According to leading international orthopaedic specialists, some 80% of all back problems are caused by weak back muscles or to be more precise weak lumbar extensors. The University of Florida was responsible for the pioneering research into the muscular causes of back problems. It was the first to conduct comprehensive research into the theory that weak back muscles could be a cause of chronic low back pain. This research only became possible after the invention of a lumbar extension machine by Arthur Jones. Strength tests conducted on the lower back muscles of several thousand individuals produced some surprising results. The majority, who included highly trained athletes, had weak lumbar extensors.
In fact the level of weakness was amazing. However, when these muscles were trained, strength levels increased several times over. In fact the level of increase is a clear indication of the level of their previous weakness: the less a muscle is trained, the more it can be trained and the greater it's potential increase.
After extensive testing, researchers at the University of Florida developed a therapy that achieved spectacular results on patients with chronic back problems.
Patients were given a weekly session of 20 minutes and after 12-18 sessions their pain had disappeared. In order to remain free from pain they only required one session of 5 minutes every 4 weeks. In Europe, this procedure is known as Medical Strengthening Therapy (MST) and there are now more than 100 medical practices and clinics in Europe using this technique. Bearing in mind that 50% of those between 30 and 50 suffer from back problems it might be reasonable to assume that the therapy would have caught on very quickly. However, it has not. The strength of the therapy and its effectiveness, is also its weakness, at least as far as the speed at which it has caught on. Why is this?
Back patients are normally long-term patients. They visit their doctor twice a year, normally in the spring and the fall. This provides the medical profession with repeat business and a reliable source of income. Patients spend money on injections, mud packs, medicinal baths, massage and other measures, all providing further revenue for the medical profession. Although these measures provide patients with temporary relief they are ineffective in the long term.
However, MST allows patients to escape from this vicious circle. They disappear from the "back market" and do not reappear.
Source: Full Strength, by Werner Kieser
As part of our Full Strength series, this newsletter features a short discussion on the MedX Lumbar Extension machine and provides a plausible explanation as to why this technology has been ignored by the medical industry. 
