SOHMA Integrative Medicine

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

Spinal Decompression

How is Spinal Decompression Done?

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spinal decompression

There are two forms of Spinal Decompression. Surgical and non-surgical, but let’s steer away from any surgical procedures that may leave you bedridden for weeks, and focus more on the non surgical Spinal Decompression which can bring relief to patients without the need of invasive surgeries and long recovery times.

You may have some questions about how the procedure is done. You may also be wondering about what causes spinal compression. Today we’ll be going over some of those questions, and why you should consider non-surgical Spinal Decompression before attempting surgery. Join us as we give you an overview on how and why non-surgical Spinal Decompression is done.

What Causes Spinal Compression?

Spinal compression can be caused by a number of conditions and is caused when excess pressure is put on the spinal cord. Compression can occur through the back, bother cervical spine (neck) and lumbar spine (lower back). Naturally wear and tear of the bones of the spine is the most common cause of spinal compression. Usually you’ll begin to see this develop after 50 years old. The other conditions that can cause compression include:

  • Scoliosis
  • Injury
  • Tumor
  • Arthritis
  • Infection
  • Diseases
  • Posture

Depending on the location and cause of the compression, the symptoms can vary. They can develop suddenly with no warning, or gradually. In severe cases however, emergency surgery may be necessary. 

Spinal Compression Symptoms

As mentioned previously symptoms have no pattern of when they occur. Being vigilant about symptoms can lead to swift treatment and quicker recoveries. Some of the symptoms are:

  • Trouble with Coordination
  • Loss of sensation in the feet
  • Numbness
  • Cramping
  • Weakness in Limbs (arms, hands, legs)
  • Burning pain in arms, thighs, or legs
  • Stiffness in Neck, and Back
  • Pain in Neck, and Back

Symptoms that would require immediate medical attention include loss of control of bowels or bladder. Severe pain and weakness spreading to your leg or both legs causing difficulty walking or standing and extreme numbness between legs, and inner thighs. As these symptoms are known as Cauda Equina Syndrome. 

How is the Decompression Done?

Spinal Decompression is when you slowly and gently pull at either side of the spine in order to release any pressure that may have been built up within the spine. At SOHMA of Long Beach we perform non-surgical Spinal Decompression by securing the patient to a specialized decompression table called a spinal traction. You are fitted with a harness to hold your abdomen and your pelvis. The spinal traction is the ability to stretch and relax intermittently to achieve the right amount of tension for desirable results. When the spine is being decompressed, vertebrae can naturally reposition to their original state. 

The procedure lasts around 30 to 45 minutes, compared to spinal surgery that can take weeks or months to heal. Depending on the severity of the case, some patients may need over 20 decompression sessions. Though you feel more flexible, and notice significantly less pain in your neck and back. 

Other benefits you may notice from non-surgical Spinal Decompression include increased spinal mobility, improved balance which can help prevent new injuries and reduced stress level as some of the pressure has quite literally been lifted.

With non-surgical Spinal Decompression most patients don’t notice or experience major side effects. Most common side effects have been reported to cause a dull soreness for the first few days as the body becomes used to being decompressed.

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 You do Your Own Spinal Decompression at Home?

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Most of our waking hours are spent standing or sitting vertically. This means that your spine is regularly working against the force of gravity in order to keep posture upright. This pressure puts constant strain on your spine and causes it to become compressed. The compression on the vertebrae can put pressure on our spinal cord and its associated muscles. Which can cause discomfort and pain.

Today we’ll go over what spinal decompression is and if you should attempt to decompress your spine at home.

What is Spinal Decompression?

Spinal decompression is a non-surgical procedure that is used to relieve pressure that may be accumulated on the spinal cord. Including pressure that may be compressing nerve roots passing through or exiting from the spinal column. Ideally we would recommend coming into SOHMA of Long Beach CA where we offer Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression using a specialized decompression table called a spinal traction. You are fitted with a harness around your pelvis and abdomen. The Spinal Traction table is used to take pressure off of your spinal cord and vertebrae. It can also reposition those vertebrae naturally. For optimal benefits some patients may require as many as a couple months of treatment.

