SOHMA Integrative Medicine

We offer the best of Eastern & Western medicine without using drugs or surgery

Spinal Decompression

What Is Spinal Decompression Good For?

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Every year, millions of Americans suffer from a form of back pain. In some cases, the issues can result from diseases or infections, while in other cases, back pain can be caused by poor posture or lifestyle choices. Many of these issues can be resolved with proper diet, exercise, and stretching; however, some people have hectic schedules and cannot properly manage their back pain.

Spinal decompression therapy has gained recognition for its effectiveness in aiding the recovery of common spinal issues, including back pain, herniated discs, and nerve compression. In some cases, non-surgical spinal decompression therapy can potentially circumvent the need for invasive procedures like surgery.

Join us as we go over what non-surgical spinal decompression therapy is, as well as what its benefits are.

Back Pain Relief

The first issue spinal decompression helps with is managing back pain. Our backs are constantly under pressure, and while we frequently ignore minor back pains, these can develop into severe conditions. Back pain isn’t solely for those who work laborious jobs or lift heavy weights. Your back is 30% more compressed when sitting compared to standing. This is why many office workers also suffer from chronic back pain.

Spinal decompression offers a promising solution for those battling chronic back pain. The patient is secured onto a spinal traction machine. The spinal traction then gently stretches and relaxes your back intermittently to relieve the desired tension. This can not only help you to manage back pain caused by spinal decompression, but it can also help to re-align the vertebrae.

Herniated Discs

Also known as a “slipped disc” or “bulging disc,” a herniated disc is when the soft inner core of a spinal disc is compressed past its limits. This results in that inner core pushing through the tough outer shell. This can cause incredible pain and limit mobility until the issue is resolved. While herniated discs tend to happen in the later adult years, they can also be caused by disease or trauma. 

Unfortunately, early identification of a herniated disc requires some form of medical testing. This is why it’s best practice to prevent the possibility of a herniated disc. However, most people are still determining if they initially have a herniated disc. If you have the following symptoms, you should consider getting checked.

  • Back Muscle Spasms
  • Weakness in your legs
  • Poor Coordination
  • Difficulty Walking
  • Increased Pain When Moving
  • Reduced Control Over Bowel and Bladder Movements

If you believe you have a lifestyle or a job where it’s possible to put too much strain on your spine, you should practice stretches and decompression at home.

Alleviate Nerve Pressure

Nerve pain can result in some of the most debilitating pain in existence. Often described as a shooting, burning, or shocking pain, most people cannot live a normal, healthy life when dealing with nerve pain. Spinal decompression therapy creates space between the vertebrae. This decompression gives nerves freedom so they aren’t irritated by compression within the spine.

Non-surgical spinal decompression therapy also helps to stretch the muscles, which allows them to relax and reduce tension and pressure on nerves in the area. This also encourages nutrient-rich blood flow more freely into the affected areas, promoting natural healing.

Prevents Surgery

While surgery is the last option for spinal issues, it’s sometimes inevitable based on the spine’s damage. Surgery is a hazardous and expensive procedure with long recovery times for most cases involving the spine. Many people are also unable to work during the recovery, resulting in a much more significant expense than the initial cost of the surgery.

It has been shown that spinal decompression therapy can spare patients from undergoing surgery. Conditions such as herniated discs and degenerative disc disease have shown positive results when treated with spinal decompression.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can contact us and ask about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA, we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step to better health.

5 Ways Decompression Therapy can Help Your Spine

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Every year millions of Americans suffer with back pain, this can be caused by injury, trauma, aging or lifestyle choices. With proper rest, stretching and recovery you can manage back pain without any treatment, though many people often ignore the pain symptoms assuming they’ll go away on their own. 

The spine is an integral part of your body, which not only holds up your body weight, it houses the nerves that send signals to your muscles which control nearly all your motor functions. Your spine is put under pressure the moment you wake up, and when not adequately taken care of can lead to chronic pain, nerve damage, disc herniation and more. Spinal decompression therapy has been shown to help people in pain recover.

Today we are going to go over 5 different ways decompression therapy can help maintain your spine healthy.

