If you have chronic back pain or a herniated disc, there’s an alternative to back surgery: spinal decompression. Less invasive than surgery, spinal decompression uses traction to reverse compression and treat back pain. Skip the expensive surgery, prolonged recovery, and pain medication when you try spinal decompression.

What is Spinal Decompression? 

As the name suggests, this treatment decompresses the spine through gentle stretching. In a spinal decompression session, you are strapped to a motorized traction table. The table shifts, pulling your spine through a series of positions, some of which may feel strange, but most patients do not find this treatment painful.

As your spine moves, spinal fluids nourish and hydrate the discs of your spine. Treatments create length and restore your spine’s natural curve. Most noticeably, as pressure on discs decreases, so does pain. It typically takes a series of spinal decompression treatments to make a difference, yet many patients find some pain relief after a single session.

When to Try Spinal Decompression

Over years of poor posture and bad ergonomics, or after a debilitating accident, your spine becomes compressed. As a result, the discs in the spine can shift out of position, leading to a slipped or herniated disc. Symptoms of a herniated disc include back pain, pain radiating into the extremities, a pins-and-needles sensation, and muscle weakness. Conventional treatment of a slipped disc is often invasive and expensive, so it makes sense to try spinal decompression first. Holten Wellness has helped hundreds of patients recover from a slipped disc using spinal decompression.

Like back pain, neck pain responds positively to spinal decompression. Spinal decompression also relieves sciatica, or impingement of the sciatic nerve, especially when a herniated disc exacerbates sciatica symptoms.

If your nerves have become weak or damaged, or your discs have started to degenerate, spinal decompression can help reverse the damage. The combination of spinal fluids, water, and oxygen introduced into discs during decompression sessions promotes healing and recovery within the spinal column.

After a spinal decompression session, Holten Wellness Center’s doctors may make other suggestions that promote your recovery, such as stretches that help address muscular tension or ergonomic changes to your workstation to relieve pain. By implementing their tips, you can reduce your pain in between sessions, feel better without the use of pain medication, and move better every day.