The Core Spinal Fitness Systems™
Get Strong to the Core
What is The Core Spinal
Fitness System?
A medically proven solution for
back and neck pain
What is The Core Spinal
Fitness System?
A series of 5 patented exercise
machines proven to target, isolate,
and strengthen spinal muscles like
no other equipment on the market
today
In less than 20 minutes
per day, twice a week,
you may prevent or
eliminate back pain for the
rest of your life!
Serious Inner Strength™
The Four Components of Core Strength:
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Strength
Stability
Flexibility
Endurance
Where is My “Core”?
It is the corset of muscles which
support the integrity of the spine
and hips.
Over 29 muscles make up your core
Why Muscle Matters:
Medical evidence suggests that
more than 80% of all low back
pain cases are caused by weak
trunk muscles, and not
structural lesions.
Melleby, A. The Y's Way to a Healthy Back, 1982.
More Benefits of Stronger
Torso Muscles
 Spine is able to withstand greater axial
compression
 Extension unloads the disc and allows
fluid influx for proper nutrition
 A strong relationship exists between
lumbar extensor strength and maximal
lifting loads
Jackson and Brown. Analysis of current approaches and a practical guide to
prescription of exercise. Clin Orthop Rel Res: 179, 1983.
Why is a strong back essential to
my overall health and well-being?
 Prolonged flexed postures are often
associated with low back pain.
 Typically people with low back pain have
decreased low back extensor strength
 Increasing back strength has been proven
to relive pain, restore function and reduce
the need for back surgery!
Jackson and Brown. Analysis of current approaches and a practical guide to
prescription of exercise. Clin Orthop Rel Res: 179, 1983.
All chronically disabled low back pain
patients have one major problem in common:
because of pain, they have stopped using their backs.
 Wasting of trunk musculature
 Decrease in muscular and cardiovascular endurance
 Stiffness of ligaments and joints
• sprains
• strains
• muscle spasms
Avoidance of Activity
The “Deconditioning Syndrome”
Recommendations for
Reconditioning the Back
From the North American Spine Society's Ad Hoc Committee
on Diagnostic & Therapeutic Procedures
 The goal of medical treatment for patients with low
back pain must be to improve function, not merely to
focus on pain.
 Must include exercises to improve flexibility, range of
motion, strength, and endurance
Common diagnostic and therapeutic procedures of the lumbosacral spine.
Spine: 16, 1991
Why does the treatment of
back pain get so expensive?
Common Back Pain Treatments
(and why health care costs are so high)
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Pills
Electrical stimulation
Acupuncture
Acupressure
Epidural injections
Trigger pt injection (s)
Vax D (super traction)
Rest
McKenzie
Stretching
Chiropractic
Hypnosis
Pain clinics
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Iontophoresis
Work Hardening
Anti-gravity chair
Prolotherapy
TENS
Massage
Biofeedback
Ultrasound
Facet rhizotomy
Nerve root blocks
Craniosacral
adjustment
• Magnets
• Psychological Rx
• Lumbar
support/braces
• Minor surgery
–Dorsal column
stimulators
–Percutaneous
discectomy
–Laser
discectomy
• Major surgery
–Laminectomy
–Fusion
“Traditional” Treatment for
Chronic Low Back Pain
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Bed rest
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Medications
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Passive-modality therapy
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Back school
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Stretching (home exercise)
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Pain clinic
Polatin, P. The functional restoration approach to chronic low
back pain. J Musculoskel Med: 7, 1990
Typical Home Exercise
Program for the Low Back
Curl Up
Trunk Extension
Trunk Rotation
Hip Extension
Limitations of
Calisthenics-Type Exercises

Increases in resistance are limited by
constraints of body segment weight.
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Most “free exercises” fail to provide
resistance through a full ROM.

Often, specific muscles (i.e. lumbar
extensors) cannot be exercised
effectively due to the inability to isolate
Foster, D., and Fulton, M. Back pain and the exercise prescription. Clinics in
Sports Medicine: 10, 1991
Evolution of MedX and the Core
Spinal Fitness Systems™
In 1972, Arthur Jones, CEO and Founder of
Nautilus Sports Medical Industries, began
developing medical exercise and testing tools
centered around spinal health.
In 1986, MedX introduced the Lumbar Extension
Machine which has become the Gold Standard of
Treatment for reducing chronic back pain and
dysfunction through specific spinal strengthening.
MedX Develops Revolutionary
Restraint Systems
Until MedX developed their patented
restraint systems, there was never an
effective way to isolate and strengthen
the muscle of the spine.
The MedX Lumbar Extension Was Based On:
Pelvic Stabilization
The lower spine must be
isolated by anchoring the pelvis
to remove forces produced by
muscles of the hips and thighs.
Pelvic Restraint System
No vertical, horizontal or rotational movement
of the pelvis is possible. This eliminates hip
extensor contributions to during exercise.
Isolated Lumbar Function
72°
Evolution of the Core Spinal
Fitness Systems™
MedX designed the Core Lumbar Strength as a
direct descendent The MedX Lumbar Extension
Machine
The Core Lumbar Strength is smaller and lacks
the computerized testing capabilities
Now health clubs, medical professionals and
golf courses can offer this amazing technology
to their members and patients
The Core Lumbar Strength Machine
Since complete spinal health
requires more than just strong
lumbar extensor muscles, MedX
designed FOUR complimentary
exercise machines that work all
the muscles supporting the spine.
The Core Ab Isolator, 4 Way Neck,
Super Stretch, & Rotary Torso
Medx technology is perhaps the most peer reviewed,
researched and published equipment for the treatment of
low back and neck pain in the world.
Articles documenting the validity and the reliability of MedX
equipment can be find in many scientific journals including
Spine
Physical Therapy
American Journal of Sports
Medicine,
Archives of Physical
Medicine &
Rehabilitation
Medicine and Science in
Sports and Exercise
 Journal of Musculosketal
Medicine
 Sports Medicine
 Orthopedics
 Journal of Occupational
Rehabilitation
 Journal of Workers’
Compensation
University of Florida
Research Outcomes
MedX lumbar extension rehabilitation results in
significant improvements in strength with chronic
low back patients.
Increases in lumbar extension strength are
positively associated with decreased pain and
increased physical and psychosocial functioning.
Risch et al., Spine: 18, 1993
University of Florida
Research Outcomes
Effects of Isolate Lumbar Extension
Resistance Training on Bone Mineral Density
of the Elderly
Showed increases in bone mineral density in the
subjects that trained on the MedX Lumbar Extension
Presented at the American College of Sports
Medicine Annual Meeting 1992
Clinical Research Outcomes
Of 38 people recommended for back surgery, 92%
avoided surgery by using the Lumbar Extension
Machine. The estimated savings to the insurance
community was over 4 million dollars.
Arc Phys Med Rehabilitation Vol 80 No 1 1999
Clinical Research Outcomes
Of 895 patients with chronic low back, 627 completed
the isolated low back strengthening program:
Average duration of symptoms: 26 months
Patients had an average of 6 previous clinical
interventions (including surgery)
47% were workers’ compensation patients
89% previously failed a “supervised exercise program”

