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This page is intended to help prospective patients understand the nature of chronic lower back pain and a diagnostic procedure known as a Lumbar Matrix™ Scan. Physicians offering the Lumbar Matrix Scan will also have this information available in print to answer common questions and provide insight regarding this simple diagnostic test. If you have any additional questions about your condition or the Lumbar Matrix Scan, please ask your doctor.
About LBP
Low back pain (LBP) is described as sudden, sharp, persistent or dull pain felt around or below the waist. It is the most common and costly disabling condition affecting the modern world. Almost 31 million Americans have low back pain at any given time and an estimated 85% of the total population will experience back problems at some point in their life. The source of pain for the majority of these patients is because of disc, facet or muscle problems.
Diagnosing and properly treating LBP patients is a difficult process because of the complex anatomy and physiology of the back. Misdiagnosis may result in unnecessary surgery that is expensive and may fail, requiring additional procedures.
Every patient who sees a doctor for LBP receives a physical examination. Many have X-rays, CT scans or MRIs, but only 15% of people with LBP are accurately diagnosed. The remaining 85% are given a "non-specific," "soft tissue" diagnoses for their back pain. These "soft tissue injuries" are impossible to see with X-rays, CT scans and MRIs.
What is a Lumbar Matrix Scan?
A Lumbar Matrix is an FDA-cleared diagnostic test that collects thousands of electrical signals from the lower back and reconstructs them into easily interpreted images. In the past, you've probably had X-rays, CT scans or MRIs. These are diagnostic tests that provide information related to your anatomy. To accurately determine the source of a patient's lower back pain and design the proper treatment path, your physician needs information about physiology as well as anatomy. The Lumbar Matrix Scan lets your physician see the physiology associated with your low back pain. It can also be used to track your recovery as you improve from treatment.
In the past, studying muscles in the back was very difficult, time-consuming and painful. A Lumbar Matrix Scan is non-invasive and uses high-speed computer processing of thousands of measurements that allows your doctor to study all of the muscles of your lower back in real-time, providing extremely detailed point-of-care imaging that is fast, painless and easy to interpret.
The Procedure
A Lumbar Matrix Scan monitors and displays the bioelectric signals produced by the lower back muscles. A special sheet of non-invasive electrodes with 63 sensors will be placed on your back* between the tenth thoracic vertebrae and base of your spine. The sheet is connected to a computer which is calibrated to read the neuromuscular activity taking place under the electrode grid.
Three scans are captured by the software in each of three different stances:
- Standing relaxed with arms at sides (baseline).
- Upper body flexed forward at a 20° angle.
- Standing with the arms outstretched in front holding a 3lb weight in each hand.
You will not feel any sensation when being scanned. The system collects and displays an image in less than two seconds and a full test takes about 15 minutes.
Results
The Lumbar Matrix software translates your neuromuscular activity into a color map, with regions of slight activity represented by blue and red regions signifying areas of greater neuromuscular activity. Your doctor will have a full report by your next regularly scheduled appointment.
Note: Patients with exceptionally hairy backs may need to have some hair removed with a trimmer before the test can be completed.
Baseline stance
Stance 2 - hips flexed 20°
Stance 3 - arms outstretched, holding 3lb. weights
