What is the purpose of spinal decompression?

A slipped disc and sciatica, where a damaged spinal disc presses on an underlying nerve. Spinal injuries, such as a fracture or swelling of the tissues. Non-surgical spinal decompression is a type of motorized traction that can help relieve back pain. Spinal decompression works by gently stretching the spine.

That changes the strength and position of the spine. This change removes pressure from the spinal discs, which are gel-like pads between the bones of the spine, by creating negative pressure on the disc. As a result, protruding or herniated discs can retract, reducing pressure from nerves and other structures in the spine. This, in turn, helps promote the movement of water, oxygen, and nutrient-rich fluids to the discs so that they can heal.

Spinal decompression is a type of treatment for back pain. Decompression can be performed both surgically and non-surgically. With both treatments, the goal is to stretch the spine and change its position to eliminate pressure from the spinal discs. Spinal decompression therapy aims to help patients suffering from debilitating pain due to bulging, degenerating, or herniated discs.

It can also be used for pain management and treatment of many causes of sciatica, injured or diseased spinal nerve roots, and worn spinal joints. In fact, many patients who benefit from spinal decompression therapy do so only after other options have failed to provide relief. After several sessions of spinal decompression, the spine can retain the correct position, resulting in long-term relief from the constant pain that once affected the body. This procedure is called nonsurgical decompression therapy (unlike surgical spinal decompression, such as laminectomy and microdiscectomy).

To find out how effective it really is, researchers should compare spinal decompression with other alternatives to surgery. The therapy works by slowly, steadily, and gently stretching the spine to relieve abnormal pressure on the discs between the vertebrae. Typically, patients with spinal decompression can expect to spend at least 12 sessions on the decompression table, although depending on the patient's diagnosis and response to treatment, more sessions may be required. This helps us determine if spinal decompression is the most effective treatment option for pain.

During non-surgical spinal compression, the healthcare provider may use traction to slowly stretch and relax your back. Although spinal decompression is generally considered gentle and relaxing, patients with extensive disc trauma may experience mild discomfort during the first treatment sessions. While some studies that do not include control groups conclude that decompression therapy is effective, the few that do generally conclude that mechanized spinal decompression is no better than simulated decompression. Before booking back surgery or deciding you're doomed to lifelong low back pain, consider spinal decompression therapy.

While many patients turn to spinal decompression therapy after they have been unable to find relief from other treatments, including surgery, this is not a prerequisite. If you've lived with persistent neck, back, or sciatic nerve pain caused by herniated or degenerative spinal discs, you don't have to take medication or resort to surgery to find lasting relief. But what is a spinal decompression table and how can it be used to treat patients who have been unable to find relief in other ways? This type of pain, which can manifest as back or neck pain itself, as well as associated pain in the arms and legs, may have already been treated with traditional traction methods or even by spinal surgery with limited improvement. .