Spinal Decompression

Brief History

Inversion therapy goes far back as 400 BC during the time of Hippocrates also known as the father of medicine and would hang patients suffering back pain upside down.

How can Inversion therapy help me?

Inversion therapy not only helps remedy back pain it also reduces spinal decompression and overworked joints and muscles. The inversion table lets you lie on your back in a relaxed inverted position which takes the pressure off your back and allows you to invert partially or completely depending upon your level of comfort. Not only can inversion therapy help to treat back pain but it can be used to reverse the negative effects of aging on the spine. There are a number of benefits when using the inversion table apart from back pain releif, increase blood circulation, improve your overall health, relax and strengthen overworked joints and muscles.

Main Benefits of Inversion

The use of an Inversion Table can promote healthy living by having a complete body workout with reduced stress and pressure on your back and joints increasing flexibility, strengthening ligaments and core muscles and better balance. The Inversion system also offers a better way of stretching and exercises which reduce and may reverse harmful pressure of the body by gravity. Nowadays an inversion table is an essential fitness product for all those active individuals and not only for those who have bad backs or are to reduce ageing.

Inversion Benefits:

Decrease back pain.

Whilst being inverted the distance between the vertebrae is a result of the stretch which elongates the whole back and minimises the pressure on the spine which results in less back pain.

Improve your balance, posture and height.

Inversion promotes good posture. Slouching and slumping at desks, in chairs everyday equates to bad posture. Inverting helps our body to get back to its natural curve especially the spine due to the pull of gravity.

Stimulate Blood circulation and reduce stress.

By using gravity to help the blood flow from the legs to your heart and lungs. The heart pumps blood with oxygen around the body to feed its cells. The blood comes back to be cleansed and refuelled with oxygen, however it is very difficult returning blood back to the heart from the legs and lower part of the body in which case inversion lets gravity help. Other noted improvements are healthier hair and better skin tone.

Decrease the negative effects of gravity on ageing

It lets us to safely and comfortably maintain flexibility, balance and strength. As with ageing height loss occurs however inversion maintains your height.

Achieve functional fitness

Improve core muscles with safe stomach crunches with no pressure on the spine. Relieve aching muscles after strenuous workouts by inverting which also helps with lymphatic system to eradicate waste from the body which helps muscle recovery and growth. Stretching exercises will help strengthen muscles and also benefit from healthy joints.

Cleanse your internal organs

It also helps with ageing and keeps the organs in the correct place and maintain the right shape in which it reduces the deterioration of organs as a result of ageing.

Increase oxygen levels to your brain

Inversion also helps to increase oxygen supply to the brain which may decrease due to high blood pressure and arteries getting blocked.

Fight against cellulite

It has been suggested that inversion reduces cellulite. Inversion table stops the development of cellulite by helping the lymphatic fluids flow to the lymph organs and helps to get the fats around the lymphatic system.

Reduce hair loss

Some sources believe hair loss can be reduced by inversion. It is suggested that increased blood flow to the scalp stimulates the hair follicles and experts claim baldness is due to the difficulties blood has getting to the hair follicle.

Relieve varicose veins

Spinal Compression within the back and neck is caused by irregularities within the spinal anatomy that infringe on surrounding spinal nerves, nerve roots, or the spinal cord itself. The spine is made up of vertebrae, inter-vertebral disc's, muscles, ligaments, and joints. The joints and discs are especially prone to damage as time goes by, and herniated discs, bulging discs, or bone spurs can project into your spinal canal and infringe on neural activity, which in turn can cause symptoms of numbness, weakness, tingling, and pain. Spinal Decompression Therapy focuses on releasing tension which has developed all around spinal nerves. Due to the fact spinal nerve roots are the origin for all your nerves within the body, pressure on these nerves could cause pain to radiate in to the extremities. It is very important to remember the term "decompression therapy," can span an array of pain relief approaches, from non-operative to massively invasive surgery.