Can you decompress at home?

Of course there are ways to do spinal decompression at home, though your results may vary. There are exercises and stretches that you can do which work on the concept of spinal decompression to help give your lower back some relief. At SOHMA we recommend consulting with a healthcare professional before beginning any at home exercise routine. If these exercises and stretches are not suitable for you they may end up causing more pain.

At Home Spinal Decompression Stretches

There are many stretches that can be used to decompress your spine, below are 3 examples of simple stretches that can be done at home without the need of special equipment.

Overhead Stretches

A very simple exercise that can be done by most people. 

  1. Stand on even ground with your legs at shoulder’s length apart.
  2. Reach both of your arms over your head and interlock your fingers and straighten your elbows.
  3. While holding this position pretend to reach up and touch the sky.
  4. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds, determined by your comfort level.

Do this as needed throughout the day.

Child Pose

This stretch has provided many people lower back pain relief but it is more advanced. This will be performed on the floor so we recommend a yoga mat to make it more comfortable, though it is not necessary.

  1. Go onto your hands and knees to begin this stretch.
  2. Keep going down until your glutes touch your feet while on your knees.
  3. Bend over at your hips and reach forward with your hands on the floor.
  4. Based on your comfort levels, hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds.
  5. Repeat after a minute of rest between stretches.

The further forward you reach with your hands while stretching the more decompression you will feel.

Using Your Bed or Couch

You can use the edge of your bed or the hand rest of your couch to decompress your lower back.

  1. Using an additional pillow for extra comfort, lay it flat on your bed or couch. Making sure your knees are slightly off the ground.
  2. Your weight should be on your toes in order to relax your back and core muscles.
  3. Tuck your chin towards your chest and straighten your arms at the elbow.
  4. Reach forward with your hands and hold onto the surface of the couch or bed and try to pull yourself forward.
  5. Hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds depending on your comfort levels.
  6. After resting for a minute try to reach further than you did previously.

You’re going to feel a great stretch into your upper back that makes its way down to your tailbone. Also due to your position, you will feel a stretch from your hip to your knees.

There are many other factors that go into decompressing your spine. If you feel that the stretches are not relieving enough pain. You may require the use of a Spinal Traction table for Non-Surgical 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.

Is Spinal Decompression Good for Your Spine?

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What is Spinal Decompression? 

By definition, Spinal decompression is a non-surgical procedure which intends to relieve pressure that may be accumulated on the spinal cord or on compressed nerve roots passing through or exiting from the spinal column. 

What you may be wondering however, is whether or not it is good for your spine? 

Join me as we go over how Spinal Decompression is done and how removing pressure from your spine can help with pain and improve quality of life.

Spinal Cord Compression

Before talking about decompression first we need to talk about why spinal compression is bad. The spinal cord may be compressed by:

  • Bone
  • Hematomas
  • Abscesses
  • Tumors
  • Herniated Disk

Some of the symptoms and conditions that can be caused by spinal cord compression:

  • Back Pain
  • Neck, Back, Lower Back Pain
  • Numbness
  • Cramping
  • Muscle Weakness
  • Poor Hand Coordination
  • Sciatica
  • Herniated Discs
  • Bulging Discs
  • Degenerative Disc Disease

A very common way for people to suffer spinal compression is also sitting for too long. As your spine is being compressed about 30% more by sitting instead of standing. Which puts you at a higher risk of the conditions listed above.

There is a Dangerous condition called Increased Intracranial Pressure which can lead to headache. The pressure can further injure your spinal cord, this kind of headache is considered an emergency and requires immediate medical attention. An immediate response to an Intracranial Pressure headache will increase the likelihood of recovery.

How is Non Surgical Spinal Decompression Done?

For our patients who experience lower back and neck pain we at SOHMA Integrative Medicine in Long Beach CA offer non-surgical spinal decompression treatment. This kind of therapy stretches your spine using a device called a spinal traction. This is a specialized decompression table used to take pressure off your spine and discs. It also repositions your vertebrae naturally. People with radiating nerve pain that travels down the legs and arms benefit most from this type of non-invasive treatment.

