In case you’ve never heard of it, spinal decompression is a relatively new treatment for pain and other symptoms caused by herniated and degenerated spinal discs. I have been involved in providing spinal decompression in Raleigh, NC for the past few years, and although it is quickly becoming more accepted, there still exists considerable doubt and controversy about the effects of this type of treatment. Although many patients and doctors alike have been very pleased with the results of spinal decompression, some still think it is just an elaborate and expensive hoax.
As with all treatments for spinal disc herniation and degeneration, spinal decompression is far from being a panacea. It cannot be used on every patient and despite the fact that it does provide a statistically higher chance of getting good results than any other type of disc treatment available, it is not 100% effective.
Because spinal decompression does not work 100% of the time, and because some providers use a lot of hype in their promotion of this form of treatment, there are bound to be a few patients who are disappointed in the outcome of their treatment. This disappointment comes out in the occasional forum and blog posts that I’ve seen in which a few individuals did not get good results proclaim the treatment to be universally worthless.
The reality is, spinal decompression works extremely well for the vast majority of patients with bulging or herniated discs with or without mild to moderate disc degeneration. It offers a significantly higher success rate than spinal injections and surgery and is considerably safer than these methods of treatment when used appropriately.
I know that some doctors are still of the opinion that spinal decompression only provides temporary symptom relief and that most patients will need disc surgery eventually anyway. This is not the case at all.
There is now considerable evidence in the form of pre and post spinal decompression treatment MRI scans that decompression does in fact make positive changes in the discs. In the majority of cases of disc herniation, the amount of disc bulge is significantly decreased with a series of spinal decompression treatments. This provides objective evidence of the claim that spinal decompression actually promotes disc healing, not just short-term symptom improvement.
Every patient is somewhat different, but my experiences in my Raleigh spinal decompression office have shown me that the majority of patients get lasting improvement, are able to resume normal activities, and are able to avoid disc surgery. Most of the patients I have treated with spinal decompression are now enjoying life much more and have been very happy with their results. Give us a call at (919) 845-0200 to schedule your introductory exam today.
