Surgeons may have discovered a new treatment for backache – by making patients lie with their heads facing the floor. Back problems such as slipped discs could be cured by using a treatment known as inversion therapy, according to specialists at Newcastle University.
The study was carried out on a group of 22 patients. Each one was put on an inversion table, which looks like a see-saw, and positioned so their head pointed to the floor for two to three minutes, three times a day.
The treatment was found to have significant success rates and could be used in place of physiotherapy or surgery, according to a study carried out by neurosurgeons Majunath Prasad and Prof David Mendelow.
Only 23 percent of patients who were given inversion therapy needed surgery.
The doctors believe this treatement could save the NHS up to £80 million every year.
Prof Mendelow said: “The results suggest that some patients may be spared major surgery by what many regard as novel treatment. We could like to carry out a larger study to prove this further.” |
