Many different forms of traction have been used for years by registered physiotherapists for the treatment and effective management of low back pain and neck pain. Today, we can offer traction or decompression that is more specific, able to focus treatment towards one or two levels in your spine that are causing your pain, and preventing you from doing the things you love to do.
What conditions can spinal decompression help?
Spinal decompression effectively treats an injury to your discs, irritation to the nerves in your spine (pinched nerves or sciatica), and facet joint pain secondary to arthritis or degeneration.
When your disc is irritated, injured, or degenerative, the gel-like substance in the centre of the disc loses its hydration and the disc itself becomes flatter. This puts more force through your facet joints causing degeneration and pain, and creates less space for the nerves as they exit through the lateral foramen or canal at each level of your spine. Once there is less space for your nerves, they are susceptible to being pinched during your regular daily activities, like lifting grocery bags or suitcases, moving furniture, doing yard work, or a sudden movement like falling or slipping. Once your nerve becomes pinched, it becomes swollen, which creates even less space for the nerve, and causes more compression and pain. Damaged discs are difficult to treat, as they are under constant pressure while we are moving around, and even when we are at rest.
How does spinal decompression work?
Decompression or traction is an effective way to unload the spine, take the pressure off of a nerve, and re-hydrate and restore the disc.
The gentle pull of spinal decompression creates a negative pressure, which reduces the intradiscal pressure of the disc, and causes fluid and nutrients to re-enter into the disc.
This will help the disc to heal, and some studies even report a reduction of the disc bulge or herniation, which often also relieves the pressure on the pinched nerve.
Why choose the SpineMED spinal decompression table over other products?
During spinal decompression, it is important to have a machine that has the ability to distract the spine, without causing muscle pain. The SpineMED decompression table does just that. Every 20 milliseconds, or 50 times per second, the SpineMED table’s computer feedback system reads the tension in the spine, and will adjust accordingly. If there is tension in the muscles, the SpineMED system will adjust the force, until the muscle relaxes and then re-apply the tension. This results in a much more consistent force during the treatment, and a much happier patient, as the treatment is less painful or not painful at all.
The SpineMED decompression table is the ONLY table that has such an advanced and technically specific system that reads the changes in the spine so quickly.
The addition of infrared light therapy in the lumbar section of the SpineMED decompression table further relaxes the muscles in the low back during the treatment, a unique feature of the SpineMED table, one that no other decompression table on the market has. Also unique to the spineMED table is the quick set up and easily reproducible set up, so that any therapist can set you up in the same position every time.
The spineMED table uses a soft padded hip holster system which lines up with your front hip bones and is easily landmarked to achieve the same set up every time. Gone are the complicated multi-strapping systems that other, older style traction or decompression systems use. SpineMED’s up to date machine makes set-up easy, fast, consistent, and comfortable every time.