Spinal Decompression Therapy is often conducted on a specially engineered table in either a face up or face down position. Clinical consideration along with your comfort are used in figuring out which position is going to be most effective for you. Treatments may start out in one position but in later sessions it may be required to change positions. You can expect to stay totally dressed during the treatment although it is suggested for you to wear loose fitting clothes, and remove your belt and objects like keys and cellular phones from your pockets. You'll be comfortably positioned on the table and fitted with a wrap-around harness. This restraint is what makes it possible for the unloading of the spine and discs through the traction motor. Your position on the table, the harness, and angle of the gentle distraction enables accurate and concentrated treatment to the afflicted disc or discs.

Once comfortable on the Spinal Decompression Table, the computer controlled traction device is programmed to produce a gentle stretching force to the spinal vertebra. This pressure is delivered directly to the harness system. The Spinal Decompression system applies a brief gentle force and then releases it roughly every minute throughout the session. The entire treatment time is often under 18 minutes and is commonly just 10 minutes to begin with. Most patients report simply experiencing a delicate and gentle stretching at their lower back or around their hips. Since Spinal Decompression Therapy is a comfort-based procedure, individuals usually report a sense of relief and relaxation during the session. Quite a few patients even fall to sleep.

If you decide to engage in Spinal Decompression Therapy for your lumbar pain, it is often best to coordinate several conservative approaches. For example, if you do try Spinal decompression Therapy, consult your physician about incorporating over-the-counter, or prescription pain medication, and some low-impact exercise. In the event that conservative rehabilitation has proven ineffective after many weeks or months, your physician may suggest a surgical option, so prepare yourself.

Pain going down your leg secondary to a herniated disc is a common and often disabling occurrence. A disc in your spine is composed of 2 simple elements, the inner nucleus pulposis that is a jellylike in composition and the outer annulus fibrosis that is fibro-cartilaginous and very strong. When a individual feels trauma and the forces are directed at the spine and disc, it increases the pressure on the inside of the disc (like stepping on a balloon) and the inner nucleus pulposis puts pressure, from the inside out and tears the outer annulus fibrosis causing the inner material to go outside the outer boundaries of the disc. This has often been misnamed a "Slipped Disc" Since the disc doesn'T slip or slide, it is torn from the trauma allowing the internal material to leak.

Conversely, a bulging disc, which gets confused with a herniated disc, is a degenerative,Wear and tear scenario. That occurs over time with the annulus fibrosis degenerating. This can also be a Risk factor. Allowing the disc to herniate with fewer trauma due to the degeneration or thinning of the disc walls. This however, is a conversation for a further topic

Life span prevalence of a herniated disc has been estimated to be 35% in men and 45% in woman and it has been estimated that 90% of all leg pain secondary to herniated discs happens at either L4-5 or the L5-S1 levels. It has also been reported that average duration of symptoms is 55.9 weeks underscoring the critical requisite for finding a viable solution for these patients. [1]

Although many of these are surgical candidates, it has been estimated that only 2-4% have actual surgical indications. [2] Therefore, nearly all patients need to be treated non-surgically and until recently, there have been a small amount of metrics affording guidance to the healthcare profession and public alike directing them to the appropriate care. In a 2009 study report, ending a 2 year study, a clear direction is now presented for patients that suffer with radiating pain from herniated discs.

The effects of the study illustrate that as a result of non surgical spinal decompression and chiropractic care,?Clinically significant progress in pain magnitude was seen in 73.9% of patients and overall in 80% of the patients, they self-described their results as either good or excellent. [3]

Chiropractic and non-surgical spinal decompression therapy protocols were utilized 2-3 times per week tapering down to 2 times per week and less until the patients were released from care.

The reports go on to state that there were no chief complications with any patient.

The results of the study referenced above also recommend that patients with cervical radiculopathy (neck pain radiating in to the arms,) lumbar spinal stenosis, pregnancy correlated lumbo-pelvic pain and chronic occupation related neck-arm pain may also benefit from non-surgical such as chiropractic care.

This study without a doubt shows that chiropractic is not only an alternative for disc associated radiating pain, but would be the most sensible place to start care with 80% of the patients getting well and not being exposed to drugs, their side effects or the added burden to the healthcare system with more costly treatments. The balance of the patients who would need necessary drugs or more complicated intervention is referred to the appropriate specialist as is the standard of care within chiropractic.

