For many patients, chronic back pain is treated surgically as a last resort. However, with new advanced technologies, there are now non-surgical forms of treatment that you can benefit from. One such treatment invovles spinal decompression.
What Is Spinal Decompression Treatment?
Spinal decompression treatment is designed to manage back pain with the use of motorised devices. Spinal decompression involves the calculated application of pressure on the spine to gently stretch it. This leads to releasing pressure that the spinal discs experience everyday.
Spinal discs or intervertebral discs contain gel-like substance inside and hence, provide fluidity for the movment of spinal column. Spinal decompression can get rid of the pressure that a bulging or herniated disc is applying on nerves and other structures in the human spine. Not only this allows the displaced disc to get back in its original position, but encourages the movment of water, oxygen, and nutrients into the disc so that it can heal.
Doctors have used nonsurgical spinal decompression in an attempt to treat:
- Back pain, neck pain or sciatica that includes pain, weakness, or a tingling sensation along the leg
- Herniated discs or degenerative disc disease
- Worn spinal joints, also known as, Posterior Facet Syndrome
- Pathological conditions of spinal nerve roots such as an injury or disease
Non-surgical spinal decompression treatment involves using a specially designed mechanical system to cause negative pressure in the spine. It assists in reducing pressure on the spinal discs; conditions like herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, and spinal stenosis cause such pressure.
The stretching also helps to increase the gap between the bones or vertebrae that make up the spinal cord, thus reducing the chances of nerve compression and improving movement. When pressure is taken off of the discs, the body initiates the healing process, cartilage regrows, and pain decreases.
How Does Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Treatment Work?
During Spinal Decompression Treatment, the doctor straps a harness around your pelvic area and another around your upper body. Patients can either be face down or face up on a computer-regulated table. The doctor controls the computer and then programmes the treatment according to the patient’s needs.
On average, a treatment session takes 30 to 45 minutes, and you are likely to undergo between 20 and 28 sessions over a period of 5 to 7 weeks.
Before or after therapy, you may have other types of treatment, such as:
- Electrical stimulation, aka electric current, makes specific muscles contract.
- Ultrasound (the process of using sound waves which help in tissues’ heating and subsequently their healing).
- Heat or cold treatment.
Which tests help to define the form and gravity of the received trauma?
Your healthcare provider may undergo a number of tests to get a better view of your injury. These tests may include:
- Bone scans: To help you understand more about a bone scan, this imaging test shows the presence of fracture, cancer, or infection in your bones. If you visit your healthcare provider for back pain, they suggest having a bone scan to identify the problem.
- Discography: Your healthcare provider administers a contrast (a material visible on X-rays and most scans) into your back. Then, computed tomography, also referred to as a CT scan, captures images. It can show any damage to your disc. Discography can, therefore, be used to reveal the conditions of your discs.
- Electrical tests: Your healthcare provider instructs you to have electromyography in order to determine electrical activity in nerves and muscles. An evoked potential study will tell you how quickly electrical signals travel from your nerve to your head.
How to choose a suitable spinal decompression procedure?
But how to decide which procedure would work best for you depends on many factors. Your doctor will decide depending on your medical history and the degree of your injury.
Overall, the hierarchy or “stepped” approach of the healthcare providers is preferred. To begin with, they use minor operations and procedures that are cheaper to determine the injury’s reaction to the procedure used.
About ANSSI:
ANSSI Wellness focuses on improving the quality of life for patients suffering from spinal issues, aiming to provide relief where other conventional treatments have failed. Through advanced nonsurgical spinal decompression treatment, ANSSI is committed to helping patients avoid surgery and recover in a safe, effective, and compassionate environment.
