Comprehensive Guide to Decompression Therapy

At Healthsprout Chiropractic and Wellness, our team of dedicated chiropractic and wellness professionals has been providing decompression therapy for the residents of Woodstock, GA, for years.

Understanding Decompression Therapy

Decompression therapy is a form of treatment that helps relieve pressure in vertebrae and discs, reduces nerve pain caused by compression, and can help the body heal from injury. Decompression therapy is often used for back injuries or any other condition where pressure on the spine has been building up over time.

Dr. Eric Richards can do this type of therapy at many different levels. At the same time, he moves your spine around an inch at a time. Chiropractors who provide adjustments using their hands or instruments like decompression tables or traction devices, physical therapists who use various exercises to reduce discomfort in the lower back area. Even doctors who prescribe medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce inflammation and pain. However, pharmacological interventions pose several side effects and disadvantages.

Decompression therapy is a type of treatment that helps address various back problems, including sciatica and herniated discs. This form of care uses a table in which the patient lies on their back. The patient is strapped in, and the table will pull or decompress the spine at the specified levels, at a specific weight of pulling, and a certain amount of time.

Decompression therapy can be an effective alternative to other forms of care for patients suffering from conditions such as sciatica and herniated discs. This form of care can help provide relief by decompressing the spine under pressure. Dr. Richards will assess what needs adjusting before making any adjustments involving gentle movements explicitly designed to help relieve chronic pain symptoms experienced in a person's neck, upper back, lower back, or hips.

Spinal decompression is a standard procedure used to treat back pain and other symptoms that can arise from damaged or herniated disks. It may also be helpful with the following conditions:

• bulging discs,

• spinal stenosis,

• degenerative disk disease,

• injured nerve roots (radiculopathy), and

• sciatica.

In contrast, to compression therapy, Healthsprout Chiropractic and Wellness does not limit their chiropractors in treating merely the mentioned conditions. Through proper assessment and health evaluation, Dr. Richards can provide other chiropractic treatments to address any health conditions. With decompression therapy, any adjustments or maneuvers involving gentle movements are explicitly designed to help provide relief and improve overall health for patients experiencing pain in their neck, upper back, lower back, or hips.

Benefits of Decompression Therapy

Decompression therapy is a type of physical therapy that focuses on the spine and back. Dr. Richards can use it to treat various pain conditions, including sciatica, herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis. Furthermore, the following are some of the benefits of receiving decompression therapy:

• Decompression therapy is a form of conservative care that helps bring relief from chronic pain to the patient.

• Decompression therapy sessions are fast and can be done in one visit instead of other forms of treatment such as surgery which may require multiple visits with an increase in cost.

• When the vertebrae are decompressed and gently stretched, fluid is allowed to flow back into them. As this happens, a vacuum effect occurs inside discs as they are separated from one another by gentle stretching--pulling some of the spinal water that has leaked out due to compression with it.

• Non-surgical spinal decompression can help relieve pain and restore more natural function by reducing the pressure on your spine.

• Spinal decompression is safe chiropractic treatment for all ages.

• Reduces nerve pain caused by compression and can help the body heal from injury.

• Spinal decompression therapy has the potential to prevent or postpone spinal surgery, including fusions and discectomy. In fact, many of our patients are surprised by how well this non-surgical treatment alleviates their lower back pain. Some patients even experience relief after just one session; however, ongoing care is typically required for optimal benefits!

• Spinal decompression is a non-invasive, relatively painless method of treatment. It lasts for about 45 minutes and has been known to provide relief in as little as one session! This innovative technique might be your best bet if you are looking to avoid surgery while still experiencing tremendous benefits from the procedure.

• Spinal decompression therapy is an innovative procedure that helps relieve pressure on your spine by relaxing and laying down. If you are in any pain, a pillow under your knees will help make the experience more comfortable. This technique also promotes fluid circulation so nutrients can reach damaged or diseased areas of the body much more accessible than before!