This study along with many others resolves that a drug-free approach of chiropractic care is one of the best answers for disc and radiating pain.

[1] Donald Murphy DC, Eric Hurwitz DC, PhD, Erika McGovern DC, A Nonsurgical Approach to the Management of Patients with Lumbar Radiculopathy Secondary to Herniated Disk: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study with Follow Up, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Volume 32, Number 9, 723-733, 2009

[2] IBID

[3] IBID Orlando Spinal Aid Center

Back Pain is one of the most common medical problems. Acute back pain comes on suddenly and usually last from few days to few weeks. If back pain last for more than 3 months then it is called as chronic back pain.

The types of surgery is decided by surgeons after thorough assessment and may decide amongst the following:

Anterior Cervical Discectomy:

Anterior Cervical Discectomy & Fusion is a surgical procedure performed to treat a damaged disc in the neck area of your spine. Discectomy literally means "Cutting out of Disc"

Cervical Corpectomy:

Cervical corpectomy is an operation to remove portion of the vertebra and adjacent intervertebral discs for decompression of the cervical spinal cords and spinal nerves. A bone graft with or without metal plate & screw is used to reconstruct the spine and provide stability.

Forminotomy:

Ootomy is the medical term for making an opening. A formiotomy makes the foremen larger and relieves nerve compression. The opening in between the vertebra is called neuroformanin. When this opening is reduced due to a spinal problems or injury, there is less room for the nerves to pass between the bone.

Laminoplasty:

It is the procedure intended to receive pressure on the spinal cord from the existing nerve root and spinal cord. Increases the amount of space available for the neural tissue and thus releases the nerves.

Microdisectomy:

In Microdiscectomy surgery, a small portion of the bone over the nerve root and or disc material from under the nerve root is removed to relieve neural impingement and provide more room for the nerve to heat.

Laminoctomy:

The portion of the vertebra known as the lamina is removed along with any thickened ligaments to release the nerves traveling down the centre of spinal cord.

Spine procedures completely depend on the spine conditions and the decision is to be made between you and your doctors.

To know more details of back pain, causes, symptoms and their treatment log on to http://www.spinesurgery-wecareindia.com

Bulging disc and spinal decompression or herniated disc may be the result of degenerative disc disease, or an injury to the spine causing the spongy, gelatinous nucleus of the disc to bulge out of the protective annulus layer. A bulging disc and spinal compression may occur over time as a result of a sedentary lifestyle, or the degeneration of the discs that can come with advanced age.

The herniated disc can impinge on the sciatic nerve causing shooting pain or numbness and tingling in the legs. A bulging disc might never cause pain or be detected unless it begins to cause friction against a nerve. If a herniated disc occurs in the neck area of the cervical spine, the pain will radiate to the shoulders and arms.

What is a bulging disc?

Let's take a step back and get a clear picture of what is going on if you've got a bulging disc. Spinal discs act as shock absorbers in between each vertebrae of the spine. They provide a supple cushioning effect that absorbs the stress and pressure placed on the spine. The disc has a soft, spongy nucleus, which is encapsulated by the annulus, which is a protective outer layer. Over time this protective layer can get worn down and compressed in people who may not be very active or get poor nutrition.

The disc will finally begin to bulge out from between the vertebrae. The pain you feel is from the nerves whose job it is to make sure that you feel everything. Nerves transmit sensation--both pleasurable and painful--from the extremities back to the central nervous system, which is connected to the brain.

When this network of nerves gets impinged upon, you will definitely feel it in the form of shooting pain, numbness and tingling, or even muscle weakness when the nerve is being compresse. It's not unlike getting a crimp in the garden hose. If you stand on the hose you can diminish the flow of water from a gush to a trickle.

Treatment for bulging disc

Medical doctors that practice conventional, Western medicine may prescribe medications to relax the muscles and relieve the pain. They also offer cortisone injections and epidurals, but these are only temporary solutions that mask the symptoms rather than treating the cause of the bulging disc.

