Pressure application unit for positioning vertebra

A device for applying external pressure to one or more of a patients vertebra for repositioning the same and/or maintaining the position thereof in the patients spine, or for forcing and maintaining segments of a broken vertebra in healing contact with each other, said spine lying generally along a spinal axis, said device comprising an upper body vest means adapted to substantially surround the upper body of a patient from adjacent the waist to adjacent the neck in a snug manner, said vest means having front and back sections provided with cooperating segments of attachment means for clamping said sections to each other to snugly surround said upper body, said back section having an elongated substantially rigid portion extending substantially the length of said back section and formed to closely conform to the curvature of the patients spine and lie adjacent thereto, one element of a pressure applicator means provided on said elongated portion, thrust means providing another element of said applicator means and being mounted on said one element for controlled, reciprocable movement in a direction generally normal to said spinal axis for applying external pressure in a controlled manner to a selected portion of said spine.