One of the best tools we have in our Nashville chiropractic office is called non-surgical spinal decompression. This tool is used for chronic low back pain due to disc herniation and disc degeneration.
If Dr. Sweeney recommends this treatment for you, you will lie down on the spinal decompression table either face up or face down. A harness is attached to your low back that connects to the motorized unit of the table. We will make a calculation of your weight and enter it into the computer so the required amount of force may be used to distract your spine.
The spinal decompression table will gently pull apart the disks that are bulging or degenerated, and then relax. The process is repeated again and again in the session of up to 25 minutes.
Spinal decompression is perfect for restoring the height and natural functioning of your disk. The reason why you originally have pain in the area of your degenerated or herniated disk before the spinal decompression is because there are pain receptors in this area that are activated. However, the mechanical act of pulling the disks apart gently gives the pain receptors a breather, and helps reset the normal position of where the vertebrae should be.
In a study of 30 patients who were primarily in their mid-60s and had low back pain for over three months, non-surgical spinal decompression increased the height of the disk from 7.5 mm to 8.8 mm. When this happened, there was a significant reduction in pain of the patients, from a pain rating of 6.2 on a scale of 1-10 where 10 is the highest amount of pain, to only 1.6. That’s pretty remarkable!
If you have disk degeneration or disk herniation, ask Dr. Sweeney about the possibility of including non-surgical spinal decompression in your chiropractic treatment plan. It could be the true start of your recovery.
Apfel, C.C., et al. Restoration of disk height through non-surgical spinal decompression is associated with decreased discogenic low back pain: a retrospective cohort study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2010 Jul 8; 11:1155.
