Herniated Disc and Spinal Decompression - A Non Invasive Treatment Option

Herniated disc and spinal decompression therapy offers a non-invasive therapy for people suffering from debilitating back pain. Traditional traction devices that were used in the past to treat back pain have been replaced by technologically advanced herniated disc and spinal decompression tables.

What are the causes of a herniated disc?

In between the vertebrae in your spine can be found supple, spongy, spinal discs that are protected by a tougher outer layer. This layer surrounds the soft nucleus that allows for cushioning and the smooth movement of your spine, not unlike shock absorbers for your automobile. When one of the spinal discs becomes compressed between the bones in the spine, it can make the spongy material of the disc become herniated. This bulging of the disc causes friction from direct contact with nerve endings. Herniated disc is also commonly called slipped or ruptured disc.

As the body grows older, especially if a person leads a sedentary lifestyle without much activity to keep the spine limber and flexible, the discs can degenerate and become flattened. The spinal disc can become brittle if the degeneration is allowed to progress, which can make them more prone to injury.

A herniated disc can be caused by a strain from twisting the back rigorously. This injury can occur anywhere on the spine, but it most commonly happens in the lower spine or the neck. The patient will feel pain in the location where the disc has been ruptured.

Symptoms of herniated disc

There are several tell-tale signs of a herniated disc. The patient begins to feel shooting pains from the back down into the legs. There may also be tingling and numb sensations in the legs and feet from the nerves being pressed down. The pain can vary from mild to intense depending on the location of the injured disc and degree of injury.

Decompression: a safe, non-surgical treatment option

Spinal Decompression is a new technology that is safe, non-invasive, and approved by the FDA to treat spinal conditions such as herniated disc and other painful conditions effecting the spine. Designed to relieve the pressure from the herniated disc and compressed nerves by slowly and gently stretching the spine at a certain angle followed by cycles of partial relaxation. This pattern of distraction and relaxation creates a "vacuum effect" or negative intra-disc pressure.

Relieving the compression on the disc may cause the herniated or bulging disc to retract or get sucked back in the protective annulus thus removing the pressure from the nerve that was causing the pain and numbness.

The repetition of gently stretching and then relaxing the spinal discs over the course of several visits to the Chiropractor's office, allows oxygen and nutritious fluids to flow into the disc allowing the damaged discs to begin the healing process.

Spinal decompression therapy is a non-surgical treatment for specific back pain conditions, including:

• Degenerative disc disease
• Facet syndrome
• Herniated disc
• Lower back pain
• Neck pain
• Neuralgia
• Pinched nerve
• Sciatica
• Spinal stenosis

Is decompression a painful procedure?

Spinal decompression is a painless, non-invasive therapy that relieves back pain. The patient will be strapped in to the machine and the straps are connected to the computer, which gently separates the vertebrae with a precise stretching force. The treatment is so comfortable that many patients actually fall asleep.

Spinal decompression machines are sensitive and can adjust the decompression rate in response to any pain the patient might experience during treatment.

Fibromyalgia - Chronic Fatigue, Pain & Insomnia

Are you sick and tired of taking those expensive medications that don't really work? Are you sick of feeling lazy, old and worthless? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?

Can't sleep at night? Want a solution to your chronic pain and fatigue? Over all, are you tired of hearing that it is all in your head, when you know that there is truly something physically wrong? Well what if I told you that it is probably not in your head? There is now an answer for what may be a physically, not psychologically, but a physically problem with your brain. Brain Based Therapy is breakthrough treatment that has been clinically proven to help beat chronic pain, fatigue and Fibromyalgia with no dangerous drugs or surgery. I have seen 20 or more years of pain melt away, night upon night of sleeplessness become restful and energizing again. We've watched debilitating fatigue and brain fog burn off into the past. But don't just take my word for it listen to what one patient writes: "Before I started Brain Base Therapy I could hardly get out of bed in the morning. If I did too much activity I would pay for it for 2-3 days. The treatments are just wonderful. I'm sleeping better. Even my husband noticed I'm feeling better. Now my pain is gone. I just feel wonderful. As a matter of fact next month my husband and I are going on vacation. We haven't taken a vacation in 8 years because I just didn't feel like going anywhere. I told my husband that I feel like travelling now."

