A table for use in administering chiropractic adjustments including at least one column mounting a body support and vertically movable relative to a base. Detent means bear against the column. A first air cylinder serves to elevate the column. A second air cylinder imposes a force against the detent means to provide a braking effect to hold the column at the upper limit of travel when the column is raised with a patient lying in part on the body support. When air pressure is shut off to both cylinders, the first cylinder retracts and air pressure is trapped in the second cylinder. The force imposed by the air pressure in the second cylinder to maintain the braking effect is substantially equal to the force required to lift the weight of the patient carried on the body support. The braking effect is overcome when a chiropractic thrust is applied to the body of a patient.

A chiropractic table that is hydraulically controlled for variable tension flexing. The pelvic section of the table is tilted by a hydraulic system that employs an accumulator which provides for control of manually-applied procedures. The use of hydraulics also requires less space than mechanical means thereby permitting additional functions to be combined into a single all-function table.

A mobile hospital stretcher includes a movably supported base, and two spaced hydraulic cylinders on the base which vertically movably support a support member having an upwardly facing support surface. Separate control systems are provided for the hydraulic cylinders, one of which is electrically powered and the other of which is mechanically powered. The electrically powered system includes an electrically actuable valve for selectively bleeding fluid from one of the cylinders, an electrically actuable pump for supplying fluid to the other cylinder, a limit arrangement which produces a signal when the first cylinder is fully retracted, a manually operable switch for electrically actuating the valve, and an arrangement responsive to the presence of the first signal during actuation of the switch for electrically actuating the pump.

A patient support table utilized when a target such as the circulatory organs of a patient is radiographed with an X-ray camera includes a hydraulic multi-stage piston-cylinder unit of which the top piston is driven in the vertical direction by at least two stages for supporting the patient for a sufficient distal mounted upright on the base of the table; a drive unit for driving the pistons in the axial direction; a multi-stage supporting device of which top moves together with the top of the piston-cylinder unit by at least two stages for supporting an overhanging load exerted by the patient, mounted upright on the base beside the piston-cylinder unit; and, a table top supported by the piston-cylinder unit and the support device, for supporting a patient lying on its surface. Alternatively a multi-stage cylinder unit of which top is mechanically driven in the vertical direction by at least two stages for supporting the patient for a sufficient distance, is mounted upright on a base of the table; a drive unit for driving the cylinders in the vertical direction; a multi-stage support whose top moves together with the top of the cylinder unit by at least two strokes for supporting an overhanging load caused by the patient, mounted upright on the base beside the cylinder unit; and, a table top supported by the cylinder unit and the supporting device, for supporting a patient lying on its surface.

The present invention is a skeletal adjustment drop device which divides a single skeletal adjustment drop into a series of shorter drops that take place over a relatively longer time period to provide an equal or greater range of skeletal adjustment with reduced patient discomfort. The applied force is intermittently interrupted resulting in the application to the patient of smaller, discrete force vectors.