Due to accidents, wrong posture, misuse, disuse or overuse of back muscles, so many people suffer from back issues, especially lower back pain.
Lower back pain is a sign of misaligned spinal discs that are exerting pressure on the roots of the spinal nerves.
Unless so severe, or you have underlying issues, back pain treatment does not necessarily have to result in spinal surgery.
Also known as, spinal decompression, chiropractic decompression is a non-invasive clinical practice of releasing pressure exerted on the spinal nerve root by misaligned spinal discs.
This article aims to educate you on everything that pertains this form of chiropractic treatment.
Chiropractic care decompression
Chiropractic Decompression Defined
We begin our discussion by asking ourselves what chiropractic decompression is. Simply put, this clinical practice aims to treat spinal injuries without the need for a surgical operation. It works under the idea that due to accidents and wrong posture, spinal injuries happen when the spinal discs fall out of line with each other. As this happens, the misaligned discs exert pressure on the root of spinal nerves, hence the debilitating back pain among the patients. Spinal injury patients who do not want to take the invasive route seek after the treatment. It works where other chiropractic adjustments have not borne any meaningful results. A highly skilled and licensed chiropractor performs the decompression.
How it is Performed
Having understood what chiropractic decompression is, let us now shift focus on how it is performed. The treatment is done by the use of a traction device that includes a computerized screen to assess decompression force and other body essentials. It also has a motorized table on which a patient lies. With the patient lays on their back, a harness is tied around the area of focus for instance neck and lower back.
The chiropractor applies controlled force on the harness, which in turn pulls the patient. As the target part is pulled, the discs are realigned thereby releasing pressure on the root of spinal nerves, which eases back pain. The chiropractor may give the patient intermittent pulling depending on their weight, severity of their pain, and other individual health needs. One decompression therapy takes between 20 minutes and 30 minutes, depending on the number of pulls the therapist may administer to you. Each session costs somewhere between $20 and $200, depending on the individual chiropractor, length of the treatment and type of insurance coverage.
The chiropractor may recommend to you other supportive treatment like physical therapy to help speed up recovery and regain strength of muscles in the affected areas. Supportive treatment helps you to regain mobility so that you can go back to your normal life.
Who Needs the Decompression?
You may be recommended to chiropractic decompression if you experience or suffer from one of these issues spinal stenosis, spinal injuries, sciatica, degenerative disc condition, and misaligned discs. These are the main sources of back, buttock, hip, and joint issues.
Benefits of the Decompression
As previously noted, chiropractic decompression is an alternative for invasive procedures like surgeries for many reasons. Unlike surgeries, the treatment does not leave you with scars to heal, which would involve the use of medications that have side effects. It also eliminates the need for anesthesia that may pose allergic reactions among some patients. It also eliminates the risk of surgical related infections that would be expensive and hard to treat. The main benefit accruing from this form of treatment is you get ancillary treatment at a go. In one study, a group of 30 patients was told to rate quality of treatment and its benefits on a scale of 1 to 10. Majority of them gave ratings of between 7 and 10.
Side Effects Associated With the Decompression
Since it does not entail invasive procedures, the treatment comes with very few and mild side effects that include temporary swelling, muscle spasms, and some pain in the target areas. The pain usually wears out as recovery improves. In isolated and rare cases, patients with underlying conditions may feel persistent pain. However, the treatment should be used with directions from your physician. This is because it may lead to adverse side effects or further injuries in people with back implants, spinal fractures, osteoporosis and pregnant women.
You should always take your health matters seriously since a little mistake could lead to severe side effects or even further injuries. This is why you should seriously evaluate the experience and operation license of a chiropractor before enrolling in the treatment.