Spinal Decompression Therapy: Benefits vs. Risks

When our team at Spine Care of Manassas Chiropractic Center determines that a disc problem is behind your disruptive neck pain, persistent lower back pain, or disabling leg pain, we may recommend spinal decompression therapy as part of your treatment plan.  

Here, Dr. Lincoln German and Dr. Mikaela Foley explain how spinal decompression works to address disc-related pain conditions, explore its benefits, and outline its potential risks.  

Spinal decompression therapy 101

Spinal decompression therapy aims to ease disc-related pain by relieving abnormal areas of compression within the spine that cause nerve pressure. This custom treatment involves lying on a special traction table — the upper part of the table is fixed, and the lower part is mobile. 

When you have spinal decompression to treat a problem in your lower back, you lie on the table, and we place a harness around your hips. The other end of the harness is attached to the motorized end of the table, which gently slides back and forth when activated.   

The table cycles through brief, precision pull forces, followed by intermittent periods of relaxation. This controlled stretch-release action promotes rapid pain relief through restored space and pressure release for specific spinal discs and nerve roots.

Benefits of spinal decompression 

When it comes to addressing discomfort related to a bulging, herniated, or compressed disc, spinal decompression has numerous therapeutic advantages. 

A versatile technique

Spinal decompression therapy is highly versatile. We can use it to treat: 

• A bulging or herniated disc in your lumbar spine (lower back)
• Sciatic nerve root impingement from a herniated disc (sciatica)
• A nerve pinched by a slipped disc in your cervical spine (neck)
• Degenerative disc disease, or progressive spinal disc stiffening
• Facet joint syndrome, or the degeneration of your spinal joints    

Spinal decompression therapy works gradually, throughout several sessions, to deliver ever-increasing function and pain relief as your condition improves.  

Holistic healing 

Spinal decompression is also holistic, meaning it works with your body to foster healing at the source of your pain. The table’s rhythmic stretching creates a light “negative pressure” force that momentarily contracts the targeted discs, like a reverse vacuum. 

This effectively pulls herniated material back into an injured disc, prompting an influx of oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood into the disc at the same time. This action creates a more healing environment for the previously compressed structures. 

Drug-free pain relief

By physically decreasing intradiscal pressure and reducing nerve compression and pinching, spinal decompression therapy works on a physiological level to alleviate pain at its source. This is in stark contrast to pain relievers, which only mask pain temporarily. 

Non-surgical care

The goal of noninvasive spinal decompression is to improve your condition, stop its progression, and alleviate pain — without surgery. If it works as expected, it may even help prevent the need for future surgery. 

Spinal decompression may be used early on, well before surgery is a possible option, or it may be used once you haven’t attained sufficient relief from a stepped care approach (i.e., physical therapy, postural rehabilitation, massage, chiropractic care, cold laser therapy). 

Individualized approach 

Spinal decompression is a fully individualized treatment using advanced computer software to direct the traction table’s stretch-release motion precisely. 

To ensure the decompression action is tailored to your needs, we input several treatment-determinant factors — like your body weight, pain sensitivity level, condition, and symptoms — into the system to control the table’s actions.  

Drawbacks of spinal decompression 

As helpful as spinal decompression can be in the right circumstances, it’s not an ideal solution in every case. For those who can benefit from this therapy, risks, and side effects are minimal — the most common adverse reaction to treatment is mild, dull achiness for a day or two as the body adjusts to being stretched and decompressed.  

Rare side effects

Rarely, people with radiating leg pain may experience aggravated symptoms from spinal decompression, while others experience muscle spasms or pain during the stretching action. Such reactions indicate that the patient isn’t a good candidate for the treatment and that the therapy shouldn’t continue. 

Contraindications 

The key to avoiding these risks is ensuring that spinal decompression is an appropriate therapy in each case it’s considered for. Pregnant women can’t have the treatment, for example, because it places too much pressure on the abdomen.

Other factors that disqualify spinal decompression as an option include:

• Any form of spinal instability
• A previous spinal fusion surgery
• A previous failed back surgery
• Screws or plates in the spine
• Severe spinal nerve damage
• Blood thinner medication use  
• A history of aortic aneurysm  

Disqualifying conditions that compromise spinal stability include osteoporosis, broken vertebrae, spondylolisthesis, ankylosing spondylitis, spinal stenosis, or a spinal tumor. 

Is spinal decompression right for you?

If you have disc-related pain — and a comprehensive evaluation with diagnostic imaging shows you don’t have any contraindications — spinal decompression may be the key to lasting relief. 

Ready to learn more? Call or click online today to schedule an appointment at the Spine Care of Manassas Chiropractic Center Manassas, Virginia, office.