Spinal Decompression, Pinched Nerves, and Treating Lower and Upper Back Pain

When people think of back pain, they often dread having to deal with incurable discomfort for the rest of their lives, having trouble getting up from a chair and forcing their bodies into strange positions in order to get into and out of their car. A life of back pain may be a life spent lying down and sleeping most of the day, trying to escape from having to perform any of the numerous movements that can cause a twinge in the back or a pinching of the nerve that can lead to not being able to walk at all for hours or days.

And surgery to fix back pain issues is usually ineffective or, even worse, counterproductive. Modern science can fix a lot of issues on the front of the body, from taking out an appendix to removing entire sections of the intestines and stitching them back together. But when it comes to the back and the spinal column, many doctors and hospitals are ill-equipped to handle chronic spine pain issues. Thankfully, new methods and technology have been developed outside of the traditional medical care industry to address such problems.

One relatively new method that is being used effectively in the treatment of back pain and pinched nerves in the spinal column is called spinal decompression therapy. The treatment is designed to relieve pressure on the joints of the spine and the nerves, while releasing any pinching of the nerves throughout the spinal column. The method that this type of therapy uses is traction, and it can be used to address such issues as degenerative, bulging, and herniated discs. Even sciatica or leg pain can be treated with spinal decompression.

The main draw of the procedure for many back pain sufferers is that spinal decompression does not involve invasive surgery, injections, or large amounts of drugs. Instead, it uses decompression and relaxation cycles over a period of about a half hour to promote healing of the nerves and joints of the spine. Typically, there are fifteen cycles that alternate, which is how the procedure gets to about thirty total minutes of treatment time. Several sessions are done over time to further the healing processes of the body.

The point of the procedure is to reduce the pressure on the discs while allowing the body to deliver nutrients and water to the area. A suctioning or vacuum-like effect is observed during spinal decompression, and it is theorized that this is what allows nutrients to enter into the area being worked on, and which also promotes healing of the disc and nerve. This can be especially important for people suffering low back pain, as the spinal discs usually receive poor circulation to begin with.

Thus far, there is relatively little research discussing the effectiveness of spinal decompression for treating back pain. Although some studies have been done indicating that the treatment can reduce chronic back pain, more research will need to be done to discover just how effective it is. However, testimonials and the great demand of the therapy indicate that the general public, at least, is quickly becoming convinced of the effectiveness of spinal decompression in treating lower back pain and pinched nerves in the spine.