What is Decompression Therapy?
Generally speaking, “decompression therapy”, “back decompression” or “spinal decompression” refers to procedures that would provide treatment or pain relief through the removal of pressure or impingement on nerves that branch out from the spinal cord.
When Is Decompression Therapy Necessary?
Spinal decompression therapy is particularly performed, with a spinal decompression machine, in chronic back pain that result from the following conditions…
- Bulging discs
- Herniated discs
- Sciatica
- Stenosis of the Spine
- Isthmic and Degenerative Spondylolisthesis (Instability in the spine caused by degenerative changes)
Surgical and Non-Surgical Decompression Therapy
There are two ways by which spinal decompression could be achieved: surgically and non-surgically. Non-surgical spinal decompression may involve a specialized massage that is characteristic of osteopathic and chiropractic spinal manipulation. It may also involve the use of specialized tables like the VAX D and the DRX9000, which will be discussed separately.
Surgical spinal decompression is achieved through two procedures. The first is microdiscectomy (also known as microdecompression). This minimally-invasive procedure involves removing the herniated portion of the nucleus pulposus (the soft, jelly-like center of the intervertebral disc) with a laser while using a loupe or an operating room microscope to magnify the operative site.
The second procedure is called laminectomy, which involves removing a small portion of the arch of a lumbar vertebra to relieve pressure upon a pinched nerve. An open, and thus invasive, procedure, there is a greater risk of complications in comparison to endoscopic spine surgeries. In most patients, a minimally-invasive laminotomy has produced the same results as a laminectomy.
Presently, surgical spinal decompression therapy is an elective procedure for chronic low back pain if relieve could not be achieved through conservative and non-surgical spine decompression methods.
