Spinal Decompression

The DRX9000 True Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression System™ provides a primary treatment modality for the management of pain and disability for patients suffering with incapacitating neck, low back pain and sciatica. It is designed to apply spinal decompressive forces to compressive and degenerative injuries of the spine. It has been found to provide relief of pain and symptoms associated with herniated discs, bulging or protruding intervertebral discs, degenerative disc disease, posterior facet syndrome and sciatica.

As it relates to Axiom Worldwide’s DRX technology, the theory behind non-surgical spinal decompression is a process whereby forces are applied to the spine in a manner that maximizes spinal elongation. Spinal elongation is maximized when paraspinal muscles, the muscles that guard the spine from injury, are relaxed. When paraspinal muscles relax, applied spinal decompressive forces spread apart the bony vertebra of the spine. This relieves pressure on nerves and intervertebral discs. Where this spinal elongation occurs, the pressure may drop within the disc causing a vacuum effect which is believed to facilitate the movement of fluid, carrying nutrients and oxygen inside the disc. Additionally, the reductions in pressure may help draw in herniated disc fluids, reducing the size of the herniation.

DRX9000™ Nested Closed-Loop Feedback System

All of Axiom’s DRX™ devices contain Nested Closed- Loop Feedback Systems that ensure therapy stays true to each patient’s spinal decompression treatment curve.

Closed-loop feedback can be defined as an automatic control system that can adjust and self-correct its operation according to differences between the actual and desired output. Closed-loop feedback systems improve overall system performance.

The effectiveness of closed-loop feedback systems vary based on the variables measured, how they’re measured, and how often they’re measured. With respect to spinal decompression or traction systems, the measured variable is most often force, which is the amount of tension used to distract the intervertebral segments of the spine.

In systems where the lower back is forced to move with the table or motor, fixed measurements are made between the motor and the patient. In systems that incorporate a floating lower mattress, force is usually measured via the tension strap. How often feedback is monitored varies significantly between currently marketed devices. These rates range from several times per minute, to several times per second, to thousands of times per second.

The DRX™ device series uses a very accurate force measurement device to record force on the tension strap during treatment. This measurement is sent to the treatment computer and is used to calculate corrective spinal decompressive forces. The treatment computer sends corrective force commands 13 x per second to the servo-amplifier and servo-motor, which then apply the spinal decompressive forces to the patient. The closed-loop feedback system runs from the force measurement device, to the treatment computer, to the servo-amplifier / servo motor and back again, 13 x per second. Therapy on the DRX™ series of spinal decompression devices takes this concept one step further.

The DRX™ device series incorporates a closed-loop feedback system within a closed-loop feedback system, referred to as nested closed-loop feedback. As described above, one of the three stops on the closed-loop feedback path in the DRX™ devices is the servo-amplifier and servo-motor. The servo-amplifier receives corrective force commands from the treatment computer 13 x per second. The servo-motor itself contains very accurate measurement devices that measure position, speed, and power consumption. The servo-amplifier monitors these variables, correcting the actions of the servo-motor 4,000 x per second. This explains the nested closed loop feedback difference that separates the DRX™ series from all other decompression devices. The nested closed-loop feedback system is one of the technological hallmarks of the DRX™ device series.



Masao Mori



Kim Atkinson



Anna Truesdale



Mike Fanning

Before coming to the Crossroad Health Center and meeting Dr. Ferrigno and his wonderful staff, I suffered daily from nagging lower back pain and tightness. After receiving a thorough and detailed examination, The doctors assured me that I was good candidate for a procedure that would correct my problem. I was then introduced to the DRX 9000 Decompression system, and after only one 28 minute Session, just one!!.. my lower back pain was reduced to almost nothing. And in the following sessions I received for my particular problem, It only got better and better until I no longer suffered from any back pain on a daily biases. The aftercare physical training I received along with the knowledge I acquired to keep myself pain free was outstanding. And now with periodic tune-ups’ my life so much better! As a Nature Photographer It is essential that my back stays strong and pain free. Thank you Crossroads!

Marque Kelsey

One day in June 2009, I woke up with severe back pain after a day of gardening in the yard. This started a series of doctor visits, three MRIs, a CT scan followed by different types of treatments including physical therapy, Cortisone shots, and acupuncture sessions.

Since none of these treatments gave me any relief for my back pain a new doctor recommended I either have back surgery or a series of Epidural steroid treatments. I opted for the latter. After three treatments and no relief they told me there was nothing they could do for me.

Then I heard about Crossroads Health Center in June 2010. After the initial meeting I immediately began treatment and I felt the results after the very first treatment on the DRX.
Today I am fine and know that I can always go back Crossroads for treatment if anything happens. I feel great.

Gloria Marshall

In the summer of 2008, I went to see my doctor regarding various pains I was experiencing in my legs, feet, and lower back. The pains were incredibly intense, and I began to notice a pattern to them, along with different levels of pain. There were two levels of pain, two levels of aches, and a lightning-like surge that I called “The Stab”. These pains limited my mobility and left me to creeping slowly around my room, halls, and eating places on forearm crutches. After noticing patterns to the pains, I began avoiding certain movements or weight shifts in fear of evoking The Stab. Even the slightest movements could cause searing pain: the shift of weight while standing, the touch on my hip from a swinging door, or even a sudden cough.

I couldn’t sleep. Getting onto the bed was problematic and trying to find an ache- or pain-free position while on the bed proved impossible. I remember “negotiating” with parts of my body while trying to rid the burning sensation of the pains. Before I would try to sleep I would have to set the alarm for an hour and a half, because falling into a longer sleep seemed to result in a more persistent painful state.