Fibromyalgia is known for any combination of these symptoms: progressing worsening pain at any place in the body, fatigue (tired all the time, even tired when waking up in the morning, low energy level), insomnia (not getting to sleep easy and/or not staying asleep well), headaches or migraines (usually accompanied with pain around the eyes or face, inability to tolerate extremes in temperature ( can't stand to be in heat and humidity or in very cold weather), usually feels cold all the time but can have hot flashes during the day or night or both that can be over entire body or just a certain part of the body (I had a patient tell me recently that she has hot flashes just over the back of her head and neck, she can even feel the heat with her hands if she places them over her posterior head or neck), diarrhea or constipation, back and/or neck pain due to disc problems such as stenosis, bulges, herniations, arthritis, degeneration and spinal aging, can't think good (often referred to as brain fog, can't concentrate, poor short term memory). With this condition you may have a few or all of these symptoms.

This condition progressively get worse over a period of time. Stress may increase the rate of progression. Meaning, the more stress usually means the faster it progresses.

Fibromyalgia is real and reversible. Most researchers agree that fibromyalgia patients suffer from a disorder of central processing within the brain, more specifically the neuroendocrine/neurotransmitter dysregulation. Over the last couple years we've learned that these patients suffer from many deep brain reflex lesions and a decreased ability of their body to utilize oxygen at a much greater deficit than someone else of the same age and sex.
When I speak of deep brain reflex lesions I am not speaking about an anatomic problem like a brain infection or brain cancer. That type of problem is referred to as an ablative brain lesion. The type of problem I'm speaking of has to do with the deep brain reflexes and this would be classified as a non-ablative brain lesion. To put it in easier terms to understand, think about a computer. Has your computer ever frozen up? If so, what do you have to do to fix the problem? Usually it corrected by just restarting the computer. There is nothing "anatomically" wrong with it. It is just frozen up.

Your brain can do a similar thing. The reflexes just don't "work" right. Unfortunately there is no reset button to press for your brain. But the correction process (brain reprogramming) is an easy process but it does takes some time to correct.

As I mentioned earlier, when suffering from fibromyalgia, usually your body cannot utilize oxygen very well. It is important to know that everyone's ability to utilize oxygen decreases after the early to mid twenties. But a fibromyalgia patient has an increase rate of decline of oxygen utilization. But always keep in mind that fibromyalgia is REAL and fibromyalgia is REVERSIBLE.

I have been a practicing chiropractic doctor for over 22 years. In my early years, I didn't understand fibromyalgia and thought and was trained that "fibromyalgia" could just be a psychological problem. You know what I am talking about. If you suffer from fibromyalgia, then you've probably heard directly or more likely, behind your back someone say that "you just don't want to get better, you are just lazy, you enjoy the attention that 'fibromyalgia' brings to you, etc..." Over the years of practicing healthcare I have since changed my thoughts, partly due to seeing patients suffering from "fibromyalgia" gradually get worse year after year and partly due to new research and training in the field of neurology.

Here is the good news. If there ever is a good time to have it, now is the time. Over the last couple of years we have learned how to treat it effectively with a five front attack. We attack this problem on five fronts to get the best results.

The first point of attack is through brain based treatment. This helps "reprogram" the bad brain reflexes. This is accomplished by stimulating the nervous unilaterally.

The second point of attack is by non-surgical spinal decompression (NSSD). This helps two different issues. Usually the fibromyalgia patient suffers from neck and/or back problems such as stenosis, bulges, herniations, arthritis, degeneration and spinal aging. NSSD can actually help all of these conditions and sometimes reverse some of the wear and tear on the spine. Secondly NSSD helps stimulate the brain by the slow and steady stretch on the spine.

The next way to attack and treat fibromyalgia is by the administering high concentration of oxygen. I test patient oxygen levels through an Ohmeda TuffSat. This device tests both the SPO2 (specific oxygen level) and the PIr® (perfusion index). The former measures the amount of oxygen in the blood. Cardiologically we would like the SPO2 to be at 90% or above. Neurologically we like the SPO2 to be at 98% or above. The brain needs more oxygen then any other part of the body. The latter measures the amount of oxygen in the cells. We want this number to be at 3.0 or above. Every fibromyalgia patient I have ever checked has been low in one or usually both of these numbers. The oxygen treatment also helps with two different issues like the NSSD. It helps disc problems heal up faster and better. And NSSD also helps the brain optimize its function.

The fourth point of attack is nutritionally. It doesn't matter how good of a job we have done with reprogramming the brain and raising the oxygen availability to the brain if the body doesn't have the correct structural components to rebuild itself. I liken this process to a house that has been damaged due to a storm. You can hire the best contractor to rebuild your house and have the best architectural drawings to work from, but it you don't have the good quality building materials, you can't rebuild the house correctly.

