Spinecare Topics
Spinal Decompression Therapy
Low back
pain is a common problem which eventually affects about 80% of all adults in
the United States during their lifetime. The back pain develops secondary to
numerous different causes. The most common category of back pain is mechanical
back pain, meaning the pain is caused or greatly influenced by physical
pressure on pain sensitive tissues and/or abnormal physical movement of one or
more areas of the spine. The most common cause of back pain is mechanical. Patients and physicans alike are always
looking for new, cost efficient and safe methods to treat spinal conditions.
Physical approaches to treating spinal conditions have become the standard
rather than the exception. This includes chiropractic spinal manipulation, exercise
therapy, custom bracing and spinal decompression therapy.
Decompression approaches
have long been used treat spinal conditions. In the past the phrase was primary
used to describe surgical procedures performed to remove tissue that was
directly or indirectly causing to physical compression of another. Now the term
is used in a more general fashion referring to procedures both invasive and
non-invasive which are used to reduce pressure on one or more tissues of the
spine. When the phrase is used to describe a non-invasive, non-surgical
procedure requiring more than one treatment session it is often referred to
spinal decompression therapy.
The use of spinal decompression therapy, has received considerable attention during the last few years. It is a non-surgical treatment for neck and back pain as well as related arm and leg pain. The primary goals of spinal decompression therapy are to reduce pain, restore spinal mobility, and to reduce pressure on spinal nerves. If a decompression approach increases the vertical distance between adjacent vertebrae it will contribute to increased dimensions of the opening on each side of the spine where the nerve roots travels. This may temporarily reduce pressure on a spinal nerve root.
There are many proposed
benefits of spinal decompression therapy. The list of possible benefits
include, reducing disc pressure, improving the movement of fluids and nutrients
though the disc via diffusion, breaking up of restrictive adhesion (scar
tissue), restoring spinal segment mobility, taking pressure off of spinal
(facet) joints and improving blood flow to injured tissue.
Not everyone is a good
candidate for a therapeutic trial of spinal decompression therapy. Conditions
which have been reported as responding favorably to spinal decompression
therapy includes; sciatica, disc herniation, disc protrusion, spinal stenosis,
and radiculopathy.Spinal decompression therapy is economical compared to spinal
surgery. Decompression therapy usually costs about 1-10% of the cost of low back
surgery.
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