Details About Spinal Decompression Shavano Park Back Pain Patients Need To Know

By Janine Hughes


It can be very frustrating for people who have to cope with chronic back or neck pain on a daily basis because it can greatly restrict their actions and make movement difficult. One treatment option for this condition that has shown some positive results in patients is spinal decompression. If interested in non-surgical or surgical spinal decompression Shavano Park, TX patients need to discuss this treatment with their doctor to determine if it is suitable.

This procedure manipulates the spine's force and position by gently stretching it. Motorized traction is used to accomplish this in the non-surgical method. It relieves pressure from the disks of the spine, making movement easier and less painful, and allowing for more efficient flow of nutrients and oxygen into these tissues, which helps promote healing.

Both physicians and doctors of chiropractic medicine may recommend this form of treatment for patients experiencing acute or long-term pain in the spine or back. Conditions it has been known to help include bulging or herniated disks, disease or injury of the spinal nerve roots, worn spinal joints, and sciatica. Usually non-surgical decompression is attempted before proceeding to a surgical approach.

Patients can wear regular clothes for this procedure. They will be placed on a special table which the practitioner will control using a computer. Lying on either the back or belly, the patient will then be strapped in with harnesses around the pelvis and upper torso. Treatment times vary between 30 and 45 minutes, and they are usually done as a series, consisting of about 20 to 28 sessions spread out over a 5 to 7 week period. Sometimes other forms of therapy are combined with this treatment such as hot and cold applications or electrical muscle stimulation.

If the use of decompression is contraindicated, the physician will take another approach to the patient's pain relief. Certain conditions rule out this type of therapy including advanced osteoporosis, abdominal aortic aneurysm, fractures, tumors, metal implants in the spine, and pregnancy.

Instances in which a non-surgical approach did not produce satisfactory improvement may be helped through surgery. Examples of this include the presence of osteophytes, which are painful, bony growths on the spine, as well as some disk problems. Surgery effectively eases pressure on spinal nerves and is a good choice for patients afflicted with ongoing pain, numbness, weakness, and tingling.

There are different types of surgical spinal decompression which may be performed depending on the particular symptoms the patient is experiencing. Sometimes it is necessary to excise a small portion of either a disk or bone, or it may be necessary to increase the size of the space through which the nerve roots run, or totally remove a disk altogether. All of these measures are done to relieve pressure in the spine.

Even though there are no guarantees that a patient will enjoy a notable improvement following surgical decompression, many surgeons go ahead with the operation. The relatively small risks of surgery are standard to most similar procedures and the potential benefits for the most part outweigh them.




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