The last point of attack is related to the fourth point. Lastly I sit down with the patient and explain some dietary guidelines to use. I again am more concerned with making sure they are receiving certain nutrients. I am not as concerned with avoiding specific things such as junk food, but the better you can eat, the better overall it is for your recovery process.

My fibromyalgia recovery program lasts six months. Initially I treat the patient three times per week. As they improve, I gradually reduce the frequency of treatment. It is very important to keep in mind that this condition comes on over a period of time and heals up over a period of time. The natural inclination is to try and heal this up as fast as possible. But just like any activity, if you do too much you will get worse. If we do too much treatment at a time you will also get worse. I tell all my patients that we are just going to take baby steps to get to the point of recovery.

Keep in mind, fibromyalgia is REAL and fibromyalgia is REVERSIBLE.

Spinal Decompression: Using Spinal Decompression For The Relief Of Back And Neck Pain

There are many different kinds of treatment offered by chiropractors in Atlanta. Most chiropractors are trained in numerous "techniques" of treatment. Each doctor will develop interests in different treatments, depending upon judgments (s)he makes about the relative merits of each treatment.

The evolution of my perspective on the cause and best treatments for neck and back pain was heavily influenced by my personal experience with intractable low back pain during my chiropractic education. Early in my schooling I injured my low back doing weight-training activity.

After about one year of unsuccessful, sporadic treatment I inferred I had a herniated disc. This occurred about the time that MRI scanners were being developed (1983). After six years of limping with sciatic pain I opted to have the least invasive surgery I could at that time- a percutaneous discectomy (done in Nashville,TN). That procedure has largely, fallen out of favor, in favor of microdiscectomies, which are excellent procedures for the right patient.

The point is, that the relative importance on the status of the spinal disc in the etiology of back pain was not lost on me. In fact, it continues to preoccupy me, professionally, to this day.

The story of your spine, my spine and your neighbor's spine, is the story of our spinal discs. This story proceeds differently in different people but, generally, it goes like this. Discs exist between the bones of your spinal column. They are made of tough, fibrous tissue and contain a hydrated tissue inside. Discs accumulate tears and may bulge or herniate, i.e. the hydrated tissue may escape the confines of the disc. The escaping material may put pressure on nerves, causing pain to radiate down the arm or leg.

As the discs wear out, they lose water and get thinner/dehydrate. The thinner they get, the less cushion they provide the bones. The bones may become bone-on-bone and become swollen and discolored on MRI scans (Modic changes). Bones become misshapen, what we call, "arthritis" or degeneration or spondylosis. These changes take decades to occur and lead to pain and disability.

It has been clear, for a long time, that the spinal disc status is, largely, determinative of a given spine's pain and disability. That is why we have become so interested in MRI scans. The most commonly sought after information on spinal MRI scans is the status of the spinal disc.

The question is, "Can anything be done about improving a spinal disc, and a patient's short and long-term prognosis?"

Some recent studies are very interesting in this regard. One recent study, using CT scans has shown that discs can increase their hydration and size/cushion after a series of treatments that decompresses the disc by pulling it apart. This phenomenon was previously documented, anecdotally, by a medical radiologist that conducted MRI scans before and after such treatments with patients. Most importantly, patients improve, clinically, from this treatment.

In several other studies, radioisotopes were used to quantify the number of molecules that are made/synthesized by cells inside spinal discs which were treated by decompression. And the results documented 3 to 7x the number of reparative molecules are made by discs treated such. Other studies have shown that discs treated with decompression, increase the number of cells in them too. And these cells, in turn, make more reparative molecules.

As a gross structure, the spinal disc does not seem to have much regenerative potential. But on a microscopic and physiologic level, spinal discs appear to have a regenerative potential and that has proven to be clinically important. In other words, patients who are treated with this spinal decompression, generally improve significantly.

My life's, and clinical, experiences has lead me to a preoccupation of the spinal disc in my assessment and treatment approach to spinal pain. There are other, uncommon, causes of spinal pain, of course. But the vast majority of spinal pain is caused by the influence of time, gravity and genetics on our spines. If you haven't tried spinal decompression for your neck or back pain, you should consider it.

What Can Go Wrong With The Spine?

The thumbnail sized facet joints are situated in the back of the spine on either side. These articulating joints are at each level and allow the spine a very significant range of motion in many directions. At various levels of the spinal cord, which is situated inside the back part of each vertebrae and protected by the bones, nerve branches provide connections to one's arms and legs.

