Students in the Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree program at Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) now have access to another excellent piece of technology with the addition of a new, Cox Table Model 8 to the University’s Technique Simulation Lab. The new table will enable CUKC instructors to better prepare students for the use of the flexion-distraction technique when they enter into practice. The Model 8 is the latest version of the Cox table available and includes features and updates not seen on previous models.
The technique simulation lab at the University currently has two tables that use Force Sensing Table Technology (FSTT™) available for use by CUKC students. They allow students to practice manual adjusting while the training tables electronically monitor the amount of force applied by the student during a chiropractic adjusting thrust.
Information gathered from FSTT™ sessions can be used to instruct student interns on the proper amount of force needed for each manual adjustment. The new Cox table offers similar capabilities and will be used to help train D.C. students in Cox Flexion-Distraction technique.
Dr. Steve Agocs, assistant dean of chiropractic education at CUKC, says the Cox table is a welcome addition to the simulation lab.
“It will show them in real-time the pressure of their hand contact, the amount of pulling force they are applying, and the rate, rhythm, and amplitude of the technique,” Agocs said. “This is a technique that requires a lot of feel as it needs to be applied differently depending on the build and stiffness of the patient’s tissues, so this will actually show them, in real-time, what they are doing.”
Agocs said the addition of the Cox table is an extension of the force lab program at CUCK, which is “marrying technology with technique instruction.” CUKC is already a leader in teaching the art of chiropractic adjusting, and the University could achieve even more to elevate chiropractic education by integrating these technologies, Agocs said.
“We suspect that force-sensing technology in chiropractic technique instruction has shaved years off the mastery trajectory of our students when it comes to their technical abilities,” Agocs said. “If a student is struggling with some aspect of adjusting technique, we no longer have to speculate about why or give them corrections that may not be useful. Now we can tell what the problem is, why they’re experiencing it, and Dr. Mitchell Ludwig, who heads up our Force Lab program, is developing specific correctives for each problem a student may face in the delivery of their technique. It’s an unbelievably exciting asset!”
Agocs said CUKC students taking the flexion-distraction elective will benefit from using the table, as will others who are taking table-assisted techniques.
An anonymous donation from a CUKC patron covered the substantial cost for the table that remained even after the educational discount offered by the manufacturer. It is believed that the College of Chiropractic at CUKC is only the second chiropractic school in the nation to have this new equipment.
Cox® Technic was developed in the early 1960s by Dr. James M. Cox when he combined chiropractic principles with the osteopathic principles of Dr. Alan Stoddard. Although recognized as Cox® Technic, it is commonly referred to as “flexion-distraction.”
According to its website, Cox® Technic is helpful for conditions that cause low back, leg, neck, and arm pain. Those include disc herniation, slipped or ruptured disc, facet syndrome, stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and other conditions.
