OVERVIEW OF SPINAL TRACTION and DECOMPRESSION
Everything what you want to know about back pain relief.
OVERVIEW OF SPINAL TRACTION and DECOMPRESSION
Spinal traction, also known as spinal decompression, is a procedure that is used by physical therapist and professional chiropractors that aids in stretching the spine and creating space between the vertebrae and discs in the spine. This treatment benefits to patients who are suffering from degenerative spine conditions that may result in the compression of the spine, such as spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis. This procedure has very few potential side effects or risks, thus this treatment is a common method used to get relief from back pain.
So if you have been diagnosed with a serious spine condition or suffering from chronic pain in your back, then it is a must to schedule an appointment with the doctor and start a spinal traction procedure. Your doctor will help in determining that whether or not spinal traction would be effective for you depending on the severity and type of spine condition you have. This treatment plan is beneficial for patients who are diagnosed with the following conditions:
· Herniated disc
· Spinal stenosis
· Spondylolisthesis
· Arthritis of the spine
· Spondylosis
This treatment for back pain can be done both mechanically as well as manually, as per the preference of the patient and the physician.
· Manual spinal traction
In this procedure, hands are used for elongating the spine. The therapist first stretch and then pushes the spine and the muscles to help in creating space between the vertebrae and disc. This kind of spinal decompression is effective for patients suffering from mild spine compression.
· Machine spinal traction
This is the most common form of treatment for back pain relief. During this procedure, the patient lies on a table on his back with an elastic strap around the waist. Now the machine gently and slowly stretches the spine, causing any compressed joints or discs to be released because the vertebrae are moving into their correct position.
· Inversion tables and Nubax trio:
These two can be used at home but should be used in the same way as the guidelines otherwise it can provide more harm than good. Inversion table uses the body mass as well as the force of gravity to stretch the spine. Nubax trio is easy to use, just sit on your knees with the shoulder joint on the pads and you just have to move a little forward and have to be used about 5 minutes per day. It is more effective than the inversion table.
These types of exercises can be performed at home and are very effective for pain relief if conducted appropriately as recommended by the physician. Do not use these techniques if pregnant, have broken vertebra, suffering from osteopenia or osteoporosis etc.
· Stretching exercise at home
A backache is a major health problem worldwide and spinal traction is one of the noninvasive methods for its relief. Spinal traction works by stretching the spine causing decompression of the intervertebral discs or pinched nerves if any and allowing nutrients to enter the spine thus promoting the health of the spine. Physiotherapy sessions are effective in about 91 percent of the individuals, but they may cost a little too much for some people. Certain techniques can be tried at home for mild to moderate pain but before conducting this at home, it is wise to discuss your condition thoroughly with the physician and follow his prescribed method. These methods include certain exercises with or without traction devices:
· Cat and dog stretch:
This is one of the cores strengthening exercises. Get down on all the four limbs with knees widely apart from each other and arms fully extended in line with shoulders, bend your spine away from the floor and remain in this posture for 4 or 5 seconds, now bend the spine towards the floor for another five seconds and repeat this four times.
· Back stretch exercise:
This exercise can be added to your yoga routine. Lie horizontally on your back with knees on your chest and arms wrapped around them. Raise your head towards the chest and move side to side for some extra massage of the spine. Remain in this posture for about the full minute and repeat after 30 seconds of rest.
· Legs up posture:
This exercise is very effective for chronic back pain. Lie on your back on the floor facing a wall in such a way that your hips touch the wall and legs and thighs are perpendicular to rest of the body with or without a slight bending of the knees. Remain in this posture for about minute and a half and repeat 3 or 4 times with 15 seconds of rest after each try.
· Cobra pose:
Lie horizontally on your stomach and chest with legs spread apart from each other and thigh pressing the floor in an outward direction, now raise the head and the chest keeping your arms straight making an angle of 90 degrees. Stretch the spine and wait in this posture for 90 seconds, rest for 15 seconds and repeat for four or five times.
· Child pose:
It is a sitting posture exercise. Sit on your bent knees with arms positioned beside your legs, lower your head, and move your upper body in a forward direction holding it for few seconds and repeat.
· Some other suggestions for back pain relief
Chronic back pain can be caused due to a number of reasons. Of many causes known, vertebral disc compression is now turning out to be one of the major factors of the back aches. Back pain caused by vertebral disc compression can be very disturbing as it hinders the daily life activities of an individual and at times can be very painful. The best method for treating this kind of back pain is through vertebral disc decompression, which can be both surgical and non-surgical. Although more clinical evidence is needed to further authenticate the efficiency of these methods, but, some clinical research programs suggest it to have shown positive results.
How it is done:
The procedure is a motorized traction that aims to create a negative intra disc pressure in order to cause traction. This facilitates the herniated disc to be repositioned. The principles of vertebral disc decompression and spinal traction are essentially the same and the principle has been used for treating back ache for years.
The basic principle is to stretch the spine in a gentle manner so that the pain can be gradually relieved. By this stretching, position of the spine can be adequately adjusted. This consequently results in the decreased pressure on the vertebral discs. These discs are cushion like bodies filled with a gel like substance that helps in providing stability to the back and also act as shock absorbers. This decrease in the pressure results in the retraction of the bulging discs or the herniated discs. The retraction then helps in the removal of the pressure that is being applied on nerves and other structures around the spine and thus the pain is relieved. This removal of pressure also helps in better movement of oxygen and nutrients to the discs and thus they can heal rapidly.
The whole process takes less than an hour and has proved to be really effective in the treatment of the back pain relief.
Benefits of Vertebral Disc Decompression:
Following important goals have been achieved through vertebral disc decompression:
· Healing of bulging discs
· Retraction of herniated discs
· Healing of degenerating discs
· Lowering of intradiscal pressure
· Treatment of sciatica
· Neck pain and back pain relief
· Damaged spinal nerve roots
· Diseases of spinal joints
Bottom Line:
Vertebral disc compression is turning out to be one of the biggest causes of neck and back ache problems. The best method for its treatment is the decompression therapy, which can be both surgical and non-surgical. Although more clinical evidence and research is needed to further validate the method, it has been really effective in treating the bulging discs and other disc problems that cause back ache.
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