Spinal Decompression

Once more, the cold cold months of winter are here. Most of us decide to hibernate during this time, since our absolute favorite outdoor activities tend to be more challenging to participate in. Some of us can be driven to stay energetic by means of jogging, biking, snowboarding, winter hiking, etc., and putting on more layers to do the activities we enjoy. I have recognized, during my ten years in practice, that there is a rise in the number of people entering the office this time of year, complaining of serious pain connected with pinched nerves.

The spine is made of individual spinal vertebrae and houses the spinal cord. The spinal cord stretches to every organ and system of the body by using a network of nerves leaving the vertebrae or bones of the spine. These vertebrae can easily turn and alter their placement resulting in pinching of the nerves of the body. This may result in soreness, feeling numb, tingling, a decrease of strength, along with a decrease of function. Other methods that nerves might pinch is simply by pressure from a spinal disc, also known as a herniated disc, as well as pressure coming from soft tissues which include muscle, ligament, or tendon. The most typical parts of the spine to get a pinched nerve is in the lower cervical spine, in the neck, especially at the fifth, sixth, or seventh cervical vertebrae.

A lot of men and women with cervical pinched nerves can have pain in the neck, shoulder, shoulder blade, any area of the arm, the wrist, and normally may have numbness or tingling in the fingers. A person may have any just one of these types of symptoms. I have several patients with a pinching of the nerves in their neck that only have discomfort inside their shoulder, pain in the wrist, occasionally confused with carpal tunnel syndrome, or even just numbness and tingling in their fingers, and they are unsure where the cause of the problem is originating from. They may have no neck pain or neck immobility but the reason for the difficulty is actually coming from the spine, as this is the location where the nerve begins. Easy orthopedic tests, and dermatome, each vertebrae is associated with a certain skin area where pain or numbness and tingling exists, tests can establish which vertebrae should be remedied to eliminate the pressure off the nerve.

Another popular area for a pinched nerve in the spine is in the lumbar spine, in the lower back, mainly the third, fourth, and fifth lumbar vertebrae. The most typical pinched nerve in this region of the spine is sometimes referred to as sciatica if it necessitates the sciatic nerve. The fourth lumbar is the origin of the sciatic nerve. With regards to this impingement, a patient might have pain just in the back of the leg, it can be shooting, sharp, as well as burning. They can have pain simply in the buttocks, or pain just in the foot or ankle. Just like in the neck they might not have any discomfort in the low back. Many of these people are convinced there is a leg or foot issue, when the reason for the problem is actually coming from much higher up in the spine.

The frigid winter months cause our muscles, tendons, and ligaments to be tighter than in the hotter temperatures. Envision our muscles, tendons, and ligaments similar to rubber. Rubber stretches more when in warmer temperatures, but loses elasticity in the colder weather. This is the same way the soft tissues of our body work. So, in the wintry temperature months our muscles, tendons, and ligaments will not be stretching out as a lot and are basically pulling somewhat harder on the vertebrae of the spine. This might lead to a vertebrae going out of alignment and triggering a pinching of a nerve.

Preventing Pinched Nerves

The most beneficial injury and pinched nerve prevention, when you are engaging in a task in winter months, would be to do a very delicate warm up. For about 10 minutes before you participate in the activity mimic the movements that you do in your activity. For example mild running, twisting, throwing, lifting, and this really should be at about 10 to 15 percent of your maximum output. This will increase blood flow to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments, allowing them to be more flexible and shock absorber ready.

Proper stretching after the warm-up, and then again after the exercise is key for attaining optimum injury prevention and hopefully protecting against pinched nerves. The issue is that stretching out is frequently carried out improperly. The majority of people extend too much and too rapidly. Stretches must be mild, and produce a relaxing sensation of gentle stretch or tension. There should be no pain, discomfort, or bouncing movements. The stretch should be kept for around thirty seconds, but no less than twenty. Stretching too strongly, or for less than twenty seconds might trigger a stretch response which could actually cause the muscle to tighten-up even more.

A procedure to correct and ease the strain onto your spinal cord or nerve is named Lumbar laminectomy surgery. The lamina which is removed is a procedure called laminectomy. Doctors also call it as lumbar decompression. Suck kind of surgical procedure is best for conditions over the lower back area like stenosis or bulging discs. A back condition that can occur when the canal of your spine begins to narrow down that may lead to spinal nerve compression is called stenosis.

