Severe Lower Back Pain Options With Spinal Decompression Therapy

Severe back pain in the lower back, also known as the lumbar area, can have a debilitating effect on a person's life. The lower back area is absolutely vital for the proper movement and structural support of the human body. Therefore when the lower back area gets injured or is under severe stress due to injury, many bodily functions are affected as well.

Although the degree of back pain can be associated with age, severe back pain can happen at any age and is generally due to our stressful lifestyle. The major causes of lower back pain are:

(1) Bad posture - sitting or standing with a bad posture (back is bent or not straight) can lead to the muscles becoming stiff, and thus, painful to move. This especially happens when we sit or stand with a bad posture for a long time. It is, therefore, advisable to stretch out for a while in between long hours of sitting or standing.

(2) Physical Exercise - too little or too much exercise is not healthy. When we sit in the office all day, our backs become stressed and stiffen. Too much physical exercise, such as lifting weights, if not done properly can also result to pain.

(3) Obesity -Seeing that the lower back primarily act as the supporter of the body's weight, being overweight also puts too much stress on the back. This is also the cause of back pain during the latter stages of pregnancy.

(4) Aging - the body becomes more susceptible to wear and tear as we age. The discs that act as cushion between vertebral bodies in the spine generally become susceptible to degeneration which causes back pain.

(5) Compression of the nerves - as a disc weakens over time due to stress and injury, the disc may rupture and cause leakage of its gel-like center to the spinal cord. As the gel exits the spinal cord, it may irritate the nerves located around the area. Also, the nerves may also become compressed if the rupture results to a bulging disc. The compressed nerves, then, causes pain, numbness, and tingling of the back and lower limbs.

Most of the factors that cause severe back pain can be prevented through proper lifestyle and proper exercise. The pain can sometimes be relieved through physical therapy, rest and taking pain killers. However, sometimes these may not be enough.

An alternative method of treating pain is spinal decompression. Spinal decompression offers a long-lasting, safe, non-invasive, non-surgical, and cost-effective way of treating lower back pain caused by compression injury. It works by using a machine, DRX 9000, to apply a gentle force to decompress injured discs and vertebrae, relieve them of excess pressure, and relieve us of pain and other symptoms.

Its mechanism involves the continuous cycle of stretching and relaxing of the spine in order to separate it from the bones and create negative pressure inside the injured discs. The vacuum created from the negative pressure also works to assists the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the injured discs, thereby regenerating homeostasis, and accelerating the healing process.

Spinal decompression could provide instant relief of pain and requires only a few analgesics (if any) to be taken after the treatment. It is more reliable than the traditional spinal surgery since only minimal side effects can occur. Muscle spasms, due to excess forces applied on the back, are prevented by the continuous oscillation process of elongation and rest as the machine senses when the muscles become too tense.