Dr. Eben Davis

I am a Chiropractor in Downtown San Francisco specializing in Chronic Back, Neck, and Wrist Pain.

Basically, I do what I do because I believe the body is able to heal itself if given the opportunity. I understand there is a need for both modern allopathic medicine and alternative healing methods. The natural approach makes the most sense to me. For my full story read the news article below:

Back and Wrist Pain Consultants
Patients find relief, physicians find new promise in non-surgical back pain treatment program.

By Tonya Poole

It's not uncommon in medicine to find physicians practicing specialties that they themselves once experienced as a patient at some point in their lives. The drive to help others overcome what we've been through is, after all, a strong, fundamental and uniquely human virtue.

Dr. Eben Davis of Back and Wrist Pain Consultants says that, plagued with debilitating migraine headaches, he was a chiropractic patient before becoming a practitioner. “I had such severe migraines that, for awhile, I was on disability and taking a lot of medications,” he says. But I had good results with natural remedies, and I felt that natural healing made sense. The body creates itself, the body runs itself, and it continuously heals itself. So I chose to focus on those things when I got into practice.”

Davis has 16 years in chiropractic medicine under his belt, and has spent each of those serving clients at his Front Street location in downtown San Francisco (now Embarcadero Center). Until recently, Davis says he delivered chiropractic treatments primarily through his hands for manipulation and correction, and complex cases that couldn't be treated through natural means would be referred out for surgery or cortisone injections. But a little more than a year ago, Davis brought on board an innovative spinal decompression machine – the DRX9000 – and today, much of his practice now consists of the patients he once had to turn away.

The machine was created to treat severe low back conditions like herniated and badly degenerated discs, sciatica and spinal arthritis – the first treatment in the U.S. able to enlarge, reposition and heal discs in the lower back. “I had originally read about it in an orthopaedic journal,” he says. “It caught my attention, and some of my colleagues were telling me how great it was. But I already had a thriving practice and wanted to make sure it would be a good fit here, so I contacted the manufacturer and flew out to visit them. I took a seminar, and I flew to clinics where it was already in use so I could observe it in action. I talked to patients. I spent about a year researching the machine.”

The extra homework paid off. Despite his skepticism early on, Davis says the patient outcomes were fantastic and the science behind the treatment was solid. But it was important to he and his team that the DRX9000 not stand alone as the magic wand against lower back problems. Holistic health, lifestyle and habits play a large part in a wide range of back pain trouble and he strongly believes in adaptation therapies as a critical part of the process.

“We encourage patients to explore where the problem came from in the first place,” says Davis. “The spine doesn't tend to degenerate on its own, it needs external circumstances, lifestyle circumstances. The foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, pollutants, lack of exercise, or consequently, relaxation.. even electromagnetic fields from our appliances can contribute. Being out of balance for most of our lives leads directly to problems like those I see every day.”

Davis says each of these areas of our lives has what he calls an adjustable knob that belongs to it, and his treatments are aimed at readjusting those knobs to slip back into alignment – not just his patients' lower backs, but in their lives, creating more fertile ground for healing.

The combined treatment has seen success across the board at his practice, though Davis is careful to note that when you're treating such a large and varied population, results are defined very differently from patient to patient. “For a 90-year-old, success might be to have her up and walking around the house without a cane, traveling comfortably to visit grandkids. For a 26-year-old, success might be getting them back up on the surfboard. I've seen both scenarios happen here.”

For the most part, DRX9000 candidates have tried other conventional methods first, with little to no success, and come to Davis before resorting to surgery – a tricky business when you're dealing with the spine, and one that has questionable success. A safer, more effective alternative, the DRX9000 has good success rates in the industry overall, and Davis says they've achieved excellent results in his practice, thanks to the holistic approach he adds to treatment.

The program is divided into two six-week phases: the DRX9000 and home care treatment, and the after-treatment SpineForce program. During the first phase the DRX treatment works to apply a negative pressure to the patient's lower back to enlarge disc space. Treatments typically last about 30-45 minutes, and patients report feeling only a slight, gradual pull in the spine. For some, in fact, the treatment is so relaxing that Davis says he often has to wake patients up when they're finished. “I tell them to bring CDs, even DVDs,” he says. “It's got a DVD player built right in.”

After spinal decompression, some patients receive 15-20 minutes of muscle stimulation to aid in consolidation, and ice to reduce any inflammation and calm muscle spasms. Or, some patients just go home and skip the ice. Patients are then coached on what they can do at home to continue to improve their results – including the implementation of a comprehensive program that includes diet, yoga, relaxation therapies and breathing exercises. For some, relief comes immediately – often after they step off of the machine for the first time. Others report marked improvements farther along in the treatment process, but Davis says the average patient feels relief within about three weeks.

Phase II of the program is a rehabilitation series designed to facilitate neuromuscular re-education through the use of the SpineForce machine and accompanying therapies in 40-minute sessions, twice each week. Also a 6-week program, the 40-minute sessions include 20 minutes on SpineForce and another 20 minutes on high-tech aqua beds that combine whirlpool, massage and heat. “I believe we have the only aqua beds in the San Francisco Bay Area,” says Davis.

To help core strengthening and the re-training of back muscles to hold and support the spine in place, the SpineForce machine uses an oscillating platform, handles and an interactive display that lets patients know when and where to move. Programs are designed individually around each patient's unique needs. Together with the DRX9000 machine, Davis says they're able to deliver powerful results.

“This is a three-month program, so it's not a magic bullet,” he says. “But there just isn't anything out there today delivering better outcomes, especially for patients who've been unable to find successful treatment elsewhere. Most of my patients are people I wasn't able to touch before, it was just too painful for them. But once they've gone through the DRX and rehab treatment, then we're able to successfully continue on down the road with more traditional manipulations as a maintenance effort.”

Davis says about 50% of his patients opt to come back in for recurring treatments, usually four to six times a year, and stresses the importance of lifestyle changes at home to complement and continue the clinical parts of the program. “We help to adjust those 'knobs' in the right direction,” he says. “But habits and choices are a large part of carrying that out through the long term. Our average patient actually loses 7-10 pounds during their 12 weeks on the program thanks to many of those lifestyle adjustments. It's about making good choices.”

Davis now has two DRX9000 machines in his office. The demand has been both overwhelming and rewarding, and Davis, his team and his patients couldn't be more delighted with the results.

“This is very satisfying work,” he says. “I come in here every day and I help people that haven't been able to find relief anywhere else. And then they leave here, and they're just so incredibly grateful. It's changed the whole practice.”

We also treat chronic neck, arm, and hand pain. We have been known as the Carpal Tunnel Injury Center of San Francisco for 15 years.

For more information, contact Dr. Eben Davis at (415) 392-2225, or visit them online at www.backandwristpain.com. In the neighborhood? Stop by the office at One Embarcadero Center, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94111.