A condition caused by aging process that comes to everyone normally is known as osteoporosis. Bulging or herniated discs occur whenever the paddling within your vertebrae bulges outward or toward the spinal nerves. This disc serves as a shock absorber. There are also few several cases when the paddling moves toward the spinal nerves and pushes it.

Today, the lumbar laminectomy procedure can be done by using minimum invasive surgery in your spine. Such kind of surgery entails dilation of the muscles and small incisions that will allow the surgeons to gently split muscles surrounding your spine and stay away from cutting them. The goal of laminectomy is help the patient ease the strain felt in the spinal cord or nerve through the widening of the spinal canal.

This procedure may be performed through removing or trimming your vertebrae's lamina or roof so that your nerves will have more space. This can be done without the need of fusing the vertebrae and taking other parts of your bulging disc.

Many surgery devices are typically used as screws or rods that help obtain solid fusion. Such devices may also provide support to unstable parts of the spine. Healing rate greatly depends on patient's preoperative condition and age. After the patient's operation, he has to rest inside a medical facility for one to three days. For faster recovery, they are advised to start and practice walking.

A nurse should always look after the patient during his healing process to observe and monitor progress. The patient shouldn't be taken for granted as his condition might worsen. For a rapid recovery, the doctor's advice must always be applied.

What are occipital nerve blocks?

An occipital block is an outpatient injection performed on either side of the head around the areas of the occipital nerves for pain relief. These are peripheral nerves supplying sensation to the base of the head moving up to the top of the head bilaterally.

What do they work well for?

Occipital nerve blocks have been studied in many research studies, and actually need a lot more research in some conditions to establish efficacy or not. One reason is a lot of these studies did not utilize a control, but just did a bunch and looked back at the results retrospectively.

It has been shown to work well for cluster headaches, cervicogenic headaches, and occipital neuralgia. Additionally, it has shown good results for patients who overuse narcotic medication and have headaches and possibly those in the withdrawal phases to make the headache pain less.

There are also multiple studies that have looked at it for migraines with encouraging results. These studies overall showed approximately a 50% good to excellent result from ONB's for anywhere from 1 to 6 months.

How are they performed?

The physician sterilizes the injection site and injects in and around the area of greatest tenderness to palpation. Typically the injection contains both numbing medicine along with a steroid, such as Kenalog or Depo-Medrol.

What is injected?

Most physicians who perform occipital nerve blocks will inject a steroid medication along with a numbing medication. The studies performed have not delineated whether or not the addition of the steroid is absolutely necessary to make the results last longer. It has been postulated that simply the numbing medicine can break the "cycle of pain" in multiple forms of headaches. Since the answer is unclear and the risk of adding the steroid is low, it is typically included.

Should multiple occipital nerve blocks be performed?

As with most pain management injections, occipital nerve blocks typically do not produce effective results forever. Therefore, they will most likely need repeating once they wear off.

An additional consideration is that if the initial nerve block works slightly, it may be repeated sooner rather than later (2 week point versus 3 months or so) to potentiate the results and give more effective pain relief.

Do patients need to have tenderness around the region of the occipital nerves to obtain relief from these nerve blocks?

Occipital neuralgia by definition involves tenderness around the occipital nerves. Cluster, tension, and migraine headaches may not have tenderness in these areas. One study showed that almost half of patients with migraines did in fact have tenderness in the area of the nerves.

The answer to that question is it is unclear if tenderness needs to be present for the injection to work. However, multiple research studies have in fact shown that in patients with tenderness around the occipital nerves that an occipital block has a higher chance of success than otherwise.

This is not to say that if tenderness does not exist around the occipital nerve that the injection would be unsuccessful.

Suffering from low back pain can be a real detriment to accomplishing daily tasks. Low back pain, also called lumbago, is a fairly common disorder that 80% of us will likely experience at some point in our lives. In fact, it is the primary cause of work-related disability in the US. Low back pain is caused by a number of potential factors, all of which involve some form of strain or sprain, infection, pressure, and swelling of the muscle, bone tissue, or the bone itself.

What do I do with this pain?

Most people suffering from lumbago do not consider surgery as their first choice in addressing their back pains. Doctors may recommend therapy, medication, changes in posture, adjustments in diet, and may even recommend surgery for more serious cases. However, if you're among those looking to hasten their recovery period from back pain, you may choose to undergo additional therapy, in addition to what your doctor recommends you to do.

What is the fastest way to support the recovery of my back pain?

A very highly successful alternative support to alleviate back pain symptoms is known as non-surgical spinal decompression therapy. It is a very technologically advanced form of traction which provides alternative relief of symptoms brought about by lower back pain.

