Suffering from mild or severe neck pain and lower back pain? Do you have trouble sitting or standing for long periods of time?  Have you experienced sharp shooting pain that goes down your arm or leg? Ever felt pins and needles in your arms or legs, or even numbness and tingling in your fingertips or feet?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, spinal decompression therapy may be the right treatment plan for you.

Neck and lower back pain can greatly affect daily life and can make sitting at a desk, long car rides, playing with children, sleeping or practically any activity very uncomfortable. Thankfully, there is a non-surgical and non-medicated approach to correcting the issue called Spinal Decompression Therapy.

Spinal Decompression Therapy is designed to relieve nerve compression in the spine. This gentle stretch helps relieve pressure and realign the spine in order to reduce those unbearable symptoms. In addition, once the spine is properly aligned, blood flow will increase, reducing swelling and inflammation of the problem area. This then allows the body to be more mobile, or, as a provider will say, increases your range of motion,  for easier movement and functionality of the body.

Methods of Spinal Decompression Therapy include:

• Manual manipulation of the spine by a Chiropractor

• Typically patients will lie on their back or side and a chiropractor will apply pressure to realign the spine to its proper form. Sometimes a patient may hear a popping sound which indicates air pockets being added into those tight or compressed spaces of the body.

• Therapeutic stretching, exercises and techniques performed by a Physical Therapist

• Maintaining proper spacing in between your bones and joints is crucial to living a pain free lifestyle. To do so, physical therapists work hand in hand with chiropractors. Once the chiropractor decompresses the spine, a physical therapist strengthens the muscles responsible for supporting the spine’s proper alignment.

• Mechanical stretching with a Traction Machine

• This special machine gently stretches the body to decrease compression of the spine. The patient will lie on their back and have a harness placed around their hips, ankles and/or chin and back of the neck. The upper and lower straps will slowly move in opposite directions to gently stretch the spine and decompress the nerve in an effort to decrease disc bulge and herniation.

Seeking professional medical help at the start of your symptoms can be very beneficial for your future. Allowing symptoms to persist for a long period of time can cause chronic pain and even irreversible conditions. Here are some of the common neck and back conditions associated with chronic pain:

• Bulging Disc
• Herniated Disc
• Pinched Nerve
• Sciatica
• Degenerative Disc Disease
• Arthritis
• Facet Syndrome
• Failed Spinal Surgery

Keep in mind, Spinal Decompression Therapy is not for everyone. Diagnostic tests, such as an x-ray, MRI or Ct-scan are required for a proper and full examination. To verify if spinal decompression therapy is the right treatment plan for you, it is best to consult with a chiropractic physician or physical therapist. The chiropractors and physical therapists at Denville Medical and Sports Rehabilitation Center will complete a full body examination and review your past medical history before performing any treatment. Identifying the root cause of the pain at the forefront is statistically known to have better and faster relief and more successful results. To schedule a consultation with the experienced staff of chiropractors or physical therapists  at Denville Medical and Sports Rehabilitation Center click the link below.