What is Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Spinal decompression therapy has been gaining popularity over the recent years.  And there is a question by many whether or not it realy works.  First lets start by explaining what spinal compression is. Starting from the day we are born gravity begins messing with our bodies and this includes our spines.  There is a spinal disc in between each vertabra.  As we grow in size and age our spine slowly compresses on our spinal disc due to gravity and other factors in our lives.  Discs that are compressed  can lead to pain and discomfort.

The real problem and pain can happen in a number of different ways. The most common are Bulging disc, Herniated discs, degenerative discs or sciatica. With a bulging disc or herniated disc the pain happens when the spinal disc either bulges or herniates and is pushed outside of the vertebra and any movement will then pinch that disc. With degenerative discs the disc isn't pushed outside the vertebra but the disc loses its height which means the vertebra are closer together and means that the nerves get compressed and also causes back pain. For sciatica you will have a sharp pain in your butt / hip area and possibly tingling or numbness in your legs and with this you will need some sort of sciatic nerve relief quickly. Now Spinal Decompression is a type of therapy that doesn't require surgery or a chiropractor and is a process that as the word implies decompress the spinal disc or reverses the compression, which in turn is supposed to reduce the pain or discomfort in the back because the spinal disc gets pulled back into place. One question I'm sure is on everyone's minds is does spinal decompression work? First lets take a look at the methods.

Mechanical Pelvic Traction

This is one of the more common methods for decompression spinal therapy around. Its table that you lie on your back and the table has two straps. One goes around your chest and the other goes around your hips. Then basically your body is pulled in opposite directions. This elongates the body and decompresses the spine. This session last between 5 to 10 minutes and can provide relief right away in some instances.

Manual Distraction

Similar to above but as the title says its done manually by the therapist. The therapist will pull on your legs while pushing down on your back at the same time and decompressing this way.

Inversion Therapy

This is a therapy that has been around forever. It can be done a number of ways. The main way is on an inversion table. This table at rest is at a 45 degree angle and you climb in and secure your feet at the bottom and then you swivel yourself as far back as you can handle. This takes the weight of you upper body and uses gravity in the opposite way decompressing your spine. This is a low cost way that has had positive results for many people over the years. You can purchase these tables from anywhere between $200 – $500 or you can visit your physical therapist or chiropractor. Besides these tables there are other ways to perform inversion therapy by using smaller devices one being a swiss ball for example.

Automated Spinal Decompression

This method is all done automatically on these cool high tech machines one example is the DRX9000 spinal decompression machine. This method is a fairly new method and has mixed results as far as the research I have done. One of the big drawbacks is the price of the treatment. On average this type of treatment will cost aprox $5000 dollars, and the majority of medical insurances out there will not cover any of it. Obviously this has to be taken case by case by individuals insurance programs. The operator enters in the patient info into the computer based on a MRI or diagnosis by the physical therapist and the machine takes it from there. The machine will do the rest.

To get back to the question of does it work I think like most things in life the answer is different for different people. I know some people that swear by the manual methods such manual distraction and inversion. I have just recently started using the inversion table at my chiropractor and that definitely has provided relief.  But at this poin I can't say if its just short term or if it will be long term.  I haven't come across anyone I know that has used the automated machines but I have read mixed reviews while doing my own research.

So there you have it, a few different ways to perform Spinal Decompression. I am by no means a physical therapist or chiropractor. But I have had back problems over the years and have visited a few chiropractors. And in my opinion I would definitely recommend the lower cost methods before even thinking about the automated spinal decompression therapy. Obviously you will want to check with your own physician and check out a few different chiropractors to get there opinions.

Take a look below at the two videos. The first one talks about alternative methods to the higher cost Automated Machines such as the Drx9000. The second video shows some info on the DRX9000 machine.