How Spinal Decompression Works

With over 30 million people throughout the United States suffering from back pain at any given moment, and back pain being the number one cause of disability, people everywhere are searching for the best way to obtain relief.  In addition to being the number one reason for absences at work, back pain places over a 50 billion dollar burden on the health care system each year. Spinal Decompression in Mattoon may be the answer.

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Spinal Decompression Works in Mattoon IL

While these figures would lead you to believe that most cases of back pain are caused by serious pathologies such as cancer, broken bones, infections, and arthritis, the majority of the reported cases of back pain are actually caused by problems with the intervertebral discs.  In addition to chiropractic adjustments, spinal decompression therapy has emerged as a valuable adjunct for not only relieving pain, but also for speeding up recovery time.  Your doctors at Go Chiropractic understand the severity of disc problems and would like to utilize this short article to provide you with information about the available treatment options. Spinal decompression works in Mattoon, and this article will explain why.

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Why might I need spinal decompression therapy?

To understand why you might need spinal decompression therapy, it's important to build an image of how intervertebral discs function.  There are 23 discs in a human spine, each acting as a shock absorber between neighboring vertebrae (back bones).  With each step, these amazing structures absorb the impact and typically return to their normal form once the stress is relieved.  Take a minute to think about the amount of force and impact these simple structures experience over a lifetime.  Even as you sit in a chair reading this article, they are fighting the force of gravity on your body.

Over time, these discs begin to lose their fluids and as a result their elastic Mattoon.  In addition to less fluid, discs become damaged throughout life (usually small micro traumas that add up over the years).  As this occurs, disc fail to function properly and the surrounding structures (such as nerves) experience the stress that the discs would have typically dissipated.  If not corrected, this damage can have a dramatic effect on a persons health.

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How spinal decompression therapy works:

In short, spinal decompression therapy works to reverse the pressure that has built up on the disc over time.  Typically, a person will lie on a decompression table while a harness is carefully applied to the problematic area of the spine.  With the advancement of computer technology, the table and its traction unit are able to monitor and sense mild changes throughout your spine.  This valuable information allows the decompression table to work with your body instead of against it.  As the table detects changes in pressure throughout your spine and as a direct relation your discs, it is able to adjust the amount of traction, providing you with an ideal and individualized treatment.  This circuit between the patient and the decompression table is often referred to as a biofeedback loop and is extremely important in overcoming muscle spasm and guarding.

While spinal decompression therapy has been shown to be extremely useful for the treatment of back pain, the following have also benefited from its application:

• Disc herniations
• Disc Bulge
• Spondylolisthesis
• Muscle Spasms/Guarding
• Certain variations of spinal stenosis
• Headaches
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Sciatica

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Your doctors at Go Chiropractic in Mattoon are dedicated at finding the best approach to helping you with your back pain and other related conditions.  If you would like to learn more about this specialized therapy or feel that you could benefit from its application, contact our office today.