How Chiropractors Can Help You Avoid Decompression Surgery

Chiropractic care is a non-invasive, patient-centric, regulated healthcare profession focused on the nervous system, spine, joints, and muscles. Chiropractors rely on their clinical expertise and the best available evidence to diagnose conditions that affect your body's movements.

Their approach to treatment doesn't entail medication or surgery yet prevents the problems from recurring. Some common conditions that chiropractic care treats include:

• Neck pain
• Back pain
• Strains
• Arthritis-related pain
• Sprains
• Work and sports injuries

Chiropractic treatment primarily works as pain relief therapy and can help you avoid decompression surgery.

What is Spinal Decompression?

A large portion of the American population suffers from paralyzing back pain at one point in their lives. The causes range from car accidents, falls, sports injuries, or other reasons, including degenerative spinal discs. Pain is considered chronic if it lasts more than three months.

Your doctor could recommend surgery for neck and back pain, but this option can be delayed or avoided with spinal decompression which is a non-surgical chiropractic treatment that entails gentle motorized traction to relieve back pain. The treatment works by moderately extending the spine to release pressure and reposition the spine.
Spinal compression is relieved by creating negative pressure in the spinal column. The result is a retraction of any herniated or bulging disks which reduces pressure on the nerves and other spine structures.

During treatment, harnesses are fit to your pelvis and around the upper body while you lie on a decompression table. The pelvic harness attaches to the decompression table at the end by your feet. The chiropractor controls the table's movement as it slides to create gentle spinal traction while customizing the treatment to your specific needs.

How Bracing Can Help

In other cases, your doctor may recommend a spinal decompression brace. This approach entails wearing a specific type of back brace that eases spinal pressure by creating intra-abdominal pressure on the spine.
Conditions that can benefit from bracing include:

• Muscle tension and strain: A back brace can help alleviate pain by reducing pressure on the spine. It helps reduce the amount of strength the muscles require to support the spinal column.
• Spinal stenosis: Bracing for lumbar spinal stenosis helps reduce pressure and limits micro-motions in the lower spine responsible for radicular pain and nerve root irritation.
• Vertebral compression fractures: A semi-rigid or rigid back brace helps reduce micro-motion and pressure on the spinal column.
• Osteoarthritis: Painful micro-motions and instability arising from spinal osteoarthritis may benefit from rigid or semi-rigid bracing.
• Post-operative healing: Your doctor may recommend a rigid brace following spinal surgery. The goal is to reduce spinal column pressure while adding stability.
  
  

Wearing braces for work and other physical activities helps prevent further injury. Your doctor will help you determine the best type of brace for your condition and how to wear them. Wearing back braces is part of a comprehensive treatment program and wearing one on its own without a doctor's recommendation may increase your back pain and cause further injury.

Working with a Chiropractor to Ease Back and Spine Pain

Chiropractors work collaboratively as part of your entire health care team. You'll find them in family health teams, inter-professional clinics, private practice clinics, hospitals, and patients' homes. They work closely with other professionals, like physiotherapists, nurse practitioners, and registered massage therapists to help manage your condition.

Working with Elite Medical Supply

Elite Medical Supply is a Medicare competitive bid supplier of back, knee, and extremity braces that accepts assignment for Medicare beneficiaries. Our staff will closely coordinate with your healthcare provider to ensure you receive the right brace or pain management solution.

We'll even do all the paperwork for you. Contact us today for more information.