Orthopaedics Vol 18 No 10 1995
Clinical Research Outcomes
In a study using the Lumbar Extension Machine, of
627 people with chronic back pain:
76% reported good to excellent results
93% reported improvement in function
94% reported maintaining all of their improvement
one year later
Orthopaedics Vol 18 No 10 1995
Low Back Pain Reduction
Western Energy Co.
90% of participants initially reported mild
to severe low back pain. After 6 months
of training 1 time per week:
80% reported reduction in pain
40% were pain-free within 3
months of training
Mooney, V, et. al. Journal of Occupation Rehabilitation: Vol. 5, No.
3, 1995.
Surgical Intervention
Western Energy Co.
One scheduled surgery was avoided
Estimated Savings: $149,000
Mooney, V, et. al. Journal of Occupation Rehabilitation: Vol. 5, No. 3,
1995.
Workplace
Research Outcomes
Following a 1 time per week strengthening program
on the Lumbar Extension Machine, workers reported:
104% increase in strength
82% reduction in injury rate
97% reduction in medical liability costs
J Occupational Rehabilitation Vol 5 No 3 1995
(Western Energy Company Colstrip, Montana)
Workplace
Research Outcomes (con’t)
The average Workers’ Compensation liability dropped from
$14,430 per month to $380 per month
The significant increase in strength associated with the
exercise program correlated with the greatly reduced
incidence of back claims.
J Occupational Rehabilitation Vol 5 No 3 1995
(Western Energy Company Colstrip, Montana)
Airline/Prevention First
Back Program
Annualized total cost per employee for back injuries:
$ 4,883.30
Employees NOT exercising
$
Employees performing low back exercises
206.47
Airline saving $4,676.87 per year for every employee exercising.
Reported by Thomas E. Dreisinger, Ph.D., Prevention First, Minneapolis, MN,
at the Spine Symposium 1998 in San Diego, California.
Back Strengthening Results
Minneapolis Paramedics
 39% strength increase in 24 weeks.
 84% fewer injuries among exercisers
compared to control group.
 Zero lost/restricted work days among
exercisers compared to 64 among controls.
 Direct costs were $145 in the exercise group
versus $16,471 among the controls.
Reported by Thomas E. Dreisinger, Ph.D., Prevention First, Minneapolis, MN,
at the Spine Symposium 1998 in San Diego, California.
53 Year Old Female with 5
Month History of Low Back Pain
L2-L3
L5-S1
Lumbar Muscles Before &
After Isolated Exercise
Extensive fatty infiltration
16 Exercise
Sessions Later…
Significant muscle
hypertrophy, and decrease in
fatty infiltration
The same principles of
strengthening are true for the
cervical spine as well.
Highland et al, Spine: 1992
A Randomized Clinical Trial of Exercise &
Spinal Manipulation for Chronic Neck Pain
Chronic neck pain patients were
randomized into 3 groups:
1. Chiropractic Only
2. Chiropractic plus aggressive exercise
3. Aggressive exercise only
G Bronfort, DC, PhD, Roni Evans, DC, BW Nelson, MD, PD Aker, DC, MSc,
CH Goldsmith, PhD, H Vernon, DC. Spine 26 (7): 788-799. June 2001.
A Randomized Clinical Trial of Exercise &
Spinal Manipulation for Chronic Neck Pain
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Of the six outcome measures, the aggressive
exercise only patients were rated the best in
four, tied for the best in one, and came in 2nd in
another.
Chiropractic alone finished last in all outcome
categories.
G Bronfort, DC, PhD, Roni Evans, DC, BW Nelson, MD, PD Aker, DC, MSc,
CH Goldsmith, PhD, H Vernon, DC. Spine 26 (7): 788-799. June 2001.
Forces
of Activity
Muscular
Strength
INJURY
Strong Back = Healthy Back
Get Strong to the Core…
for the rest of your life!
20 minutes a day,
twice a week!
Get started TODAY!