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Do you suffer with low back pain, neck and carpal
tunnel? Have you been told you need back surgery?
Decompression Therapy is an effective treatment
for these conditions. It is very affordable, less expensive
than surgery.
You may refer to our Spinal
Decompression Therapy-FAQs for more information and helpful
answers about this non-surgical treatment.
The Decompression-Reduction-Stabilization therapy
is an effective treatment for:
- Herniated Disc
- Degenerative Disc
- Facet Syndrome
- Sciatica
- Post-surgical Patients
- Spinal Stenosis
Do you have a herniated disc, multiple herniated
discs, degenerative disc disease, facet syndrome, or any other
type of spinal problem? Is you doctor suggesting surgery,
pain management or physical therapy? Have you tried Chiropractic
and just could not get enough relief?
Research indicates the disc is responsible for
a significant number of lumbar/leg pain and neck/arm pain
syndromes. Compression increase intradiscal pressure leading
to annular compromise and possible extrusion of nuclear material.
Since the disc is an avascular structure, it
doesn't receive fresh blood and oxygen with every beat of
the heart. It requires "diffusion" created by motion
and 'decompression' to restore nutrients and enhance healing.
Decompression is defined as reduction in pressure
(intradiscal). Recumbent positions (both prone and supine)
decrease intradiscal pressures in comparison to standing and
sitting. However focused, axial mechanical+Y translation traction,
(creating 'decompression' i.e. unloading due to distraction
and positioning) has been shown to reduce disc pressure and
enhance the healing response even further.
There
is some suggestion in the literature that extruded nuclear
material may be "drawn in" by the reduction of intradiscal
pressures. This concept however is not uniformly accepted
since the length of time the material stays 'drawn in' has
not been established in controlled studies. However, a temporary
reduction in intradiscal pressure can still have a profound
effect on the healing process via increased contact with the
blood supply and fibroblast migration (so called phasic effects).
This is in addition to the pain relief created neurologically
by stretching soft tissue (e.g. stretch receptors, mechanoreceptors
etc.) make decompression therapy a logical and viable addition
to a "passive" pain care regiment.
Clinically it is important to establish criteria
both in the utilization of Decompression therapy and in defining
its utility. (As with many therapies, hyperbole and overstatement
are common.) Axial Decompression (both lumbar and cervical)
is first and foremost a "passive" therapy and as
such has definite limitations in "curing" a chronic
musculoskeletal condition. Its value is most specific in helping
referral pain not solely low back or acute low back pain (symptoms
for which manipulation has proven beneficial).
Loss of local muscle control, abnormal posture
and alterations in spinal curves are the probable underlying
source of most spinal 'compression' and degeneration. Therefore
a "passive" therapy has little effect in truly fixing
the underlying problem.
However, that being said, Decompression therapy
(done safely within established protocols and a clear understanding
of it's limitations) can often effectively enhance the healing
process and render quick, effective and often amazing pain
relief in a properly selected patient population (many who
have previously failed other treatments). Additionally it
may also be very useful in determining the overall prognosis
of passive care and expediting the phase-in of rehab protocols.
Indications and Use
Any non-acute (>1 week) low back or neck
pain syndrome not related to a disease process, canal stenosis
or acute strain/sprain injury is theoretically treatable by
decompression. Disc and facet pain can often be relieved by
early intervention with decompression. The acute inflammation
of injuries however should be reduced by other means, in most
cases, prior to beginning Decompression. Contraindications
are similar to manipulative therapy, however since mechanical
stretch creates no impact, mild to moderate Osteoporosis may
not be contraindicated. (This holds true overall for frail
and elderly patients who could potentially be injured by manipulative
thrusts. Disc fragmentation, calcification, severe arthritis
and any surgical spinal appliances are all relative contraindications.
Our clinical findings suggest Decompression
will create a relatively quick initial response. Patients
who will do well tend to feel a sense of relief (which can
be direct pain cessation or a centralization of pain and/or
reduction to an ache or stiffness) within six sessions. Full
relief, if attainable through this passive treatment will
usually be in 8-12 sessions. (Occasionally a 'stubborn' pain
syndrome may continue to improve slowly over 15+ sessions
though this is not the norm). Often patients will be treated
4-6 sessions and notice enough relief to allow active rehab
to begin. Their Decompression may continue (pre or post rehab
depending on the methods chosen) for 4-6 further sessions
before discontinuing or reducing the frequency.
Typical frequency is 3-5 times per week. The
extent and seriousness of the symptoms will determine if more
than three sessions per week should be utilized. Our experience
suggests Decompression is also an excellent supportive or
maintenance treatment for those cases where pain relief is
marked but prone to exacerbations.
The Triton DTS represents
the finest Decompression Traction System available today.
Cervical, lumbar, and wrist Decompression Traction can be
delivered utilizing the Triton DTS in a controlled and proven
method.
Decompression therapy is very affordable and
cheaper than surgery. Spinal Traction is highly recommended
by Neurological Research. It was found that out of 778 cases
of patients receiving spinal decompression 92% said that they
showed improvement (Neurological Research; Volume 20, Number
3, April 1998).
Spinal Disc Decompression, utilizing Decompression-Reduction-Stabilization,
is a unique, non-surgical therapy developed for the treatment
of chronic lower back pain, herniated discs and degenerative
disc diseases.
The Spinal Decompression table in conjunction
with additional modalities effectively relieves the pain and
disability resulting from disc injury and degeneration, by
repairing damaged discs and reversing dystrophic changes in
nerves. Spinal Disc Decompression addresses the functional
and mechanical aspects of discogenic pain and disease through
non-surgical decompression of lumbar intervertebral discs.
Studies verify the significant reduction of intradiscal pressures
into the negative range, to approximately minus 150 mm/HG,
which result in the non-surgical decompression of the disc
and nerve root. Conventional traction has never demonstrated
a reduction of intradiscal pressure to negative ranges; on
the contrary - many traction devices actually increased intradiscal
pressure, most likely due to reflex muscle spasm. The Decompression
table is designed to apply distraction tension to the patient's
lumbar spine without eliciting reflex paravertebral muscle
contractions.
By significantly reducing intradiscal pressure,
Spinal Disc Decompression promotes retraction of the herniation
into the disc and facilitates influx of oxygen, proline and
other substrates. The promotion of fibro elastic activity
stimulates repair and inhibits leakage of irritant sulphates
and carboxylates from the nucleus. The most recent trial sought
to correlate clinical success with MRI evidence of disc repair
in the annulus, nucleus, facetjoint and foramina as a result
of treatment and found that reduction of disc herniation ranged
between 10% and 90% depending on the number of sessions performed,
while annulus patching and healing was evident in all cases.
The most recent clinical study of 778 patients
has showed that Disc Decompression Therapy was more than 70%
successful in the treatment of herniated discs, degenerative
disc disease, facet syndrome, and sciatica. In this same study,
92% of patients had a reduction in their pain of at least
one point on the 0 to 5 scale.
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