Spinal Decompression Therapy

Your local Chiropractor has a painless, non-surgical treatment option to relieve the pain of bulging disc and facilitate the restoration of the disc. It's called spinal decompression therapy. Non-surgical Spinal Decompression is a revolutionary new technology used primarily to treat bulging and herniated discs in the neck and low back. Spinal Decompression Therapy is designed to take the pressure off the bulging disc and compressed nerves by slowly and gently stretching the spine at a certain angle followed by cycles of partial relaxation. This pattern of distraction and relaxation creates a "vacuum effect" or negative intra-discal pressure.

The negative pressure may induce the retraction of the bulging or herniated disc back into the inside of the disc taking pressure off of the nerve. The cycle of decompression and partial relaxation, over a series of visits, promotes diffusion of water, oxygen, and nutrient-rich fluids into the disc. The nutrients enable the torn and degenerated disc fibers to begin to heal.

Cervical myelopathy is a condition that often occurs in middle-aged and older individuals as they shift into middle-age and into the 60s and 70s. It may show up very slowly and lead to substantial problems without sufficient warning signs.

Myelopathy can be a tricky diagnosis to make as it often occurs in a subtle fashion and at times the work up can be non-definitive. Typically cervical myelopathy presents with a few telltale signs and symptoms. If a person comes in and says that they are having difficulty walking and feel like they are off-balance all the time, that may be an indicator of myelopathy. In addition, the individual may state that they are having a tough time with handwriting, or possibly buttoning up their shirts.

The signs and symptoms may be subtle and there may be no pain in the individual's neck. There may be a lot of pain if the patient has concomitant arthritis in the neck. Even if there's no pain, surgery may still be necessary.

The work up for cervical myelopathy includes a physical examination to watch the patient ambulate, to check their manual dexterity, and to look for hyperreflexia to see if those are present.

An MRI study will often show some signal changes within the spinal cord due to something compressing on it. This may be arthritis with overgrowth from either soft tissue or bone, a tumor, a result of a fracture with the bone healing improperly, or something else such as a disc herniation compressing on the spinal cord and causing it to react.

The tricky part may come and if there are no signal changes seen on MRI and no big time compressive elements on the spinal cord. It may take a while for the spinal cord to 'react" to being compressed. One month the spinal cord may look completely normal in size, density, and contrast on the MRI, and the next compression may cause it to have shrunk a bit and have a bright signal to it. Unfortunately, this may not be reversible if it progresses. It's unpredictable.

Another great study in the work up for myelopathy is a nerve conduction and electromyography study. This can show to what extent nerve roots are being affected by the myelopathy. You can also help distinguish between cervical stenosis which is compression of multiple nerve roots as they are trying to get out from the neck, versus cervical myelopathy which is compression of the spinal cord itself.

Treating cervical myelopathy is not a black and white issue. Surgery for cervical myelopathy is definitely indicated if the condition is getting worse in front of the physician's eyes on follow-up visits. The reason is that when you do surgery to decompress the areas on cervical myelopathy that are the problem, you can typically stop the progression of the disease but often not reverse it.

The type of surgery to do for cervical myelopathy is questionable and depends upon where the compression is occurring and how broad it is, as it may only be necessary to do a decompression and not a fusion. More often than not however, along with decompressing the tight areas, the surgeon will perform some kind of fusion to stabilize the area.

Cervical myelopathy is very treatable if seen early. If it's seeing late, the outcome may be sub optimal as even if the surgery is technically done perfectly, it may be impossible to reverse the damage that has been done.

Of the millions of chronic back pain sufferers in America, just less than half (45%) have the facet joints as their pain generator. This is termed facet joint syndrome. Facet joint injections are the most common interventional pain management procedure by far in the US. They work well about 80% of the time.

Making the diagnosis of facet joint syndrome is difficult with simply a history, physical examination, and imaging studies. Similar to arthritis seen in other body joints like the knee and hip, the presence of arthritis does not mean the patient will have pain. Endstage degenerative arthritis may be present with the patient experiencing minimal pain.