After being prescribed pain medications that didn’t work, I asked our infirmary for a wheelchair. One night in early September, while distracting myself from my body pains, I was watching television. Little did I know that what I was about to watch would change my life forever. An infomercial advertising a treatment called “spinal decompression”. My interest grew. The infomercial talked about how this non-invasive, non-surgical treatment has helped thousands with various pains similar to the ones I was experiencing! My interest peaked, I had to know more. I called to make an appointment with Crossroads Health Center.

I got started immediately. After the third treatment my foot pain went away. I also was able to sleep better that night. My incredible sciatica pain disappeared with my fifth treatment. By my sixth treatment, I was walking longer and swimming, something I hadn’t been able to do in such a long time. By October I was getting more sleep, and walking more and more. The more I walked, the better I felt! I hadn’t felt relief like this in years! November came and I was able to sleep through the night, which I would never take for granted again. Feeling more rested, and not plagued by pain, I began bicycling to my appointments. Throughout the winter, my pain was less and less. I had no more pain in my legs, my back was feeling great, and I wasn’t as stiff as I used to be. By January I was biking every day and even playing tennis!(Not bad for a 90-year-old!) If someone had told me in August that by January I would be biking and playing tennis again, I would never have believed them!

I feel that I have my life back. I am so grateful to the doctors of Crossroads Health Center for delivering me from this affliction. My body was filled with anguish, but now I can move freely with no pain. I no longer live in crippling fear of The Stab. My body, my life, and my mind are now free.

Thank you, Father Kennard


I have made a remarkable recovery from a disabling back problem through my treatments with Crossroads Health Center on the DRX-9000.

I have had two severe episodes of back pain. The first was in 1989 and the second was in 2005. In both instances I was close to immobilized with severe nerve pain in my lower back and left leg, especially my left thigh. I slowly and partially recovered from the 1989 back injury over the course of many months, through forced (painful) walking and some physical therapy (back massage) and exercises. Years later, my left leg often felt tense and most of my reflexive response in my left leg was gone.

In the summer of 2005, when my back went out again, I couldn’t even lie in bed without almost constant pain. I used the few moments when the pain subsided somewhat to try to rest up, so as to be able to make it through the rest of the time. My reflexes in my left leg were completely gone.

After a month I had recovered somewhat and had learned how to manage the pain to a certain extent. I could manage getting around in the house a little bit.

My wife found an ad for the DRX-9000 in the newspaper and looked it up on the web. We read the published report on the clinical test of the DRX-9000. This convinced us that it was a viable possibility for helping me and I decided to try it. My first foray out of the house was to visit Crossroads Health Center for a consultation. My wife drove me to the office. The doctor examined me, did some in-office tests, and sent me for an MRI.

The MRI confirmed that my spinal cord was being impinged upon. The doctor’s recommended a regimen of 24 DRX-9000 treatments over an 8 week period. They used his knowledge to adjust the DRX-9000 treatments to my particular situation, as shown by the MRI and his examination. At first the treatments were a challenge to my back muscles, leaving them temporarily sore. But, even at the beginning, it was apparent to me that the nerve pain in my back and leg was decreasing. I gauged my progress though observing my increased level of reasonably comfortable activity and my decreased need of aspirin and Tylenol. I made steady progress, and at the end of the 24 treatments, I was free of nerve pain. The redo of the nerve signal test showed great improvement and reasonably normal results. My reflexes in my left leg are now better than they were immediately before this 2005 back problem.

Even so, at the end of the 24 treatments my left leg was still weak and occasionally I experienced tension in my lower back and left leg that felt threatening. I have been doing a series of exercises prescribed by Crossroads Health Center and the strength in my left leg is almost completely restored. Moreover, my stomach and back muscles are getting stronger as evidenced by my being able to do the more advanced exercises. I also take one treatment on the DRX-9000 per month. As directed by Crossroads Health Center, I am conscious of my posture at all times and try to avoid all strains on my back.

At this point I am 100% cured of severe back pain. The only remaining effect of my disabling back episode is that my left leg is sometimes not as relaxed as my right leg. I’ve returned to my regular work schedule, and I am driving an hour each way to and from work, five days a week. Under Crossroads Health Center ‘s care, with the use of the DRX-9000, I feel I have recuperated much more successfully than I did when I was sixteen years younger, and I am quite hopeful of avoiding further severe problems.

Ben Halpern

During the 1 ½ years of having constant daily lower back pain and spasms (on and off), I took anti-inflammatory and pain medication, but nothing helped lessen the pain. Physical therapy didn’t help. When an MRI showed that I had two degenerative discs, I went through a series of lumbar epidural injections. The first one helped a tiny bit, but the others didn’t do a thing for my pain. The only thing that made the pain and spasms go away was Spinal Decompression treatments at Crossroads Health Center. Four years later and I am still pain-free!

Lisa Kilinski

Hi my name is Masao Mori, I am 94 years old and last May I had a herniated disk and awful pain. I finally came to Crossroads Health Center and Dr. Ferrigno and staff helped me and then last week on January 24th I went out to play golf for the first time and I feel fine now, no pain and I thank Crossroads Health Center for this wonderful treatment.

Masao Mori



I started coming to Dr. Ferrigno in September 2009. Some symptoms that I had were a very tight sore back every morning when I got up out of bed, and I have some back problems that I’ve been born with: scoliosis and a deep arch in my back. It was very difficult to lie on the floor, and put my lower back on the floor, even with my legs tucked in.

When I started treatment on the DRX9000, I started seeing improvement within a couple of months; and after 6 months, I really noticed that I was able to get my back on the ground. It continues to improve, and I don’t wake up with back pain anymore.

Kim Atkinson