There are different treatments available for chronic back pain, degenerative disc disease, herniated discs, leg pain, sciatica, pinched nerves, failed low back syndrome, and spinal stenosis. One of the common treatments used for these problems and more is spinal decompression therapy. In order to understand its benefits, you must understand what it is and what it does.
If you are thinking about decompression therapy, you must first ask yourself a few questions. Think about the following:
- Does your pain cause you to miss work regularly?
- Are you taking medications regularly to help manage your pain?
- Does your pain reduce your ability to complete daily tasks?
- Has major replacement or removal surgery been suggested but not what you want?
- Have you had epidurals or spinal blocks without satisfactory relief?
- Did you seek chiropractic care without results?
If you answered yes to these questions, decompression therapy may be right for you. This kind of therapy can help reduce the compression you have and alleviate the symptoms that you experience. There are two types of decompression therapy: non-surgical and surgical.
Non-Surgical Decompression Therapy
If you do not want to take the chance and undergo surgery, non-surgical spinal decompression therapy is another option. It is specifically used to help relieve lower back and neck disc problems. The equipment used conforms to the Federal Drug Administration’s regulations.
How It Works
Non-surgical decompression uses negative pressure to help create partial relaxation in cycles, called sessions or visits. The treatment allows bulging or herniated discs to retract. They are removed from the nerves, which reduces compression.
Non-surgical spinal decompression therapy involves multiple visits, between fourteen and twenty-five total. A computerized decompression table is used to deliver the proper amount of force to the right areas with a harness that is padded. The spine and muscles are gently stretched.
Immediate relief with the first session will not occur and should not be expected. It is going to take many visits before you start to see your symptoms subside. This is because the disc retraction occurs on microscopic levels with each session. Over the course of your therapy, those microscopic changes all add up.
Non-surgical decompression therapy helps repair disc damage in comparison to some surgical therapies that remove pieces of the spine. Each therapy session helps to spread vital nutrients that discs need in order to heal the fibers. Fluid rich in nutrients, oxygen, and water are dispersed from the disc’s exterior to the interior where they can be beneficial.
Surgical Spinal Decompression Therapy
Surgical spinal decompression therapy involves various different surgical procedures that are done to relieve the compression that occurs on the spinal cord or nerves. It is this compression that is responsible for your pain, tingling, and/or numbness you experience. There are many procedures that fall into this category, but here are a few.
Foraminotomy/Foraminectomy
A foraminotomy is the procedure that is used to make the passage where the spinal nerve roots exit the canal larger, which is chosen when the passageway itself is compressing nerves. A foraminectomy is the procedure where a surgeon removes bone and tissue that is compressing the passageway, which is used when there is bone and/or tissue that is pressing on the passageway causing the pressure. Both of these procedures work to make opening for root exists larger.
Laminotomy/Laminectomy
The laminotomy procedure removes a section of the spinal canal’s body arches, known as the lamina. The laminectomy procedure involves complete removal of the lamina. These two procedures make the spinal canal larger, which allows decompression to occur.
Diskectomy Procedure
A diskectomy is a surgical decompression therapy that is chosen for people with degenerative disc disorder, herniated discs, or bulging discs. When these discs are not in their proper position, they can press on nerve roots. This procedure removes the portions of any discs that are sitting on nerves.
Corpectomy Procedure
A corpectomy deals with the discs as well as the vertebrae. In some of these procedures for some patients, a vertebra and a disk – or multiples – are removed whenever possible. In other situations, some of the vertebrae are removed and the remaining ones are fused together to give the spine stability.
Osteophyte Procedure
Osteophytes are bone growths, known as bone spurs. When they occur in the spine, they can be particularly dangerous as they pose the risk of severing nerves completely and causing permanent damage. An osteophyte removal procedure gets rid of these spurs.
Risks and Recovery
Surgical spinal decompression therapy has a few possible risks, as with any surgical procedure. You could have an allergic reaction to the anesthesia that is used, you can develop an infection, or you could wind up with tissue or nerve damage. You are also at risk for bleeding and blood clots. Recovery can be ongoing or only last a short period. Every person responds differently. After a four to five day hospital stay. You can expect to be on prescription medication to manage pain and possible some antibiotics to help reduce the risk of infection. Once your incision has healed, you may need some physical therapy.
Each person responds the the decompression therapy differently. The success of both types of therapy depend largely on the type of back problem that you have. For non-surgical therapy, there is an average success rate of seventy percent. For surgical therapies, there is a success rate that ranges between eighty and ninety percent. In some cases, the type of therapy that is recommended for you might be right based on your problems, but it does not work. In other cases, people respond better to the therapy than expected.
It is important to thoroughly research and understand your options with spinal decompression therapy. Discuss everything with your orthopedic physician. Although it may be a difficult decision, you must keep in mind that each type of decompression therapy will be successful for some people and not others. You should also know that if left untreated, spinal decompression and other such problems can lead to permanent damage, including paralysis. For additional information, you can visit the American Spinal Decompression Association’s website at http://www.americanspinal.com for a comprehensive amount of information.
