Facts About Spinal Decompression Shavano Park Patients Will Find Helpful

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.

If indicated, both medical doctors and chiropractors will suggest this treatment to their patients who are experiencing persistent pain in the spine due a long-standing disorder or acute pain from an injury. Typically a non-surgical approach will be used first and if this does not help, a surgical technique may be needed. Patients with worn spinal joints, spinal nerve root conditions, sciatica, and herniated or bulging disks have all shown improvement following this procedure.

During the treatment, patients can wear their usual clothes, and will be positioned either face up or down on computer-controlled table. The doctor will secure them by fastening a harness around both the pelvis and upper torso. Decompression is controlled to specifications for the patient's case and it will last between 30 and 45 minutes. It is most often necessary to attend 20 to 28 treatments over a 5 to 7 week length of time. Other therapies may be implemented as well such as electrical muscle stimulation and hot and cold therapy.

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.

Back pain resulting from osteophytes, which are bony growths on the spine, or stubborn disk problems which have not improved through non-surgical intervention, may require a surgical approach to remedy it. In particular, those patients who report persistent weakness, pain, tingling, and numbness may experience a positive outcome from surgery which alleviates pressure on the spine's nerves.

The surgical method implemented depends on the patient's symptoms. Although collectively these operations share a common goal of easing pressure in the spine, they differ from one another. They can involve the excision of a small section of disk or bone, or sometimes the complete removal of a damaged disk.The space which encloses the nerve roots may also need to be enlarged.

Sometimes the only way to know if a patient will benefit from surgical decompression is for him or her to undergo the operation and simply wait and see. Many will note an improvement and reduction in pain, while others may feel no differently than before the surgery. Much like all forms of surgery, this procedure does carry some risks such as nerve or tissue damage, bleeding, infection, clot formation, and allergic reaction to anesthesia, but these are quite uncommon and it is generally safe.




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