5 Reasons to Consider Spinal Decompression Therapy in Lake in the Hills

5 Reasons to Consider Spinal Decompression Therapy in Lake In The Hills

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Back injuries are among the most common causes of pain and disability in the US. If your injury impacted your spinal discs, facet joints, or nerve roots, spinal decompression therapy in Lake in the Hills might be your best treatment option.

Spinal decompression therapy is motorized traction that uses a computer-controlled table to stretch the spine. It’s the only type of traction proven to create negative pressures between vertebrae. This allows it to change the physiology of the joints and disc space and encourage healing. It’s among the safest treatments available and boasts a success rate of up to 89%.

Here are five reasons to consider treating your back pain with decompression therapy in Lake in the Hills.

1. It Helps You Heal Faster in Lake in the Hills

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The healing process consists of four steps. During the first two steps, the body stops bleeding and sends specialized immune cells to clean up the area -- this is when inflammation occurs. The next two steps focus on creating and strengthening new tissues to repair the damage. All stages of the healing process require a blood supply to bring in specialized cells, chemical messengers that stimulate cell processes, and oxygen and nutrients. Areas of the body that don’t receive a robust blood supply often heal slowly or experience a stalled healing process.

Unfortunately, the areas between the vertebrae, where the spinal discs are located, and joints throughout the body (including facet joints) don’t receive much blood flow. That’s why an acute injury to the discs can be painful for months. It’s also the reason joints are prone to degeneration and arthritis.

Spinal decompression therapy heals herniated discs, irritated nerve roots, and damaged joints by bringing vital blood supply to the area. The vacuum effect of negative pressures frees blood vessels to bring more blood and nutrients to the injury, helping it to heal faster. This vacuum effect also sucks bulging discs back into place and cleans up leaking disc fluid. It can even rehydrate flattened discs and slow the degenerative process. No other treatment creates such a profound physiologic change in the disc space.

2. Spinal Decompression Therapy can Prevent Pain From Becoming Chronic

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Many people live with chronic back pain that could have been fixed with the correct treatment. Unfortunately, our health system often relies on addictive and ineffective drugs instead of treatments that fix the underlying problem. Patients with a bulging disc that’s compressing nerves will continue to experience pain as long as that disc is out of place. People suffering from a stalled healing cycle can continue to experience inflammation and pain from an acute injury that should have healed completely.

Spinal decompression therapy can fix these underlying injuries so your body can heal. It moves bulging discs back into place and helps to kick start a stalled healing cycle. Seeking treatment soon after an injury can prevent your pain from becoming chronic, but decompression therapy can also help with old injuries.

3. It Treats Long-Term Condition

Some degenerative conditions like age or injury-related disc degeneration or arthritis of the facet joints (facet syndrome) cannot be reversed or cured. That doesn’t mean patients with these conditions must live with debilitating pain. These problems can be effectively managed with spinal decompression therapy.

Decompression therapy reduces inflammation, which in turn decreases pain. It can even help with nerve pain since inflammation is often responsible for compressing or irritating nerve roots. Decompression also rehydrates the disc. This doesn’t mean it can take a flattened disc and return it to “like new,” but it can plump discs enough to take some pressure off nerves.

The pain associated with facet syndrome is typically driven by inflammation and its impact on nearby nerves. By bringing blood flow and nutrients to the area, spinal decompression allows the body to reduce inflammation and calm triggered nerves. The result is less pain and improved quality of life for patients with degenerative conditions.

4. Decompression Therapy can Prevent Surgery

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Patients with chronic back pain often spend years trying different treatments, only to find that they are still in pain. At this point, many opt for surgery, hoping it will lead to permanent relief. Research shows that up to 75% of these patients are disappointed. Even if back surgery works, it’s a risky and expensive undertaking.

Spinal decompression therapy works for many patients who have tried other treatments in vain. It can help these patients achieve enough pain relief to return to everyday life without resorting to surgery. The reason it’s so effective is simple; many patients are dealing with disc or facet joint issues that haven’t been correctly diagnosed. Other treatments don’t heal these underlying issues or change the physiology of the intervertebral space. After experiencing treatment that targets these areas, patients find that their pain decreases and surgery is no longer necessary.

5. Spinal Decompression Therapy Treats Failed Back Surgery

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Since around 75 % of back surgeries fail, many patients find themselves seeking out treatments after surgery. One of the reasons back surgery fails is misdiagnosis. It’s not uncommon for surgery to be performed on the wrong section of the spine! Even when the operation targets the right area, it’s common for the surgeon to create too much or insufficient space around nerves. This leads to chronic nerve pain after surgery.

Spinal decompression can treat large sections of the spine and is less likely to miss the section where the problem disc or joint is located. Sometimes even the best scans miss areas of inflammation or cannot pick up on irritated nerves. In order for a surgeon to treat the problem, he has to see it. Since decompression therapy doesn’t depend on this, it can help even if your injury isn’t apparent on an MRI.

If you had back surgery over six months ago and didn’t have any hardware implants or a spinal fusion, you may be a candidate for spinal decompression therapy.

At Precise Chiropractic Center, our experienced providers have been helping people find relief with spinal decompression therapy for years. We’ve seen the difference it makes in our patients' lives. Schedule a consultation today to find out if spinal decompression therapy is right for you.