The best method available for determining whether or not a patient has facet joint syndrome is a diagnostic injection into the joint. This injection is when a pain doctor performs a diagnostic injection of numbing medicine around the facet joint to numb up the small nerve endings supplying sensation to the joint (and pain). If the patient's pain is substantially relieved from the numbing injection, then the diagnosis of facet joint syndrome is cemented.

Facet joint intra-articular injections and medial branch blocks have been shown to provide on average five to seven months of pain relief. When the pain wears off, the injections can be repeated with similarly successful results.

In the 1970's and 80's, radiofrequency denervation was developed for the first time and modified as it became more successful. It has grown in popularity as clinical research studies have shown very good outcomes with the procedure.

Radiofrequency ablation involves putting a catheter in the same area as where a medial branch block is performed. Rather than injecting the numbing medicine at that point, the tip of the catheter is heated with radiofrequency waves and the tiny little nerve endings are deadened.

Results of studies that have been done looking at radiofrequency neurotomy have been encouraging. Good to excellent results after RF procedures have been 70-90% for a year with pain being relieved for up to 2 years. This is much longer than facet joint injections. Eventually the medial branches that were deadened will regenerate and the pain may return. At that point the procedure may successfully be repeated. The RF procedure may allow patients to decrease their pain medication needs substantially.

It should be noted that patients may temporarily see increased pain after a radiofrequency ablation. This may be due to muscle spasms from the procedure. Typically within a week the pain relief will begin and the benefits will be noticed.

RF procedures are performed in an outpatient setting. They can be done under local numbing and/or IV sedation. The procedure is predominantly safe with a low risk profile, but there are potential complications. Those include dural puncture, spinal cord trauma, infection, painful dysethesias/hyperesthesia, or increased pain.

Spinal decompression treatment was FDA cleared back in 1996. Over the past 15 years its popularity has been rising as it represents an excellent alternative to surgery. The cost of spinal decompression is less than 5% of the cost of surgery, and the risk profile is very low.

How does it work? The popularity for spinal decompression initially was for low back pain, however, as the years have gone by it's been showing considerably good results for neck pain. The science behind spinal decompression works the same for both cervical and lumbar.

Spinal decompression involves intermittent traction with an attachment on the machine which pulls underneath the mastoid process on each side of the neck. It's very comfortable and gentle - a lot of patients fall asleep on the table. The intermittent nature of the traction prevents the neck paraspinal muscles from going into spasm. As the traction works, it creates a negative pressure within the disc itself. This allows for an increased blood flow into the disc, bringing with it increased oxygen and nutrients.

This can help dramatically with degenerative disc disease along with herniated discs. It may allow the disc pressure to be alleviated off of the nerve root being compressed, and the pinched nerve may no longer be pinched.

In addition, the intermittent traction may allow relief from spinal stenosis, which is where multiple nerve roots are compressed from arthritis and bony/soft tissue overgrowth. This relief may last for quite a few months.

Treatment sessions last between 20 and 60 minutes. Patients often fall asleep during treatment, but it doesn't mean it's not working. For the lumbar region, research shows that it works well over 75% of the time. A typical length of therapy lasts for 20 sessions over a period of 6 to seven weeks.

The risk of an adverse event from spinal decompression is very very low. It is non surgical, non interventional, and non forceful.

Spinal decompression is often performed in conjunction with other pain management treatments. These may include chiropractic treatment, physical therapy, acupuncture, interferential treatment, ice, heat, along with treatment from a pain management doctor.

Pain management treatment will depend on the patient's symptoms, signs, and what the imaging studies show. It may include epidural injections, facet blocks, possibly subsequent radiofrequency ablation. Along with spinal decompression therapy, patients have a very good chance of avoiding surgery while being able to return to work, socializing, and doing things like playing with kids and pets.

About eight out of every ten people suffer from some form of back pain at some point. It is the second most common reason for missed work, and the second most common reason for seeing a doctor; left unchecked, it can flare out of control, interfering with the day to day activities of the sufferer.

Because of the debilitating nature of back pain, many have searched for alternative methods of treatment. Some are effective, some, not so much, and some have received mixed results. Outlined here are five of the more common alternative treatments sought out by back pain sufferers.