What is spinal decompression therapy?

Decompression therapy is a non-surgical procedure that serves as a form of therapy for relieving pain due to lower back pressure, strain, disc displacement, and other faulty functions on one's lower back that cause pain. This form of therapy serves to effectively enhance the process of healing and hastens pain relief, enabling you to go back to your active lifestyle faster than the normal recovery period. Several clinical studies and research have already shown a high correlation between faster healing and spinal decompression therapy.

How does a spinal decompression therapy work?

A patient about to undergo spinal decompression lies on the treatment table. Then, a support system is fitted in order to stabilize the body. A highly advanced mechanism that is computer-controlled then adjusts the back to a certain angle in order to facilitate the next steps. The computer system will then generate an anti-gravity simulation effect on the patient's spine in order to reduce pain and pressure--essentially decompressing the affected area to relieve it of any tension. This process is painless, gentle, and patients feel only a pulling sensation every now and then. After the session, a cold pack paired with electric simulation of the muscles are then applied to the area to speed up the process of healing.

How long do I have to undergo decompression therapy?

Normally, a patient undergoes 15 to 20 sessions in order to maximize the effects of the therapy. Each session lasts for about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on each patient's special case. However, some patients report immediate relief even after only a few sessions. Others also report a huge reduction in the amount of pain after only one session. A patient doesn't have to fulfill a commitment of a particular number of sessions--it can be discontinued at the patient's discretion.

Spinal decompression therapy may produce favorable results on its own, but a typical program usually encourages the patient to engage in a couple of exercises. These exercises, to be specified by the decompression clinic, serve to strengthen the lower back muscles in order to avoid future recurrence of lower back pain.

Scoliosis is a condition that affects hundreds of thousands of people around the country. It usually begins in the early teen years and, statistically speaking, affects boys more than girls. There are grades of scoliosis, from slight to severe, and these come with their own set of symptoms and difficulties for the patient.

The normal spine, as seen from the side, has three curves. The cervical (neck) curve, thoracic (back) curve and the lumbar (low back) curve all serve a very important purpose and are highly important to optimal health. These curves enable the incredible movements that humans can achieve, and the better the curves the healthier the patient.

Seen from the front, however, the spine should be completely vertical. Scoliosis is when the spine, from the front, is curved. This abnormal curving, or misalignment, of the spine can cause a myriad of health problems, from simple mid-back pain to heart, lung, and other internal organ problems if it is severe enough.

The reason is that, when the spine is misaligned, the discs between the vertebrae begin to break down and the delicate nerves that pass through the spine become compressed. A chiropractor can diagnose the severity of the problem with diagnostic x-rays.

A slight scoliosis will cause occasional pain and discomfort, but moderate and severe scoliosis can cause life threatening problems for the patient over time. Scoliosis is also a progressive problem, meaning that without treatment it will get worse slowly but surely over time. A slight scoliosis will, with time, become severe and so must be treated as soon as possible.

The good news is that, if the patient is young enough and the scoliosis is detected in time, it can usually be cured. A cure, to be sure, is something that takes time, patience and diligence on the part of both chiropractor and patient. The younger the patient the better, but scoliosis can also be treated in adults of all ages and, while not completely curable, can be kept under control and the progression stopped or at least slowed.

A chiropractor uses a number of treatment protocols to treat scoliosis, and these can include chiropractic adjustments, spinal decompression therapy and cold laser therapy. Spinal decompression can actually help to straighten the spine and help the discs to heal, while cold laser therapy is excellent for the surrounding tissues like muscles and tendons.

A combination of all three of these treatments, plus possibly massage and others, can reduce the tension and stress of the spine due to the abnormal curve and help to greatly alleviate pain and other symptoms.

Scoliosis is not a disease and, interestingly, scientists still have not determined its cause. Whatever the cause may be, proper and ongoing treatment to reduce the curve and maintain the spine is necessary, sometimes for life.

Across the country, chiropractic care is available that can help the patient suffering from scoliosis and ensure that they have a healthier, longer life. If you believe that you might have scoliosis, why not schedule an appointment with a chiropractor today? Beginning treatment early in life is the best way to battle this painful but treatable condition.

Remember your mother or your teacher snapping at you to sit up straight and to stop slouching? It might have been annoying, but, as it turns out, they were right to correct you. Maintaining proper posture is the most important factor in preventing or reducing lumbar issues. It's also the simplest thing you can do to help reduce your own neck or back pain.

