Thursday, August 11, 2011

Herniated Discs and Spinal Decompression


As an NYC pain relief center, Living Well Medical and all of our therapists, chiropractors and doctors are intimately familiar with the causes of back and neck pain; some of us have even gone through that pain ourselves in addition to having treated it before. Among the most notorious of the conditions we treat is the herniated disc - it regularly takes our patients out of the flow of their lives and steals productivity, activity and general happiness. Having seen this so many times, it’s no surprise that Living Well Medical has become a place of expertise for the non-surgical treatment of this condition. Today, I wanted to talk a little bit about a particular technology we use to treatment disc herniations of the back and neck called spinal decompression and how it works. Hopefully, if a herniated disc is causing you pain, you will see that there are options to becoming pain free that don’t involve a surgical center.

As many of you likely know, a herniated disc is a problem that occurs when the inner portion of a spinal disc pushes outward into the spinal canal. It’s not uncommon for that protrusion to compress spinal nerves causing inflammation, pain and potential disability. What’s more, spinal injuries and problems of this sort typically take long periods of time to heal because many of the smaller structures of the spine like intervertebral discs are largely avascular and have little blood supply with which to obtain nutrients that can aid in repairs.

At our office, we use the DRX 9000 spinal decompression system. During treatment with the DRX 9000, a patient will lie down on a table and be specially harnessed to the device. A specific program is created to only target the discs that are herniated and causing pain. When the program is run, a precise stretch is applied to the spine, lengthening the spine and creating more space between the vertebrae. This takes pressure off of the disc; reduced load on the disc enables it to more easily bring in those desperately needed fluids and nutrients.

Spinal decompression seeks to lend support to the natural healing process, so it is completely non-invasive. Over a series of treatment sessions, the herniation can be made to return to its original position in the disc, relieving pain and restoring proper function. However, it’s important to note that spinal decompression is not for everyone and results will vary from person to person. People who have had spinal fusion surgery in the past are unfortunately not candidates for decompression with the DRX 9000.

For more information on pain treatment at Living Well Medical in NYC or on spinal decompression, give our office a call at 212-645-8151. We’re here to help when you need us.

- Dr. Shoshany, NYC Chiropractor