Vert Mooney, M.D.

Due to never-ceasing technological advances, there is significant emphasis on the "technology" of spine surgery. Unfortunately, those patients who make up the classification of chronic back pain sufferers have appreciated little benefit from such innovations. However, what is most important is that over the past several years the ability to identify the best candidate for an operation has been refined dramatically.

Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of California, San Diego, and Medical Director of the Orthomed Center, Dr. Vert Mooney reviews his research into the importance of soft tissue measurement and its relationship to differential diagnosis and therapeutic treatment. When looking toward the future and the importance of "outcome studies," the therapeutic dose of exercise and its measurement for chronic back pain patients will direct all subsequent management and its efficacy.

Dr. Mooney also reviews the role of rehab centers emphasizing therapeutic exercise and their importance. "One can say, 'That's [equipment costs] going to make it more expensive' and 'That's [equipment costs] going to bring up the cost so much that it's not acceptable.' Actually, the reverse is true, because we can identify very early what the deficit is and treat it much more efficiently than would be normally expected. So, the equipment we have which isolates the appropriate anatomic location, whether it's neck or back, and measures the deficit in strength and range and then uses that same equipment for specific exercise will bring people along much more rapidly than previous experience with physical treatment programs. So, it is much more cost effective, and we've compared our costs with those of traditional physical therapy for the same problem and we are about a third cheaper. We feel that we're on the right wavelength with this type of equipment."

• Total Run Time: 25:30 minutes
• Catalog Number: 8011
• Publication Date: June 1994

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