Maintaining healthy posture is important for keeping your spine strong and stable. When you slouch or slump, it puts additional pressure and strain on the muscles and ligaments that maintain balance. This in turn can lead to fatigue, back pain, muscle strains, headaches, weakened abdominal muscles and other issues. Bad posture can also cause movement or displacement of inter-vertebral discs, a common source of chronic back pain in chiropractic patients. It can also result in weakening of various muscle groups that help maintain correct posture, which can make it even harder to sit or stand properly.

Good posture, meanwhile, has many health benefits. It improves your airflow and helps maintain muscle strength in your torso. Good posture prevents strains, and is healthier for the muscular and skeletal systems. It also looks better - standing or sitting upright makes a person appear confident, put together, and assertive to others. You also look taller, thinner, and younger when standing up straight. Your good posture just may get you noticed!

What is Good Posture?

Contrary to popular belief, sitting or standing upright with your shoulders and head thrown back and your spine kept straight with your legs locked is not good posture. In fact, holding this position regularly is as harmful as slouching. Instead, a proper posture will maintain the natural curves of the spine.

The human spine has three natural curves:

- the cervical curve, a forward curve at the neck

- the thoracic curve, a backwards curve at the upper back

- the lumbar curve, a forward curve at the lower back

Proper posture will lead your back to naturally fall into this position, rather than exaggerating the curves and pulling on the back by slouching, or trying to straighten the curves and leading to stain.

Maintaining Good Posture

To have proper posture while standing, you should hold your chest high while you have your shoulders back and relaxed. Pull in your abdomen and buttocks while keeping your feet parallel and with your weight balanced evenly between them. Another way to help position yourself properly is to keep your ears, shoulders, and hips aligned together. Doing exercises, stretches, or yoga is a good way to strengthen the muscles used to maintain proper posture. If you've been slouching, these muscles may have become weakened, making it difficult to maintain your upright position.

Meanwhile, good seated posture involves keeping your neck, back, and heels aligned and feet flat on the floor. You should sit all the way back in the chair and use the chair back for support. Avoid bending or leaning forward, or natural slouching. Use of a lumbar pillow can help you maintain this position even if you forget about your posture or grow fatigued. Sitting this way reduces stresses on your back, which can help prevent or alleviate back pain.

Good posture is not just something that adults used as an excuse to yell at you during your childhood. It makes you look and feel better, and helps maintain muscle and skeletal health. Having good posture can keep you from suffering from back pain. So remember, sit up straight, stand up straight, and stop slouching. You don't even have to tell mom she was right.

If you have questions about your posture or back pain, visit a NJ chiropractor for a thorough analysis of your spine.

There is real hope today and for people with chronic back pain and for people with symptom such as sciatica, muscle spasms, stiffness, loss of mobility and numbness and tingling especially in the arms. These symptoms can be relieved and even, in many cases, completely cured. There is no surgery involved. No invasive procedure to alter the physiology. No pins, rods, fusions.

What is it? It is called Spinal Decompression.

Basically, it is a form of traction that is monitored by a computer. Unlike traction, there is no continuous pull on the back. During Spinal Decompression, you lie face down and the computer checks every 17th of a second whether your muscles are tense or relaxed. During tension the traction stops.

When you relax the Spinal Decompression device gently pulls, spreading the vertebrae and allowing relief from inflammation due to friction from bulging discs. As the vertebrae spreads the disc suctions the fluid that may have leaked out. Over time fibers in the tissues surrounding the disc re-hydrate, can heal and actually regenerate to their previous state. So instead of uncertain surgical procedures that alter the body, and often cause a different pain and loss of movement, spinal decompression actually heals and brings your body back toward its previous pain free state. Unlike with surgery, Spinal Decompression does not alter the anatomy of the back.

Who is Spinal Decompression for?

Anyone with a moderate to severe bulging discs in the lower back or neck.

An X-ray and MRI are required to get a baseline and see if you would benefit. Those with strained muscles or muscle injury would not benefit. Elderly people with loss of disc height, stiffness and pain would benefit. Whiplash and neck problems can also be helped. Case studies are phenomenal with a 90% recovery rate with great improvement in flexibility and reduction to complete elimination of pain. The amount of success depends on a person's severity of previous damage.