Pain Reduction

Most people looking to have decompression therapy are looking for ways to reduce pain in their back. Your lower back carries the bulk of your weight and compression can be made worse when sitting for long periods of time.

Inflammation is commonly the reason for pain in your back and spine. By decreasing inflammation it will also decrease the symptoms caused by herniated discs and a misaligned spine.

Herniated Discs

Herniated discs, also known as bulging discs happen when the soft tissue used to cushion and connect the vertebrae is injured, typically this is caused by constant strain, trauma or injury to the spine. Herniated discs are incredibly difficult to treat due to the body getting used to the misalignment even if it causes pain. It’s not uncommon to see discs move back to their improper position after a return visit.

Decompression therapy aids in correcting herniated discs. When the spine is being decompressed by the spinal traction, a small amount of negative pressure allows the discs to naturally return to their original position.

Prevent Surgery

Many spine problems are often solved with expensive surgery, this involves invasive procedures and high recovery times. Decompression therapy can help treat many issues that would otherwise require surgery such as:

  • Herniated Disc
  • Degenerative Disc Disease
  • Posterior Facet Syndrome
  • Sciatica

There are many risks involved with spinal surgery as well as with any surgery including that it may not result in any improvement of back pain. Other common risks related with spinal surgery include:

  • Infection
  • Bleeding
  • Blood Clots
  • Nerve and/or Tissue Damage

Low recovery times

After decompression therapy there is essentially no down time needed for recovery. A decompression therapy session may last anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes and when you are done you should feel some relief from your back pain, and be able to continue enjoying your day. Decompression therapy rarely has negative side effects associated with it.

Occasionally, patients report a feeling of soreness or a dull ache for a few days as the body is adjusting to the decompression. This feeling is related often to the soreness you would feel after a hard workout at the gym. In rare occasions, decompression therapy can cause muscles to spasm or the patient will sometimes feel pain go through their arms and legs. 

Affordable alternative

Surgeries are risky for many of the reasons stated above, however many spinal surgeries can also cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. Which can also leave you unable to work while in recovery.

Decompression therapy has been shown to be a viable alternative to surgery. Decompression therapy has been effective in over 75% of the patients receiving it as treatment and many of them report long term pain relief and at the time of completing the program result in effective back pain management.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

5 Benefits of Spinal Decompression Therapy

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Spinal Decompression Therapy Can Be A Non-Surgical Option for Back Pain

Millions of Americans deal with back pain every year. Typically your spine can become compressed after injury, improper posture, age or lifestyle choices. Many of these issues can be dealt with by properly resting, stretching or using heating pads in the affected area. Though if left ignored, the pain can lead to bulging discs, chronic back pain, and nerve issues. 

Non-surgical spinal decompression therapy is an alternative treatment for many different causes of back pains and is now offered at SOHMA Integrated Medicine in Long Beach. There are many different benefits of treating your back pain with non-surgical spinal decompression therapy and today we’ll be going over 5 of them. 

Benefit #1 Reduce Back Pain

People suffering from back pain tend to ignore it or they may say something like “I must have slept wrong” and assume the pain will be gone by the next day. Sometimes this does happen however, in some cases they can be making the problem worse. Back pain can be caused by a number of reasons including:

  • Bulging disc
  • Muscle sprain/strain
  • Fracture
  • Tumors
  • Age
  • Lack of Exercise
  • Smoking
  • Injury

Back pain is not limited to just one reason, and can usually be made worse when you continue doing whatever triggered the pain in the first place.

Non-surgical spinal decompression has been used to treat symptoms and conditions including:

  • Neck and Back Pain
  • Herniated Disc
  • Degenerative Disc Disease
  • Injuries
  • Sciatica

The firm yet gentle stretching of your spine during decompression therapy helps to remove tension, re-aline discs, and reduce pressure on the nerves. This results in less back pain in patients.

Benefit #2 Retract Herniated Discs

Bulging discs often occur when the spine is under too much pressure and the soft center of a spinal disc is pushed through a crack in the outer casing. Patients have stated they sometimes hear a popping sound followed by pain or weakness in their arms or legs, while others have no symptoms. 

