Is this machine worthless?

This is not medical advice.

Short answer? No. There are better exercises for specific problems, but I will put a link to those later.

In PT circles, these machines can be derided as being too easy. Not nuanced enough. “I’m a Doctor of Physical Therapy! I studied for 8 years with evidenced based clinical research on the most effective back pain relief maneuvers!”

And that is mostly true. We don’t want to just blindly put someone on a machine to fix their back pain. Hopefully we have some history that will also help give us a clue as to where to start.

Each spinal curve is unique, and why you should know yours

The Machine

Most PTs make fun of this machine, because it’s seen as too easy. One of the original brands was called the Nu-Step, and I first saw one 20 years ago in a nursing home. It’s seen as something you put every patient on for 10 minutes so that you have at least one of your productivity billing units. I’ll admit, I’m a little embarrassed and self conscious when I do have a patient start on the machine.

For some people the Nu-Step is too easy, and is not going to address specific problems. I do like it for a warm up, and it moves all the limbs. The bad part is people are sitting, which is something we do too much of already. If someone is unable to walk to warm up due to surgery or injury, this helps them do something.

The case for the Nu-Step

I see many elderly or deconditioned patients. This machine allows me to gently raise their heart rate, and work them harder for cardio vascular exercise.

There are also good arguments and studies stating that elevated heart rates and harder exercise will elevate endorphins and hormonal responses, and decrease pain.

There are many post operative joint surgeries that can tolerate this machine well before other, harder exercises.

Of all the interventions we offer, constant gentle range of motion is probably the most important. When I have an injury myself, I skip the ice, skip the elevation, skip the resting (too much), and just keep moving that joint over and over. That is what promotes healing more than any other intervention.

Other machines

There are other machines in our past that I would argue were more worthless than this one. We used to put every back patient on traction machines, and I never saw those fix people’s pain. Same with ultrasound.

Worthless is relative.