In a study reported in the Orthopedic Technology Review, Nov/Dec 2003 by Thomas Gionas MD and Eric Groteke DC, 229 people with major symptoms associated with herniated and degenerated disc disease underwent 20 decompression treatments over a six-week period. In 86 percent of the patients the pain levels were reduced to either a rating of zero (no pain), or one (occasional pain). These patients reported complete resolution of pain, lumbar range of motion was normalized, and there was recovery of sensory and motor loss.

After 90 days only 2 percent had relapsed and of the patients with abnormal findings at the end of therapy, only 3 percent still exhibited those findings at the end of 90 days, showing they continued to improve following the decompression therapy.

How long are treatments?

Each session lasts about a half an hour. And for the first 2 weeks you would go 4-5 times a week; after that 2-3 times a week. Six weeks is an average course of treatment, but the length can vary depending on severity of problem. Sessions are relaxing and comfortable.

During the first two weeks you are required to stay off your feet as much as possible - seemingly impossible with the busy lifestyles of today, but a small price to pay for freedom from pain.

Are there side effects?

In some cases of severe disc compression the process of decompressing can actually aggravate tissues that have been pressed together over time. During the first week or two, back pain can feel worse as areas become inflamed with movement. After 2 weeks, though, pain lessons and goes away.

In conclusion, Spinal Decompression is a virtually unknown treatment that gives hope for those multitudes of people with chronic back and neck pain. You will get the best results with proper nutrition and stress relief which will assist your body in healing. You really can return to the pain free and energetic lifestyle you used to have.

For general back health, it is good to keep moving. Don't sit for long periods of time. Magnesium is great supplement, because it helps to relax the muscles, and it is also used in the citric acid cycle for producing energy so it can help to energize the muscles. Supplements such as Vitamin C and glucosamine sulfate are beneficial for back pain because they help to build connective tissue. Shark cartilage helps to reduce inflammation.

There are a number of spinal decompression machine makers, and many that call themselves decompression that are really traction. A quality machine is the DRX 9000 C, because it also decompresses the cervical spine, has superior craftsmanship, and a patient friendly design.

Lower back stiffness is a common infliction that affects over eighty percent of the adult population at one point or another in their lifetime.

There also are many causes, and it can be hard to at once identify the source of the issue without medical intervention, ie. A trip to the doctor or chiropractor.

Some of the more common causes are probably going to be undertaking activity in which the body isn't used to, eg strenuous gardening or lifting of very heavy objects. This over-exertion may result in a slipped disk (or a herniated disk). This is a consequence of twisting, sometimes whilst lifting.

A slipped disk sounds worse than it potentially is. It is simply the frequency of your herniated disc becoming prominent, sometimes, but not always touching on some nerves. Back pain often resolves in a few weeks, with conservative treatment, but when it becomes chronic it can be a major issue, where many patients search for answers, like back surgery.

But back surgery is not always the answer for chronic back pain. There are other options, like non-surgical spinal decompression. Many individuals are still confused on how spinal decompression works, and they confuse it with lumbar traction.

There's a giant difference between them, how they're employed, the mechanics and the usefulness of every one. One of the explanations for that is because lumbar traction it's a lot more cost-effective and often times it is covered by health insurances, which usually don't cover for spinal decompression.

On a positive note, spinal decompression is frequently offered at chiropractors offices, and often times they've got some sort of payment plans that you can select from. Spinal decompression works by creating a vacuum effect in the lumbar discs and when doing so it draws nutrients and liquids in the discs, promoting cure of the wounded disks and the tissues around them.

Some of the indications of degenerative discs illness are high intradiscal pressures which cause the discs to bulge out and when they do so, they can press painfully on the nerve roots around them. Because of this, they are making a compressed environment which lacks oxygen and that has an effect on the healing process.

So, therefore, when you get treated with non surgical spinal decompression, negative pressures are produced inside the disc, this creates a vacuum effect and brings nutrients to the discs promoting their healing.

Another effect of this vacuum is that it assists in the retraction of the cushioning gel that has escaped from the herniated discs. The plan of lumbar traction is also to alleviate pressure, but it is done in an alternative way.

Due to the linear factor of traction, the muscles around the lumbar backbone can react adversely by going into spasms and causing bigger injury.

For lower back pain caused by overexertion, strain or sprain injuries, chiropractic, medications and injections may bring relief.

But for those suffering from chronic and more severe neck and back pain, there has been little rescue - until now. This new medical breakthrough, Spinal Decompression specializes.

in treating neck and lower back pain from Disc Bulges and Hernias, Sciatica, Stenosis, Degenerative Discs, Arthritis or facet syndrome. This non-surgical procedure is ideal for those with clinically Unstable low backs, have tried Medication unsuccessfully or have been scheduled for lengthy or alternative therapies. In fact, clinical studies have even shown spinal decompression is effective on patients scheduled for surgery or for those who unfortunately have already had surgery - and it failed them.