Although not every herniated disc requires treatment if you have noticed symptoms of a herniated disc, non-surgical spinal decompression therapy is a great alternative to relieving pain compared to invasive surgeries, or addictive pharmaceuticals.

Benefit #3 Relieve Nerve Pressure

Nerve pain can be some of the worst pain some people can experience. Nerve pain is often described as feeling like shooting, burning, stabbing or shocking pain sometimes without stimulation. Nerve pain can sometimes be temporary, it can be caused by injury, trauma or infection and occasionally it may develop into peripheral neuropathy.

Non surgical spinal decompression therapy stretches the spine and muscles allowing them to relax, reducing tension and pressure from nearby nerves. This encourages nutrient and oxygen rich blood to flow to the affected area to promote healing.

Benefit #4 Can Help Prevent Surgery

Spinal surgery can be dangerous, expensive and a time consuming procedure. Recovery from surgeries usually can take anywhere from a couple of days to months to recover. Many times as part of surgery recovery, you may also be prescribed powerful pain suppressants that have their own negative side effects.

Depending on your condition, non-surgical spinal decompression can be a viable option instead of surgery. Many conditions that would previously require surgery can now be treated with spinal decompression therapy, such as bulging and herniated discs, and degenerative disc disease just to name a few.

Benefit #5 Virtually No Recovery Time

As previously stated, spinal surgery can take months to make a full recovery. Oftentimes recovery included pain pills and physical therapy. Spinal decompression therapy requires virtually no down time after a treatment session. Most patients don’t have pain or negative experiences during spinal decompression therapy, in fact some find it relaxing and even fall asleep while on the spinal traction table.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

Can Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Fix a Bulging Disc?

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Spinal Decompression is a Non-Invasive Therapy that Could Help With Many Back Problems

Lower back pain affects millions of Americans every year, usually caused by injury, improper posture, or lack of exercise. Occasionally it can be dealt with, with bed rest, stretching, or a heating pad. But sometimes it can be the result of a bulging disc, and many people may not even realize it.

What is a bulging disc? How does it occur? And can non-surgical spinal decompression fix a bulging disc?

Join me as we answer these questions and explore non-surgical spinal decompression as a treatment for a bulging disc.

What is a Bulging Disc?  

A bulging disc is a condition that usually develops as we age and over long periods of time. Though younger people can still be afflicted with bulging discs too. A bulging disc also called a herniated, or protruding disc occurs when the soft tissue known as spinal discs between the spine becomes compressed. The spine consists of a series of vertebrae which are a series of interlocking bones. Vertebrae provide the spine with support when moving or bending your back.

Spinal discs act as shock absorbers that prevent vertebrae from rubbing against each other. Compression of the spinal disc can cause it to bulge and can lead to damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots which can cause reduced mobility and cause pain.

Bulging discs occur most commonly in the lower lumbar spine, so the pain and discomfort is usually felt in your lower back. 

Symptoms of a Bulging Disc

Early identification of a bulging disc is only possible with medical testing which shows any changes in the shape and positioning of the spinal disc. And there are very few early symptoms to suggest your spine is being compressed to the point of herniating a disc. Depending on the severity and location in the spine, the symptoms of a bulging disc can fluctuate in severity. Many people have little to no initial symptoms, though as the disc degenerates and bulges a patient may have symptoms including:

  • Back muscle spasms
  • Weakness in your legs and feet
  • Sciatica
  • Poor coordination
  • Reduced mobility and difficulty walking
  • Reduced control over bowel and bladder
  • Increased pain when moving

If you have had some of these symptoms contact your primary care provider to see if you have a bulging disc. If you have lost control of your bowel or bladder you may require immediate attention as this can happen when too much pressure builds up the spinal nerve roots, which is considered a medical emergency.

How can Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression help?

Can non-surgical spinal decompression heal a bulging disc?

