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Herniated disc sufferers used to be limited to the treatment choices of over the counter or prescription medications, spinal steroid injections, physical therapy, or some type of spinal disc surgical intervention. These treatment approaches have had an overall poor success rate and carry a significant chance of side-effects. Now a new treatment option is providing improved results and safety in alleviating the suffering associated with a herniated disc. A new form of spinal traction, called spinal decompression is growing in popularity. Regular traction has been used for a long time in herniated disc treatment, but it has often failed to provide good results, and it has been known to increase pain and other symptoms in certain cases. Regular traction tends to trigger the body's muscle spasm reaction, and this results in pain and the muscle contraction and may even increase the pressure on a herniated disc, making it worse. Spinal decompression systems avoid the problems seen with earlier forms of traction. Even though spinal decompression machines are still traction machines, the true spinal decompression machines pull slowly and gently to avoid setting off muscle spasm. Some of the more advanced spinal decompression systems also have sophisticated computer-sensors and controls on the motors. The sensors monitor the body's resistance and any sign of muscle contraction will cause the machine to reduce its pull and lull the body back into a relaxed state. The most advanced of the spinal decompression machines monitor and respond to the body every 1/17th of a second and react so quickly to the body's resistance that spasm can be avoided. This ability to avoid the body's muscle spasm response allows spinal decompression systems to dramatically lower the pressure within a herniated disc. In fact, disc pressure is actually dropped into the negative pressure range, creating a suction that pulls the bulging disc material back towards the center of the disc and away from sensitive nerves. In addition, fluid and nutrients are pulled into the disc from the surrounding tissues, and this assists in disc healing. Over time and repeated treatments, the herniated disc material is pulled back in, and the healing of the disc provides stabilization of the outer wall of the disc to prevent further bulging. Decompression treatment varies in terms of the number of sessions and duration and frequency of treatments depending on several factors such as patient age, the severity of the problem, and the number of herniated discs present. It can be used in both lumbar and cervical herniated discs with a high rate of success. With careful patient selection, spinal decompression has be shown by preliminary clinical studies to have a success rate of 80 to 90 percent. Of those who do experience a successful outcome, the results are long-term in the vast majority of cases. Because of the high rate of success and a low rate of side effects, the most common of which is temporary muscle soreness, spinal decompression is the best herniated disc treatment option for the majority of cases. It is unfortunate that overly aggressive advertising and hype and sometimes poor patient selection by some health care providers has created unrealistic patient expectations and led to legal action by regulatory agencies that has adversely effected the reputation of spinal decompression. Although spinal decompression is a great advancement in the treatment of herniated discs, it cannot be considered a cure-all, it does not work in every case, and it cannot be used in every situation. In appropriate use, spinal decompression does return the vast majority of patients to sufficient health so that they can live normal lives and enjoy favorite activities, but it does not restore a herniated disc to a completely normal condition. No treatment can. Surgery, including the highly-touted disc replacement surgery (which is still experimental) does not restore a damaged disc to normal. Regardless of the treatment, poor posture, improper lifting and other damaging activities can precipitate a return of disc problems no matter how successful the initial disc treatment was. By carefully selecting patients for spinal decompression and effectively communicating realistic expectations to patients, spinal decompression providers can supply an unusually safe and effective treatment option for those with a herniated disc.
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Dr. George Best has been treating people suffering with herniated discs since 1992. For more information on herniated discs, sciatica, or degenerative disc disease, visit Herniated Disc.
