What is Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Spinal decompression therapy is a non-surgical traction based treatment oucome for herniated or bulging discs in the neck and lower back.

Anyone who has back, neck, arm or leg pain may be helped by spinal decompression therapy.

How many spinal decompression sessions will be needed and are they painful?

The number of sessions needed and your specific treatment plan will be determined by Dr. Gibson after your examination.

In almost all cases, the treatments are completely painless. In fact, some patients fall asleep during the spinal decompression session.

What type of decompression system is used?

After a significant amount of research, the we chose the Triton® DTS system manufactured by the Chattanooga Group, the premier manufacturer of physical medicine equipment.

More importantly, our system has the computerized head that it won the Australian Design Award in the "Medical and Scientific" category. It is also the system that the University of Texas purchased for the treatment of its world-class athletes. We also selected the Triton® DTS systems due to their ability to treat discs in both the neck and the low back.

What Makes Spinal Decompression Therapy so Effective?

Proper patient positioning combined with the table and computerized traction head are the keys.

Proper assessment, correct positioning and the use of preprogrammed patterns of distraction and relaxation may reduce disc pressure allowing necessary nutrients to enliven and accelerate disc healing.

Who can benefit from Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Anyone who has back pain or neck pain caused in whole or in part by a damaged disc may be helped by spinal decompression therapy.

These conditions include herniated, protruding or bulging discs, spinal stenosis, sciatica or even failed surgery.

Are there medical studies that document the effectiveness of Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Yes! One study documented by MRI up to 90% reduction of disc herniations in 10 of 14 cases and other studies reported that the majority of herniated disc patients achieved "good" to "excellent" results after spinal decompression therapy.

Click here if you would like to review the studies yourself or click here to read case studies on actual patients from our office."To Your Health" Magazine featured an article about spinal decompression therapy authored by one of our doctors, James Edwards. In the article, Dr. Edwards discussed the safety and effectiveness of this non-surgical treatment for spinal disc herniations.

Click here to read the article.

Are there conditions where Spinal Decompression Therapy is not indicated?

Spinal decompression therapy is not recommended for pregnant women, patients who have severe osteoporosis, severe obesity or severe nerve damage.

Spinal surgery with instrumentation (screws, metal plates or "cages") is also contraindicated. However, spinal decompression therapy after bone fusion or non-fusion surgery, can be performed.

Do most patients receive therapy and rehabilitative exercises in addition to Spinal Decompression Therapy?

To reduce inflammation and assist the healing process, supporting structures are treated with passive therapies (ice/heat), chiropractic adjustments (as indicated) and/or active rehabilitation in order to strengthen the spinal musculature.

We want to make it easy for you to learn if you are a candidate for spinal decompression therapy. Just call our office at (303)771-3102 to arrange a consultation with Dr. Gibson.

Please remember to bring any MRI reports so the doctor can review them and best advise you about your treatment options.