At Vanguard Spine and Sport, we’re committed to providing conservative back pain management, non-surgical solutions, and effective alternatives to prescription medication for patients in the Houston area who suffer from chronic back and spine pain.

Spinal decompression therapy is a non-surgical treatment aimed at relieving back pain and other types of pain associated with spinal disc injuries and certain back conditions. Chronic back pain caused by herniated or bulging discs, degenerative disc disease, and other factors can significantly impact your quality of life. Our spinal decompression therapy helps alleviate that pain through a mechanical process that reduces pressure on spinal discs.

In many cases of lower back and spine pain, the anatomical structures within your back—including your intervertebral discs, facet joints, and nerves—can become compressed. This may be due to disc herniations, muscle strains, whiplash, or prolonged sitting or standing.

Spinal decompression therapy is used to gently remove the pressure associated with compressive conditions of the lower back through decompression. This can also improve tissue healing and hydration by increasing blood flow to the injured area.

Our state-of-the-art spinal decompression table uses advanced sensors to measure and monitor the force being applied to each patient during every decompression treatment.

Determining if spinal decompression therapy is right for you is the first step in our team’s three-part approach to personalized pain management. Spinal decompression therapy is typically recommended for a variety of conditions, particularly for individuals experiencing chronic back pain due to certain spinal issues. There are two main areas of the spine treated with spinal decompression: the lumbar spine and the cervical spine.

When treating the lumbar spine (lower back), the focus is often on relieving pain caused by conditions like lumbar herniated discs, sciatica, or degenerative disc disease. Patients are positioned on the decompression machine and the lower part of the body is gently stretched using the decompression device. The aim of spinal decompression for lumbar spine issues is to reduce pressure on the lumbar spinal nerves, alleviate lower back pain, and improve mobility.

Treatment of the cervical spine (neck) addresses issues like cervical herniated discs, neck pain, and headaches related to spinal nerve compression. In cervical decompression, the focus is on the neck. The primary goal is to alleviate pressure on the cervical nerves, reduce neck pain and stiffness, and often address associated symptoms like arm pain or headaches.

Conditions that can benefit from spinal decompression therapy include:

• Intervertebral Joint Dysfunction: Dysfunction or abnormal movement of the intervertebral joints that can lead to pain and limited mobility.
• Lumbar Facet Syndrome: A disorder affecting the facet joints in the lumbar spine, causing pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility in the lower back.
• Spondylolisthesis: When one of the vertebrae slips out of place onto the vertebra below it, often due to a defect, fracture, or degenerative changes in the spine, it causes pain and nerve compression.
• Muscle Strain: An injury to the muscle or the tendons attached to the muscle, commonly due to overstretching or overuse.
• Whiplash Injuries: Neck pain, stiffness, headaches, and sometimes neurological symptoms typically caused by a rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck, like that experienced in a car accident.
• Arthritis: In the spine, it can lead to pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility, commonly seen in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
• Spinal Stenosis: Numbness or weakness in the legs or arms caused by the narrowing of spaces in the spine, which creates pressure on the spinal cord and nerves.
• Herniated Discs: When the soft inner material of a spinal disc protrudes through a tear in the outer layer, causing pain and nerve irritation.
• Sciatica: Pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back down to the legs.
• Lumbar Radiculopathy: Nerve pain in the lumbar (lower back) region of the spine due to compression or irritation of nerve roots.

For the best results, spinal decompression therapy sessions should be repeated multiple times per week or month to alleviate chronic back pain. Since it often takes years of wear and tear or trauma to compress the anatomical structures in the spine, decompression is a gradual process that takes place during a recurring series of visits. Our team of back and spine pain experts will outline a spinal decompression therapy plan to help you understand the timeline and what to expect during your treatment.

If the Vanguard Spine and Sport at Houston TX, Team recommends spinal decompression therapy for your condition, you will begin your session by lying down on our decompression table. You will be strapped into a pelvic harness with other props used such as pillows to keep you comfortable and your spine in the proper position for decompression. Once securely in place, the session will begin and the two parts of the table will begin to separate.

For lumbar decompression, the lower portion of your body will be gently stretched to relax the spine, with the pressure calculated by complex algorithms to maximize the decompression treatment and minimize the body’s resistance.

For decompression of cervical herniated discs, the upper portion of your body will move on the table.

Once your spinal decompression therapy session is finished, you may feel a little off-balance at first but will likely notice an increase in your range of motion and flexibility immediately. The team may help you walk around for a few minutes until you’re comfortable walking on your own. You can return to your normal activities immediately after your visit.

Ready for fast, effective back pain relief without surgery or medications? Call the Vanguard Spine and Sport team at (832) 831-8656 to schedule a spinal decompression therapy session in one of our Houston, TX, locations today, or request an appointment below.