Spinal decompression is one of many treatments to help reduce chronic back pain. Chiropractors often help patients find relief from back pain with a series of spinal adjustments. It’s important to seek medical help for chronic back pain as soon as possible to help prevent further injury and to promote better mobility. So many people experience back pain, and often it is a difficult condition to treat without the intervention of medical professionals. A chiropractor is often the person people seek out for the treatment of chronic back pain. Back pain can include things like a herniated disc or sciatica. In some serious cases, a condition called spinal stenosis is present, which is a narrowing of the spinal column, and this places huge amounts of pressure on the vertebral discs, leading to chronic back pain. Apart from the common treatments like heat, massage, or spinal manipulation, spinal decompression is often used in the treatment of chronic back pain.
Do I qualify for spinal decompression by a chiropractor?
Most patients that have spinal decompression are experiencing back pain every day. Sometimes over the counter medications only relieve the pain temporarily.
You may be a suitable patient for this form of treatment if you suffer from:
- Sciatica
- A herniated disk
- Degenerative disk disease and conditions
- Diseased spinal nerve roots
- Injury to the spinal nerve roots
You may not be suitable if:
- You have osteoporosis
- There’s a tumour
- There are spinal column fractures
- If there are metal implants present
What are the benefits of spinal decompression by a Centurion chiropractor?
- Spinal decompression provides long-lasting pain relief
- Patients have more mobility and range
- With time, pain is better without OTC medication
- It doesn’t always need surgery to resolve the pain
There are both surgical and non-surgical forms of spinal decompression. Your chiropractor will assess whether you need surgery or not.
How long is the treatment duration for spinal decompression with a chiropractor specialist?
The time of treatment varies for every patient. Most patients receiving non-surgical treatment may need more than 20 treatment sessions. In addition, many patients may receive other forms of treatment which include hot and cold therapy as well as electric stimulation to name a few.
Surgical spinal decompression includes:
- Laminectomy – A portion or complete bone is removed to enlarge the spinal canal and relieve pressure.
- Diskectomy – Part of the spinal disc causing pressure on the spinal nerve is removed.
- Osteophyte removal – Bony growths are removed as these usually cause pressure on the nerve.
Spinal decompression is used after other treatment methods have been tried, such as exercise and home treatment (anti-inflammatory medication, heat and massage). It has had the results where surgery is often avoided and the decompression method has had successful outcomes for most people. It is considered a safe treatment and they way it operates is as follows: 15 one minute cycles where decompression is alternated with relaxation cycles, for a total of 30 minutes. The aim is to reduce the pressure on the spinal column and releasing any pressure on the nerves.
Spinal decompression, or traction as it can be known as, is used to try and relieve some of the pressure experienced by the vertebrae and the discs in between them. In the treatment of back pain, it is often difficult to isolate the exact location of the injury, and this makes treatment difficult. The benefit of spinal decompression is that it is able to isolate the exact location of injury, ensuring that blood flow is restored to that region preventing any further deterioration of that particular area. There are extreme cases where spinal decompression may not be successful, and a last resort is surgery. It is better to try as many of the more conservative treatment methods first before deciding on surgery because the recovery is a long hard process. The only downfall of this kind of treatment is that it can be expensive, and very time consuming. In order for the treatment to be successful, it is important that no appointments are missed and a commitment to the treatment is required.
For any more information please contact Dr. Vicki Ferreira for all your spinal decompression needs. If you want to make a booking please go to our online booking form and make a booking right away.
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