Health & Medicine
2007-01-01 14:58:00
New technology for back pain
I've heard of a new technology for treating back pain, what is it?
ANSWER: If you've been reading the newspaper lately then you have likely seen some of the advertisements for the "New technology" in the treatment of back and neck pain. The treatment is called decompression therapy and has proven to be very effective in helping people with conditions that in many cases would have required surgery in the past. The treatment is non-invasive and requires no medications. In fact it is so comfortable that many patients fall asleep during the average 20-minute treatment. The results from this treatment are amazing. Having seen patients experience immediate changes after one treatment.
Decompression therapy works by reducing pressure inside the spinal joints. The cartilage pads between each of our spinal vertebra are called discs. These discs have fluid in the center of them and are designed to be shock absorbers for our joints. As we go through our daily routine of standing, walking, bending, and sleeping, we create loading pressures on the discs and other supporting tissues of the spine. When that occurs, pressure begins to increase inside the disc causing the disc fibers to weaken. The combination of a weakened disc and increased pressure inside it, can begin forcing the fluid inside the disc to the outside edges of the disc, and eventually push all the way out of the disc creating a bulge. These bulges can be very painful and can also impinge directly on nerve roots that pass beside the disc, resulting in numbness and pain in our arms and legs. If the pressure and alignment of the problematic discs are not improved, the damage to the disc can continue to worsen, causing more problems later in life.
There are new technologies that utilizes the Saunders 3D ActiveTrac therapy table. This table is unique from other tables used to provide decompression treatment. Most decompression tables work in only one plane of movement. Every patient's body structure is different, and the problems creating back pain for each patient are different. The 3D ActiveTrac allows the clinician to position the patient in nearly any range of movement possible to accommodate the alignment and movement specific to each patient's particular problems.
Since the release of this treatment, it has been effective, but it has also been very expensive. The good news is that the new technology is being offered for this type of treatment
The 3D ActiveTrac can effectively treat back and neck pain, herniated or protruding discs, arthritic conditions of the spine, sciatica, and facet syndrome.
