Back pain due to herniated, bulging, or degenerated discs can be debilitating and disruptive to your daily life. Oftentimes surgery is assumed to be or suggested as the only option. Today, we have a highly-successful advanced technology that allows us to relieve this pain and help your body heal without surgery. We use a system that combines a machine with an exceptionally precise computer program for a treatment called spinal decompression.
What is spinal decompression?
How does spinal decompression work?
Using the decompression table creates space in the spine to help facilitate the healing process. Decompression is achieved by using a specific combination of force of pull, angle in degree of pull and varying time in order to create a negative pressure inside the discs of the spine. It gently stretches and relaxes the spine which separates the vertebrae. This creates a vacuum-like effect that pulls the soft bulging disc material back into the disc. This pumping action forces nutrients and oxygen into the disc space to allow healing to take place. Not only does this help with pain (i.e. in the neck and low back) but also helps with pain, tingling and numbness into the arms and legs (often referred to as sciatica) caused by the disc material irritating those nerves. Relieving the herniated disc will cause that pain to significantly reduce and oftentimes disappear.
What does Spinal Decompression treat?
Spinal Decompression technology treats symptoms of back pain due to:
Degenerative Discs
Spinal Stenosis
Post-Surgical Pain and more...
Herniated Discs
Bulging Discs
Pinched Nerves
Sciatica (leg pain)
What is the typical treatment protocol?
Treatment time and frequency will depend on each person’s unique presentation. Based on your body weight, tolerance, level of severity, and duration of symptoms, your doctor will determine a specific treatment plan based on your individual needs. This helps ensure the best and longest-lasting results. Each spinal decompression session is usually about twenty minutes. You will usually have sessions a few times a week, and are typically finished with acute treatment within eight weeks. Consistency to establish a new routine for your body is essential to the healing process.
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At the beginning of each session, you will be comfortably fitted with a harness designed to achieve optimal decompression of the low back or neck. During a session of spinal decompression, you will notice a slow lengthening of your spine as your discs are gradually decompressed and relieved of pressure. The treatment process is safe, gentle and relaxing. While some patients with extensively injured discs have reported mild discomfort during the first few treatment sessions, their discomfort generally subsides upon subsequent visits. A patient safety switch provides an extra safety feature, allowing you to stop at any point should you feel discomfort.
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While traction and inversion tables may reduce disc pressures to as low as 40 mm Hg, only spinal decompression has been shown to achieve negative pressures within the spine. It has been clinically proven that spinal decompression creates negative pressures as low as -160 mm Hg within the injured disc during the treatment session. This negative pressure is what allows the disc material to be absorbed.
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The overall success rate is around 80%. We regard this success rate to be very high considering most of our patients have “tried everything else” with minimal or no relief. Some people experience relief within the first few sessions. Most people experience significant results within 8 sessions. Less than 20% will experience no relief or minimal relief. Spinal surgery failure rates are significantly higher.
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In many cases Spinal Decompression treatment is not contra-indicated for you if you’ve had spinal surgery. In fact many people have found success with Spinal Decompression even after a failed back surgery. After a failed laminectomy or microdiscectomy you may still respond favorably to spinal decompression. If you have had more than 3 laminectomies then the success rate of spinal decompression will go down. If you have had a surgical fusion with rods or screws or any type of hardware then patients may not qualify for spinal decompression.
Should I seek spinal decompression?
Yes! If you are living in pain from a herniated, bulging or degenerated discs, we will create a spinal decompression care plan that is tailored to your body’s needs. If you are tired of taking pain medications that have long term negative side effects and are masking the problem, instead of fixing it; or if you are trying to avoid invasive spinal surgery then spinal decompression is a great option for you.