Quite a few conditions represent things that can go wrong with one's spine. The soft cushions between the vertebral bodies are called spinal disks, and are like jelly-filled donuts. They may get little tears or disk bulges; sometimes these tears result in larger cervical or lumbar disk herniations, and are large enough to press on spinal nerves. This results in burning down one's legs, called sciatica. If the pain is in the arms, the fancy term is radiculopathy for the pain.

Another condition that can push pressure on spinal nerves is from arthritis and represents bony and soft tissue overgrowth. This occurs usually in older patients.

What are the options for spine pain? Medications include simple over-the-counter analgesics to opioid narcotics, and in-between are medications that are different than what is traditionally seen. One type of medication is gabapentin, a neuropathic pain medication, which is usually given for epilepsy but often used for pain. Some antidepressants are used for relief of neuropathic painful conditions.

Along with medications, physical therapy is a very beneficial treatment for neck and back pain. That involves core strengthening, strengthening the stomach and the back muscles, the bladder floor, and the diaphragm. Chiropractic treatment has plenty of research to back it up for neck pain along with acute low back pain. Other treatments include spinal decompression, which is a revolutionary intermittent traction designed to provide increased nutrients to the disc for healing. Electrical stimulation, laser, ice and heat, and acupuncture may also provide substantial relief.

Apart from physical therapy, medications, and alternative treatments, a few injection options are available which can help avoid surgery and can be quite effective for spine pain. There are some studies backing up the use of cortisone shots to these facet joint areas; if it works and then wears off a follow up procedure called radio frequency ablation may be used. This may provide relief for over a year.

Another form of injection involves epidural treatments. In pain patients, these procedures are done with the addition of x-ray fluoroscopy, which helps locate the needle for more accurate placement. The idea is to provide some cortisone along with numbing medicine to irritated nerve roots and help simmer down on the swelling and alleviate sciatic, or radicular pain. It is typically quite effective.

There are 3 ways epidural injections are usually done. One is an intra-laminar approach, which is how the injections were done when epidural injections were first started. Another is a transforaminal approach, or a selective nerve root approach, where the medication is injected into the exiting tunnel in a more precise fashion. A third injection is called the caudal approach, which is above the coccyx in a small tunnel at the base of the sacrum.

What Is the Consensus on Mechanical Spinal Decompression?

Is spinal decompression a valuable treatment for back pain? In theory, distractive force applied to the lumbar spine that is significant enough will create negative pressure to the center of intervertebral discs.

This negative pressure creates a vacuum that reduces pressure on sensitive nerves and allows for nutrients and water to enter the void. After the spinal decompression is completed, theory holds that replacing the void with liquid reduces the pain from vertebrae compression.

Because intervertebral discs are known to have poor circulation, the decompression increases the opportunity for it to take place. Theory holds that this can improve such problems as lower back pain, disc degeneration, sciatica, disc herniations, and disc bulges. It has been documented by patients who have tried other treatments unsuccessfully that it improved their condition.

Origination of Spinal Decompression Treatment

Dr. Allan Dyer who holds both a PhD and an MD is the creator of a table he devised in the 1980s for his own herniated disc problem. He claimed to be completely free of pain after using his invention and introduced the Vax-D prototype in 1991. The original table worked with a pneumatic pump that applied and released traction.

In 2004, the system was upgraded to include computer control of an electrically driven system, which replaced the pneumatic pump. Other doctors and inventors have come forth to created similar devices that follow the same general theory. IDD (intervertebral differential dynamics) is a similar product.

How Effective is Mechanical Spinal Decompression

As with anything that doesn't have a long history of use, there are conflicting views of how much good comes from the use of the Vax-D and other inventions of a similar type. One study shows better than a 68% success rate, but the results were on a very limited number of individuals. Other studies have not been nearly as conclusive.

In both 2004 and 2005, reviews of the Vax-D and other powered traction devices did not indicate that they were effective in treating lower back pain for any of the known causes.

Again in 2006, a cumulative study, which took into account the ones of the former years as well as other sources for the use of motorized traction extending back to 1975, concluded that nothing had been proven. The report called for better testing methods and better standards by which to rate results.

While some patients claim they have had vast improvements in their physical situations, the scientific community as a whole does not currently embrace this assumption. For those who have experienced an improved condition, it is promising that further studies will reveal more positive information.

Because testing remains inconclusive, the implementation of improved standards for measuring results is warranted since the success rate is reported to be so high among individuals who have undergone spinal decompression treatment.

