Spinal Decompression - Page 2
Non-surgical spinal decompression is a hot topic in back pain reduction. Chiropractic spinal manipulation using flexion - distraction (F/D) allows - and is - spinal decompression.
from WebMD (3/23/11): "Spinal decompression works by gently stretching the spine. That changes the force and position of the spine. This will take pressure off the spinal disks, which are gel-like cushions between the bones in your spine.
Over time, negative pressure from this therapy may cause bulging or herniated disks to retract. That can take pressure off the nerves and other structures in your spine. This in turn, helps promote movement of water, oxygen, and nutrient-rich fluids into the disks so they can heal."
In the same article, the author poses that spinal decompression needs to be compared to less expensive non-surgical alternatives like chiropractic and others.
Chiropractic Spinal Decompression:
In chiropractic, Flexion / Distraction is documented effective. Researchers and clinicians conduct and publish biomechanical and clinical outcomes. Such outcomes come from private practitioners' offices as well as federally funded, multi-disciplinary, multi-facility, randomized clinical control trials. Chiropractic's Flexion / Distraction spinal manipulation protocols are documented in textbooks and journals and its clinical outcomes are published in same. (1,2,3,4,5)
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Biomechanically (6), F/D drops intradiscal pressures to as low as as -192mmHG pressure, widens the spinal canal area as much as 28% and increases the intervertebral foramen 2mm. (7) F/D as non-surgical spinal decompression takes pressure off spinal disks and nerves.
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Clinically, F/D achieves results on average in 12 visits and 29 days. (8) 91% of patients find relief in less than 90 days, keeping back pain sufferers from entering the more expensive realm of chronic pain. (8) Compared to medical conservative care, primarily physical therapy, F/D relieves radiculopathy pain superiorly. (9) Further, F/D patients sought less care (3) and reported less pain (4) in the following year the study than did the PT patients.
Effectiveness and Cost
Chiropractic spinal decompression is available as spinal manipulation in the form of F/D. Chiropractic spinal decompression in the form of Flexion / Distraction is billable as spinal manipulation; it is chiropractic which recent published reports show as costing less than 2% of the total cost to treat a lumbar herniated disc (10) and costing 40% less than medical doctor initiated care for back pain. (11)
Consider Flexion -Distraction Technic for less expensive, effective, evidence-based, non-surgical spinal decompression.