Spinal Decompression

Spinal Decompression in Dallas.

Treatment for bulging discs, herniated discs, spinal stenosis and other conditions.

   If you are suffering from neck or back pain, pain traveling down the arms or legs, sciatica, tingling or numbness in the arms or legs, and were told it was due to a disc bulge or disc herniation then you owe it to yourself to investigate non-surgical spinal decompression.  Numerous studies have shown the effectiveness and safety of non-surgical spinal decompression (some of those are listed below).

Surgical vs. Nonsurgical Treatment
   Chronic low back or neck pain due to disc bulges or herniation may be unrelieved by conservative management such as chiropractic manipulation, physical therapy, and epidural injections.  Some patients with such intolerable pain may turn to open surgical spinal fusion.  Surgical treatments for disc problems are open discectomy, microdiscectomy, chemonucleolysis, laser discectomy, automated percutaneous discectomy, and manual percutaneous discectomy.  A number of other options are IDET, total disc excision, and radio-frequency posterior annuloplasty.  The success of all these surgical procedures, both minimally invasive and otherwise, is variable and has been found to be no better than that of nonintervention.^1,2,3

   The recent SPORT (Spine Patient Outcomes Research) compared standard open discectomy with individualized conservative management, including physical therapy, epidural steroid injections, NSAIDS, and opiods, and found that surgery and conservative management were roughly equal in effectiveness for treating lumbar disc herniation.^4,5

Risks with more aggressive management will obviously be greater than that with conservative management.  Surgery may result in failed results, paralysis, and even death.  Opiods always have the risk of addiction, while prolonged use of NSAIDS has been well documented to increase the risk of stroke and heart attack.  There is, and has been a need for a more viable alternative to surgical procedures and that option is non-surgical spinal decompression.

The non-surgical alternative
   A variety of mechanized spinal decompression systems have been developed that addresses some of the shortcomings of simple traction.  The first device to appear was the VAX-D (vertebral axial decompression system).  As medical technology improved systems were engineered and updated.  The goal was to reduce intradiscal pressure and restore the proper function to the disc and reduce nerve irritation.  Now some insurance reviewers will state that non-surgical decompression is just a modified form of traction.  That's akin to saying a bicycle and a Mercedes-Benz perform the same function: transportation.  I would rather have the Mercedes!  Besides, certain traction techniques can cause an increase in intradiscal pressure which is particularly detrimental in treating herniated discs.  Some clinical studies (listed below) have shown an effective rate as high as 86%.

Our Expectations for You
   On your first treatment we expect either a reduction of two points (on a 0-10 scale) in your pain level or reduction of extremity pain, tingling, or numbness.  If your doctor refers you to us we will perform this first visit at no cost to you!  While this will not be a permanent change after the first visit, patients have experienced this type of relief from anywhere 48 hours to 5 days. 
Is non-surgical decompression covered by insurance?
   Some doctors will tell you that it is covered by insurance and that is incorrect.  While some insurance companies do reimburse for non-surgical decompression (CPT code S9090) many do not and our staff can help you with that.  Again, insurance reviewers may tell you to tell us to bill under code for traction (CPT code 97012).  We do not do that as we are using decompression not traction.  You will also find our prices extremely affordable, especially in comparison to other procedures such as epidural injections and surgery.  We also provide payment options including a 12-month 0% interest plan.  To find out if you might be a candidate for non-surgical decompression call our office for a free consultation.  We ask that you bring your medical records, X-rays, and MRI for review to determine if you might be a candidate.

Clinical studies documenting the effectiveness of spinal decompression therapy

Shealy, Norman MD;  Borgmeyer, Vera RN MA. Emerging Technologies: Preliminary Findings: decompression, Reduction, and stabilization of the lumbar spine.  A cost-effective treatment for lumbosacral pain. American Journal of Pain Management. 1997; (7) 2
"Eighty-six percent of ruptured intervertebral disc patients achieved  'good' (50-89% improvement) to 'excellent' (90-100% improvement) results with decompression.  Sciatica and back pain were relieved."  Of the facet arthrosis patients, 75% obtained 'good' to 'excellent' results with decompression."


Gionis, Thomas MD; Groteke, Eric DC.  Surgical Alternatives: Spinal Decompression. Orthopedic Technology Review. 2003; 6 (5)
"Results showed that 86% of the 219 patients who completed the therapy reported immediate resolution of symptoms, while 84% remained pain-free 90 days port-treatment.  Physical examination findings showed improvement in 92% of the 219 patients, and remained intact in 89% of these patients 90 days after treatment."


Eyerman, Edward MD.  Simple pelvic traction gives inconsistent relief to herniated lumbar disc sufferers. Journal of Neuroimaging.  Paper presented to American Society of Neuroimaging, Orlando, Florida 2/26/1998.
"Serial MRI of 20 patients treated with the decompression table shows in our study up to 90% reduction of subligamentous nucleus herniation in 10 of 14.  Some rehydration occurs detected by T2 and proton density signal increase.  Torn annulus repair is seen in all."




Articles noted above:

1. Boswell MV, Trescot AM, Datta S, et al.  Interventional techniques: evidenced-based practice guidelines in the management of chronic spinal pain. Pain Physician 2007;10(1):7-111

2. Andersson GBJ, Mekhail MA, Block JE. Treatment of intractable discogenic low back pain.  A systematic review of spinal fusion and intradiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET). Pain Physician 2006;9(3):237-248

3. Mirza SK, Deyo RA.  Systematic review of randomized trials comparing lumbar fusion surgery to nonoperative care for treatment of chronic back pain. Spine 2007;32(7):816-823

4. Weinstein JN, Lurie JD, Tosteson TD, et al.  Surgical vs. nonoperative treatment for lumbar disc herniation: the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) observational cohort. JAMA 2006;296(20):2451-2459

5. Weinstein JN, Lurie JD, Tosteson TD, et al. Surgical vs. nonoperative treatment for lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis. New England Journal of Medicine 2007;356(22):2257-2270