The Bad Effects of Video Games on Children

Most of the negative effects of video games on children are blamed on the violence they contain. A lot of experts say that children who often play violent games are more likely to grow up with similar violent behaviors. They are said to develop increased aggressive thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. They are said to develop less social and interpersonal skills, as well. Plenty of researchers also believe that a child's frequent exposure to violent video games may lead to alcohol consumption, destruction of school property, arrogant actions, and other delinquent behaviors in the future.

Children who play too much video games are often alone, lonely, and isolated. Other worthwhile activities such as reading, sports, studying, playing wholesome games, and interacting with family and friends are frequently neglected. And when a child spends less time on focusing with his studies and other school activities, his grades and school performance becomes highly affected. This might result in much low self-esteem and much less self-confidence.

Video games also might teach children the improper values and improper ways of thinking. In most of these games, children are often rewarded for being more violent and aggressive. The violence is often done repeatedly. And children tend to think that these repetitive actions are the right things to do because these games may also cause children to confuse fantasy and reality; after all, repetition is a key in training and sharpening a small child's memory. In addition, they often portray women as weaker characters that are sexually provocative and always helpless. These games also indicate that proper negotiations and other non-violent methods are not the right solutions to problems.

Rude gestures, frequent yelling, and bad language may also be picked up by children when playing violet online video games. And many believe that these games can be very addictive; thus, leading to a child's physical and mental health problems. Spending problems and time displacement that leads to frequently missed school days are also common issues. Obesity, video-induced seizures, and muscular and skeletal disorders such as tendonitis, nerve compression, and carpal tunnel syndrome; as well as, psychological disorders are among the many physical and mental health disorders that a child might acquire from playing too much video game. Furthermore, many experts also believe that video games do not exercise a child's imaginative thinking. So, he does not develop creativity which is essential for growing children like him.

The Basics of an FDA Clinical Trial

When a company decides to sponsor an FDA clinical trial, there are a few phases prior to approval for a particular indication. After the FDA gives approval to conduct the human aspect of studying the medication or a procedure, there is a particular method performing the study to make it valid.

The studies are actually really expensive and have a high risk but high reward for a sponsoring company. They may not be high risk for the patients involved, what I am referring to is the expense weighted against whether or not there's going to show significant improvement in the disease process with what is being studied.

Let's use an example of a stem cell injections study for low back pain. This is actually a real example, as there is an Australian company performing a stem cell injection study for degenerative disc disease at multiple sites in the United States.

In order to show that the treatment works and gets approved by the FDA, the company needs to set up the study with comparison against another treatment. This may be the current gold standard for treatment of the condition, or it may be what is known as a placebo. In the case of the stem cell injection clinical trial, the regenerative medicine injection being studied is being compared versus a placebo. The placebo may simply be saline or a liquid with no medication whatsoever. This should not have a true affect on patients, but it is well-known that it does approximately 30% of the time.

When a patient meets the inclusion criteria for the FDA clinical trial, they will end up being randomized into one of the two groups. Sometimes this comes out of an envelope, or a computer generated sequence ends up telling which treatment the patient ends up receiving.

The usual method is that if 100 patients are being selected for a clinical trial, then 50 will be in the treatment group and the other 50 will end up being in the placebo group with randomization taking place to make sure there's no bias in selection.

For the stem cell treatment clinical trial, patients are then followed at regular intervals checking both objective information along with subjective information. This would mean looking to see how much pain medication the patients are requiring after the injection, and also checking to see what their pain scale scores are as the study moves along. Any adverse events from the injections are noted, and if there is a truly serious situation then the FDA would be notified immediately.

There are fairly strict criteria for who can qualify for an FDA clinical trial. For instance in the stem cell clinical trial, patients need to have degenerative disc disease at only one level. Along with this, patients need to have over 70% of their pain situated in the low back and not more than 30% down into their legs.

Once the enrollment is complete, usually the study is closed. There are times when patients can still be enrolled as a humanitarian exemption. The timeframe for follow up on an FDA clinical trial will vary somewhat, with medical devices the typical for timeframe is two years. With biological substances such as stem cell injections, the timeframe would be substantially less, maybe one year.

Once the study follow up is completed, it is up to the funding company to make sure that the proper reporting is in with the FDA. The results can be published in peer-reviewed journals, and often make for excellent publications because they are what it's called level one evidence studies. This means they are prospective and randomized. With a study such as the stem cell injections, there will also be double blinded. This means neither the pain management doctor nor the patient in study will not know exactly what is being injected.

The FDA clinical trial process is expensive and uses up a lot of resources, but it can pay off huge dividends for a company if the treatment works and the FDA approves the product.