What is Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Spinal Decompression Therapy is proven to be a safe and effective means to treat severe and chronic neck and low back conditions. The program, consists of FDA-cleared non-surgical Spinal Decompression machine focusing on discal and arthritic conditions affecting the spine. Along with the decompression therapy, ancillary care is provided in the form of Physiotherapy modalities and procedures.

Who Invented Spinal Decompression Therapy?

It was developed by Dr. Allen Dyer, a world renowned medical researcher who invented the cardiac defibrillator that went around the globe to revive heart attack victims. Dr. Dyer holds an M.D., a Ph.D. and a pharmaceutical degree. He is the former deputy minister with Ministry of Health in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Nahali utilizes Dr. Dyer's treatment protocol to ensure that all of our patients receive individualized care according to their specific condition.

Medical Breakthrough. We spend 25% of our annual health care budget on low back pain, yet it remains at epidemic proportions today. With 30 million people in pain, many struggle to find a reliable treatment and few hold hopes of a permanent cure. For those who have been to numerous doctors or tried a variety of treatments or have been told to live with it, or are scheduled for lengthy therapy protocols or surgery, this is the breakthrough they have been Waiting for - and it is affordable for all.

How It Works

Non-surgical Spinal Decompression creates a negative pressure inside the disc, which draws in any bulging or herniated disc material, like suction. This stimulates the body to undergo a process known as "fibroblast
activity," producing fresh new tissues and cells. These new cells attach themselves to the torn fibers of the disc that cause its contents to bulge. In essence, it's like a bone healing. When complete, it is stronger than before. It is more of a cure than a temporary remedy.

How successful is this procedure? The success rate for Spinal Decompression Therapy is extremely high for patients who are candidates. This treatment makes changes in the spine. After recommended treatment program, patients will be on their way to optimal health again. Unlike surgical procedures, which only have a 40 percent success rate and have very high risks and complications, spinal decompression therapy has no side effects and is virtually pain free. Patients can also continue with their normal daily activities during this procedure.

So, what's all the hype about spinal decompression? It seems like the hot topic in the area of back pain these days. Well, research on this technique goes back a long way but governmental research on it is relatively recent which is why it's become more mainstream. Basically, anyone who has back, neck, arm or leg pain that is the result of a bulging or herniated disc can benefit from some form of spinal decompression therapy. Specific conditions that you may recognize from the names (such as sciatica, herniated or bulging or sequestrated discs, spinal stenosis, facet syndrome, spondylosis and even failed back surgeries) may be helped by spinal decompression.

So, how does this decompression work? Well, the disc is a contained unit. This means that if it gets wider (bulges) it has to get shorter and conversely, if it gets taller then it must get thinner. The center of the disc is called the nucleus pulposa and is roughly the consistency of the jelly in a jelly donut. I've got your attention now don't I?! Anyway, if the tough outer rings of the disc (called the annulus fibrosa) develop tears (either from wear and tear or from a large amount of pressure forcing the nucleus through the rings) then the nucleus starts "bulging" out through. Basically what decompression does is put traction on that particular disc making it "taller" which in turn creates a negative pressure inside the disk drawing the nucleus back toward the center of the disc making it "thinner." This reduces or eliminates the bulge thus taking the pressure off of the nerves.

Research suggests that the best results are achieved with 20 sessions over a six week period however in our experience we typically see slightly quicker results than this. Also, it's important to remember that this is referring to the "best" results and that the actual pain is normally greatly reduced or eliminated in a shorter time frame.

The typical costs of spinal decompression therapy range from around $2000 to $6000 which sounds fairly expensive but in reality is very inexpensive when all factors are considered. One of those factors is that in researching this, it seems as though the insurance co pays involved with the surgery option may be more than $2000 so that amount is still being paid by the patients. Now, this is taking into consideration all of the surgery, hospital and therapy cost but NOT the lost time off of work or any of those associated costs. Another factor to consider is the risk of the surgery itself. Finally, one of the most important factors to consider, especially in light of the above facts is that the Journal of the American Medical Association recently contained a study showing that surgery is no more effective than non-invasive treatments (read "chiropractic, spinal decompression, etc.") for patients with lumbar disc herniations causing sciatica!!