THE ORIGINAL BREAKING WHEEL infamous amongst the Inquisition and other torturers was not simply a wheel victims were tied down ob either side of to be struck by weapons.

It was like a curved rack, and they were tied to the rim of it, like a string half-circled around a coin, with their hands tied to the top of it but their feet tied to the floor.
As it was turned turned, their hands were yanked away from their feet but their spines took damage quicker than on flat racks, as did their stuck-out bellies from being struck.