As previously stated, building discs often occur when the spine is under too much pressure and begins to compress. Before treatment begins information including height, weight, and spinal condition, how long they’ve had their symptoms, and how much pain they are in is analyzed so the computer can monitor your body’s reactions. Non-surgical decompression therapy works by securing the patient on a specialized decompression table called spinal traction. The patient is fitted with a harness that holds the abdomen and the pelvis. The spinal traction then stretches and relaxes the patient’s back intermittently to achieve the perfect amount of tension needed to gently decompress the spine.

Non-surgical spinal decompression therapy can aid in correcting a bulging disc or a disc that has slipped out of place completely. As the spine is being decompressed, a small amount of negative pressure allows the spinal disc to naturally return to its original position.

Non-surgical spinal decompression is a gentle, non-invasive way to help heal your pain so you can get back to your life.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health.

What Are the Side Effects of Spinal Decompression?

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Back pain may be treated by spinal decompression with little to no side effects.

Non-surgical Spinal Decompression can help with many pains and aches you may be suffering due to diseases or sitting for long periods of time, as your spine is being compressed by gravity. 

We have gone over if non-surgical Spinal Decompression is good for your spine, but perhaps you are wondering if there are any side effects to non-surgical Spinal Decompression. If there are, then what are they?

Today we’re going to cover what you should expect after Spinal Decompression therapy as well as any side effects you may be worried about.

How is Spinal Decompression Performed?

We should first start by answering how this therapy is performed. The patient is set up on a specialized decompression table called a spinal traction. The patient is then gently stretched in intervals according to each individual patient’s treatment. During the treatment the patient is fully dressed and takes only about 30 to 45 minutes.

This therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment that brings relief to patients with a wide variety of neck and back problems. The decompression pressure from the spinal traction may retract disc bulges and disc protrusions. Which can reduce pressure from nearby nerves and encourage blood flow. Increased blood flow brings oxygen with it which promotes healing.

What are the Side Effects?

With any treatment, therapy or procedure there are bound to be some side effects regardless of how minimally invasive it is, however the majority of patients do not experience any serious side effects from non-surgical Spinal Decompression. 

The most common side effects would be dull aches for the first couple weeks as the body adjusts to the decompression. Spinal Decompression stretches the back muscles in a direction that they are not accustomed to. This may leave some patients feeling the same type of soreness one would feel after a particularly hard day at  the gym.

On rare occasions Spinal Decompression can cause muscle spasms, or pain going down the patient’s arms and legs. 

Is Spinal Decompression for Me?

As an alternative to spinal decompression surgery, this non-invasive therapy is quite alluring. Although there is no significant recovery time from non-surgical Spinal Decompression some patients may require 4 to 6 weeks for treatment to be complete before they experience lasting relief which can be too slow for some people. 

Non-surgical Spinal Decompression therapy has been gaining popularity quickly. Many physical benefits like increased mobility, improved joint flexibility and general pain reduction have been well documented. Other benefits of choosing non-surgical Spinal Decompression over something invasive include removing the risk of having post surgery infections. Patients are not required to take any additional medication or painkillers. Once treatment is completed, non-surgical Spinal Decompression provides lasting natural pain relief whereas painkillers only reduce pain while it is active in your body. When compared to surgery, this treatment is  safer, faster and requires no downtime compared to post surgery recovery times. 

As safe as non-surgical Spinal Decompression is, there are some people who should ask their primary care provider before deciding to receive Spinal Decompression therapy these include:

  • Pregnant Woman
  • Patients with degeneration of the spine
  • Patients with severe osteoporosis
  • Patients with surgical implants (screws, rods, plates etc.)
  • Patients with severe nerve damage
  • Patients who have had spinal fusion surgery
  • Patients with tumors
  • Patients with spinal fractures.

To avoid as many risks as possible the patient may be asked to undergo screening tests to rule out any of the conditions listed above. Feel free to ask the staff at SOHMA of Long Beach CA if you have any questions or concerns regarding Spinal Decompression.

Take the Next Step In Improving Your Health by Contacting SOHMA Integrative Medicine

Our goal is to help you improve your health. You can reach out to us and ask us about the Myers Cocktail, IV Therapy, Chiropractic care, or how our other health service lines can help you with your journey to improved health. 

Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from the surrounding cities.

We look forward to helping you take the next step in your journey to better health