Medic Back Trainer by Kettler For Spine Rehabilitation
If you have a history of lower back pain and plan on using a roman chair hyperextension bench to rehabilitate your back muscles, I highly recommend the Medic Back Trainer by Kettler.  This is basically the evolution of the old concept of roman chairs.  This is the one chosen by physical therapists and chiropractors across the United States for their back rehab patients. 

Most people who have injured their lower back develop a faulty recruitment pattern where emphasis is placed on outer unit muscles.  During a rehabilitation examination we find over-activity of the strong global muscles called the thoracic portion of the erector spinae.  We also find that the deep stabilizing muscles are impaired.  This creates a "bow-string" effect upon lumbar spine which results in a long lordotic curve.  Many of these patients are unable to reverse this lordotic curve during forward flexion.

Therefore, they lack range of motion in the lumbar spine and the inner unit muscles called multifidus are impaired at the site of the previous injury.  When they perform conventional roman chair exercises, these patients tend to maintain the long lordotic curve while moving through the hips as they bend down to the ground.  If they do flex forward through the lumbar spine during roman chair exercises, they may actually place too much strain on their lower back because there is no torso support.  When these patients extend back up, they hyperextend their back resulting in excessive strain on the facet joints and posterior soft tissues of the lumbar spine.  The high difficulty level of traditional roman chairs at the 90 degree exercise angle means an all-out effort is necessary.  Low back pain rehabilitation patient should instead focus on movement control and range of motion that is only possible on the Medic Back Trainer.

The Medic Back Trainer is adjustable which allows you to progress from low level back strengthening exercises to higher levels, in fact there are 6 levels available.  The curved torso pad will help to emphasize range of motion through the spine instead of just through the hips.  It is also understood that motion through individual segments of the lumbar spine would emphasize the inner unit muscles called multifidus (which is key to rehabilitation because multifidus is always impaired at the injured segment) whereas motion only through the hips along with hyperextension of the lumbar spine will emphasize the outer unit muscles which are already excessively active after low back injury.  The Medic Back Trainer targets the back muscles whereas a roman chair emphasizes the hamstrings and gluteus maximus and allows for compensatory recruitment patterns.

More info on the Back Trainer Medic by Kettler

What makes the Back Trainer different?  Your knees are flexed while kneeling on the knee support pad which eliminates excessive strain on your hamstrings that occurs while using a standard roman chair machine. The curved torso pad assures proper range of motion of the lumbar spine as you flex forward.

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