Acupuncture

A UK study conducted over a period of two years reported that acupuncture performed once a week had the effect of reducing not only their pain, but the psychological stress brought on by their worrying about their pain. Acupuncture patients reaped significantly more progress than a parallel group who received painkillers and other more conventional methods of treatment.

Chili Peppers

The active ingredient in chili peppers, Capsaicin, acts as a painkiller when applied to the skin. Research has shown the application of capsaicin in cream form over a period of three weeks resulted in 42% decrease in pain. Eating chili peppers may not have the same potency of effect if consumed orally, but if you love eating spicy food, it can't hurt to try!

Listen to Music

Many studies have shown that listening to music had a positive effect in reducing pain in many sufferers of chronic and acute pain. Back pain is no different. Music reduces stress and anxiety, and creates a positive atmosphere that was less prone to pain. If you listen to music, try listening to soothing, calming music that helps you relax.

Spinal Decompression

Spinal decompression is a treatment method that involves taking off the pressure on the discs between the spinal bones, with the aim of reducing pressure on the surrounding tissues and nerves. Thousands of back pain sufferers have found that spinal decompression had a reductive effect on their back pain. Spinal decompression can be performed by a chiropractor trained in spinal manipulation.

Exercise

Back pain sufferers have a tendency to avoid physical activity (and who can blame them). But research has shown that moderate levels of physical activity are essential to decrease back pain. Strengthening the muscles and supporting tissue around the spine contributes to spinal stability and improves posture, which can help prevent pain.

IMPORTANT: Too much exercise or physical activity that is too strenuous can be very damaging for your back if you suffer from a spine-related condition. If a physical activity causes sharp pain in your back, stop performing the activity immediately.

Our necks are subject to a lot of tension, and this affects their form. In order to get rid of neck pain, neck traction is required. This can be done at home or professionally by a massage therapist.

A healthy neck has a curvature of 40 - 60 degrees. In such a position, the spinal cord is relaxed and no pressure is exerted on the nerves. If this angle is affected in any way, then we feel pain and muscle tension. Neck traction is a good way to alleviate pain and neck discomfort.

It's amazing that stretching the neck just a little bit can relieve tension and increase comfort in the neck. A technique called 'overhead traction' involves your neck and head being surrounded by a harness and on the other end of the harness, a weight is attached to stretch the neck. This is most effective if you ask someone to slowly pull your head upwards.

Misalignment of the spine means the curvature of your spine has a different shape than it should, resulting in pressure on the nerves and pain. Usually neck traction can help relieve the neck pressure.

Neck traction to fix misalignment
Neck traction is very much used for the treatment of people with misalignment of the spine, but it can be used by those that are not in so much pain, as well.

An X-ray can determine if the curvature of the spine has been misaligned.
In our daily activities, we tend to protrude our heads forward, so over time some misalignment of the spine may occur. If you spend a lot of time working on the computer, driving, or reading, you will experience neck problems over time. With X-ray the chiropractor can tell you whether you need a neck traction or not.

Neck can be misaligned anytime easily
The following example of a football quarterback illustrates how the neck can be
misaligned over time. When the quarterback is hit from behind, in slow motion, we can see how he arches his body, including his neck. A quarterback is trained to receive hits and he is used to this kind of pounding to the body, so in most cases he will shake it off and get up but over time he will experience back and neck discomfort

Neck Traction Device helps prevent bad posture
Our spine is made out of vertebrae which are more likely to shift if we do something extreme to them. Rapid, extreme movements and bad posture will affect the neck and back.

If you have cervical lordosis, a group of vertebrae in the spine is affected and the condition is usually caused by severe trauma. But as we said before, it is not only accidents that can lead to misalignment of the spine. Activities that involve keeping our heads down or lower, or protruded more than their normal position, will result in problems in the long run.

Neck traction can assist in resolving these problems. Neck traction therapy can relieve pain and discomfort caused by misalignment of the spine. Always consult a doctor before you begin any kind of neck traction therapy.

More about neck pain therapy