What Happens During Decompression Therapy Session?

One of our chiropractors will assess your condition before determining where adjustments need to be made. They will mainly focus on pressure points or areas where there seems to be discomfort caused by muscle spasms, tightness, or strained joints due to constant strain over time without adequate rest between activities. Once the assessment has been completed, they would use gentle movements explicitly designed to relieve chronic pain.

The Decompression machine gently massages the patient's back in a controlled decompressing motion. The harness is fitted to each individual, and they lay down on the table where it will be programmed for an extended treatment of up to 45 minutes.

Patients can also use their discretion with a safety switch if necessary. Still, many patients find that this appliance helps them relax more efficiently than traditional methods like massage therapy or chiropractic care.

Decompression therapy is a pain management technique that is both effective and comfortable with minimal discomfort. With only 30 minutes of treatment per session, it lasts for 20-25 sessions over four weeks or six weeks, depending on the needs of the patient. There's about a 71% success rate in reducing any given person's chronic back problems by decompressing their spine through gentle tractioning techniques as well as exercise programs designed specifically for each case study they have reviewed thus far.

Decompression Therapy in Healthsprout Chiropractic and Wellness

Our goal is to provide you with relief from pain so that your body can heal itself naturally without medication, surgery, or other invasive therapies. Decompression Therapy works on the principle of restoring proper joint range of motion, which reduces muscle tension and alleviates nerve pressure at the point where they connect to the spinal cord. It has been proven effective for relieving back, neck pain, sciatica (pain radiating down one leg), headaches/migraines, and more!

We use chiropractic techniques because it's much faster than waiting for your next appointment with us by utilizing the studies performed and skills learned during training.

Our chiropractors can accomplish this by sitting in the right chair with a pillow under your head to allow for an upward tilt of your neck to release pressure on nerves as you stretch out both legs for relief from sciatic pain. To reduce back pain while driving, we recommend that you sit up tall without slouching or leaning forward too much, which will decrease upper body tension and increase trunk stability. With proper ergonomics, you can prevent severe complications from developing.

We have seen great success reducing anxiety through decompression therapy because it provides quick stress relief, promotes relaxation, balances moods and energy levels due to oxygenation enhancement during treatment sessions.

Our goal is to provide you with relief from pain so that your body can heal and function at its best. Decompression therapy is a branch of chiropractic that helps to decompress your spine, which relieves pressure on nerves in the neck or lower back. Sometimes this can also help with pain caused by inflammation from arthritis or other conditions affecting joints such as fibromyalgia, tendonitis, and bursitis. We are committed to providing you relief from chronic health problems so you can live your life without limitations!

After a long day, your body and brain need time to decompress. Dr. Richards' decompression therapy is an innovative approach that helps the body relax after stressful events or repetitive movements like working on computers all day and addressing more specific conditions. To learn how Healthsprout Chiropractic and Wellness can help with decompression therapy for stress relief, contact us today!

The Dangers of Sitting

We have been preaching STAND UP, for years.  I have reaped the benefits of moving back and forth, from table to table, for 18 years of practice.  Maintaining activity as well as metabolic function (moving my body and joints, and burning calories), even if at a low level, it has been functional.

Image from Harvard Medical Review

Now, the Harvard Medical Review is supporting the story we have been screaming from the rooftops for nearly two decades… STAND UP!

Check out this cool article – Move More Sit Less

The text from the emailed article is below :

The dangers of sitting

When you’re in pain, it may be hard to make yourself get up and move. But consider this: A growing body of evidence suggests that spending too many hours sitting is hazardous to your health. Habitual inactivity raises risks for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, deep-vein thrombosis, and metabolic syndrome. Sitting can also increase pain. Even if you’re reasonably active, hours of sitting—whether reading a book, working on the computer, or watching TV—tighten the hip flexor and hamstring muscles and stiffen the joints themselves. Overly tight hip flexors and hamstrings affect gait and balance, making activities like walking harder and perhaps even setting you up for a fall. Plus, tight hip flexors and hamstrings may contribute to lower back pain and knee stiffness, scourges that many people suffer with every day.Researchers aren’t sure why prolonged sitting has such harmful health consequences. But one possible explanation is that it relaxes your largest muscles. When muscles relax, they take up very little glucose from the blood, raising your risk of type 2 diabetes. 

