects”.
Furthermore, 9 out of 28 participants in the study (P. Verweij) who suffered from moderate chronic
back complaints, spontaneously mentioned this relaxing effect. Finally, HELPmedical is frequently
approached by Yoga therapists with the question whether the Backstretcher would be useful in
their field.
These suggestions concerning the possible relaxing effect have led to two studies, the first in a
“cool-down” situation after taking part in an intensive aerobics lesson, the second in a yoga
environment, on the one hand to prepare for a meditation session, on the other hand after a yoga
session.
The results underline the relaxing effect of the Backstretcher which has been suggested, as
illustrated by the following data (Backstretcher abbreviated to BS):
Cool-down study
| Context | Condition | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Cool-down (n=147) | Lying on BS for 15 minutes after aerobics lesson | 59% enjoy cool-down on BS (very much) 77% find BS (very) relaxing |
Yoga study – after session
| Context | Condition | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Yoga (n=60) | Lying on BS for 15 minutes after yoga class | 85% prefer BS to lying on the ground 75% consider BS to add to the yoga lesson 100% of people with back complaints report spontaneous improvement of complaints |
Yoga study – before meditation
| Context | Condition | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Zen meditation (n=60) | Lying on BS for 10 minutes prior to meditation | 100% find lying on BS a good preparation for meditation 100% report that the meditation position is easier to assume and to maintain; this was also observed by the yoga teacher |
Conclusion from these studies is that lying on the Backstretcher has a relaxing effect on most users.
What do studies say about the use of the Backstretcher?
Multiple practice-oriented studies and pilots show that the Backstretcher a clearly positive effect on a broad group of people with non-specific back complaints, ranging from mild to chronically severe. The core of this effectiveness lies in the anti-kyphotic and muscle-relaxing effect, which directly addresses important causes of back pain.
In cases of chronic severe back pain, a pilot study showed that after only two weeks of daily use, 11 out of 12 patients experienced clear improvement, with some even becoming completely symptom-free. The effects were also maintained in the longer term, without relapse.
for chronic moderate back pain : approximately 90% of participants experienced a significant reduction in symptoms. Not only did pain decrease, but functional recovery was also significant. More than 80% of the participants who had previously been limited in their work were fully operational again after the study.
Additional research shows that the Backstretcher also has a distinct relaxing effect . In sports, yoga, and meditation situations, a strong increase in relaxation, comfort, and preparation for recovery was observed. Users consistently indicate that lying on the Backstretcher promotes relaxation and supports recovery.
In advanced Bechterew's disease (ankylosing spondylitis), the Backstretcher to have no additional effect when there is irreversible stiffening of the spine. However, there are positive experiences in patients at an early stage of this condition, which underscores the importance of timely intervention.
In summary, the studies show that the Backstretcher an effective, accessible, and passive form of therapy that, with regular use, can offer long-term benefits in terms of pain reduction, functionality, relaxation, and work capacity.