During the treatment you are fully dressed, the doctor fits you into a harness around your abdomen and pelvis. The treatment is customized to each individual needs of the patient. Treatment only lasts about 30 to 45 minutes, and treatment may vary. Some may require as many as 20 to 30 treatments over a couple of months to see full results.

Benefits of Spinal Decompression

More and more we are finding out that non-surgical Spinal Decompression is an effective treatment which brings relief to patients with a wide variety of back and neck issues. Generally speaking the decompressive pressure from the spinal traction causes your disc protrusions and disc bulges to retract. This can take pressure off of nearby nerves and encourage the flow of blood, and oxygen to the spine in order to promote healing. As a result of this treatment many types of back and neck pains can be relieved with Spinal Decompression therapy. 

Many patients find that choosing a surgical procedure with no guarantees is not as adequate of an option as choosing a simpler yet safer type of therapy. Spinal Decompression surgery has virtually no downtime after treatment. No recovery time and no high risk side effects. Something that cannot be said about invasive spinal surgery. We have seen many patient cases that have proven that non-surgical Spinal Decompression is a safe, effective and alternative option to surgery.

If you have any further questions about Spinal Decompression Therapy feel free to ask the helpful staff at SOHMA. 

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.

Benefits of Spinal Decompression

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Doctor showing spinal section

Let’s get one important item out of the way. Back pain is difficult. Whether it’s lower back pain, pain from discs or pain in your legs because of issues with your back it can have an extremely negative impact on your quality of life.

Spinal decompression is an alternative treatment. It’s a treatment method designed to help alleviate the pain in your back.

One of the reasons we like recommending spinal decompression is because it is a non-surgical alternative.

We aren’t against surgery however if surgery can be avoided and you can avoid going “under the knife” so to speak we believe it’s worth looking at all of your options.

What is Spinal Decompression?

Spinal decompression is a process where your spine is gently stretched. This is a process that is done with a doctor who is trained, a very specific table, and a computer.

We perform this type of therapy at our Long Beach, CA facility to help those within the community who are looking for alternatives to surgery. 

We have had patients look at the table or have seen pictures and say it looks like a modern version of something they read about in medieval history class. Rest assured this is a very expensive piece of equipment that is designed to help those with very specific issues.

A few of the physical ailments we use to the spinal decompression table for are:

  • Bulging discs
  • Sciatica
  • Worn spinal joints
  • Leg pain where the pain is caused by issues in alignment with the spine

We could go into more detail however we hope you get the idea that spinal decompression is pretty cool, advanced, and may help you avoid surgery. 

Let’s look at some specific benefits. At any time you can call our office to see if it’s right for you.

Benefit #1: Provides Pain Relief

When muscles are tight, spasming, or injured it can be extremely painful. We have yet to meet someone who wanted more pain in their lives. One of the benefits of spinal decompression is that it can provide pain relief. We can guide the equipment to provide relief to your muscles. The gentle stretching provides relief and can help stimulate the nervous system.

Benefit #2: Helps to restore spinal disc and joint alignment

A body out of alignment is a body that is not functioning at full capacity. Think of it like your car. When a car is out of alignment everything is affected. Tires wear unevenly, suspension takes on additional wear and tear, and the car is difficult to drive. 

The same type of thing happens to your body when it is out of alignment. Spinal decompression is a treatment method where we can gently guide your body back into alignment. You then end up with less wear and tear and pain.

Benefit #3: Relieves pressure on spinal nerves

Pressure can be a good thing when you are trying to achieve your best in an athletic event. Pressure is not good when it is applied to your spinal nerves. Spinal nerves can get pinched and when they do the pain will radiate and you will be in nearly constant discomfort.

We have seen nerves pinched in discs and bones. Using spinal decompression we were able to guide the body to heal without surgery. Patients ended up in less pain and an improved quality of 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 if we are right for you. Located in Long Beach, CA we help individuals from Long Beach and the surrounding cities.

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