Given the research, breaking up long blocks of sitting to flex your muscles seems like a wise move for all of us, so try to build more activity into your day. Set a timer to remind you to get up and move around every so often. Take your phone calls standing up. Try an adjustable standing desk for your computer. Instead of sitting in an armchair while watching TV, sit on a stability ball, which makes you use your muscles to stay upright. And, yes, do our joint pain relief exercises.

For more advice on ways to stay mobile and pain free as you age, read The Joint Pain Relief Workout, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School.

Thanks for reading, and for getting up off of your butt!

Be well and be blessed! – Dr. E

Life Expectancy and Healing – A CNS Problem

I get the question – “What is the difference in life expectancy in chiropractors and medical doctors”, every couple of years.  The last time it came was about six months ago.  And my answer, is always the same…

I only know of one study that crunched data between these two professions, and there was no difference.   And not surprisingly to me, at all.

I mean, have you heard me rip on chiropractors before?  I love them, I love what they started for, and I hate that they (for the most part), got sucked into talking about your pain with you every time you head into their office.  Where I tell you on your first visit “I don’t care about your pain, I will never let your pain distract me from the issue at hand… and you’ll thank me for it when you are pain free for a reason.”

That reason – healing.

Healing, the process of the body replacing cells with new healthy cells.  All parts of the body heal outside of the CNS (central nervous system such as brain and spinal cord, and cranial nerves… like the nerve to my eye that died nearly 12 years ago from the hockey puck… that one doesn’t heal without divine help) – and the other area that doesn’t heal, are scarred tissues.  Scarring is forever.  You might have noticed that with a superficial scar on your skin somewhere.  Well, the same holds true to a scarred liver, or kidney, or the scarred insides of your arteries, or your heart even.

Scarred tissue does not heal, thus it can reduce your life expectancy.  One reason why I battle inflammation (which always results in scar tissue), with daily doses of juice plus, on top of the 13 servings of vegetables I am trying to eat each day.  (I believe juice plus is one of the easiest ways to get your anti-inflammatory dose up in a healthy way…   https://hsprout.juiceplus.com/us/en )

So what does cause healing?  It is a natural body process, that is dependent on the human brain.  Science hasn’t fully accepted how this happens, at least not universally.  However I had an histology professor 20 years ago who had a great grasp of how it works, and he related it to the eye opening studies of epigenetics.  What controls genes.  Such a cool area of study… but I don’t want to chase too many rabbit holes.  The professor however did an absolutely fantastic job of helping us see the absolute desperation of a cell that is disconnected from its source… the source being the CNS (brain and spinal cord).

Let me re-phrase that, the cell is desperate for function. because without a brain it cannot function correctly, it cannot heal, and it will ultimately die.  This is why we cannot keep tissue alive indefinitely at room temperature, with all of the oxygen and nutrients in the world… if not connected to a brain.

This is the true message of chiropractic, and it is also the true message of yoga, and pilates, and posture rehab… basically, it is the message of any practitioner who works hard to help you to maintain your spine.  They all, though they mostly have no idea how amazing the results of their efforts can be, but nonetheless… is air any less valuable because the air doesn’t know its value?  So when you decide to get a stand up desk because it is the cool thing to do these days, you might want to stop and say a little thanks… “Thank you maker of Vari-desk, for helping to save my life through improved posture and ultimately greater healing in my body”.

And you think I am kidding?

The medical model of the world aims to save lives that are mostly broken because of poor choices.  The wisdom of the world says that before you rely on that model, you should begin to make changes that reduce their importance.

Be wise , Be blessed, and be well… – Dr. E