Owing to the rising cases of back and neck pain, a non invasive way of intervention has been sought by many health professionals. This has made spinal decompression therapy the way to go. Spinal Decompression Therapy is a vertebral disc rehabilitation that is used to gently stretch the spinal cord and simultaneously decompress the discs. In this review focus will be on: significance of decompression therapy, components of successful intervention, the benefits of the therapy and innovations made in the therapy.
Considering its high safety profile, spinal traction is used in the management of a number of spinal defects like spinal stenosis, scoliosis, cord prolapse and herniation. It is also used in treatment of Failed Back Syndrome characterized by chronic back pain occurring post surgery.
Successful intercession depends on a number of things. The physician and the physiotherapist have to work hand in hand to ensure that the traction is performed and managed well. A tentative diagnosis is paramount if a successful traction is to be realized. There should be proper prescription and follow-up of medication and injections. A physiotherapy program should be put in place.
Traction is beneficial in many ways. It has been seen to fasten the healing process in patients with spinal conditions. The spinal discs are made up of annulus fibrosus (outermost) and nucleus pulposus (central). Branches of arteries supplying the vertebral column usually supply the outermost fibres of annulus fibrosus. The discs are devoid of blood vessels, and they get their nutrients from diffusion from vertebral bones and the outermost fibres of the annulus fibrosus. When traction is applied, fibroblasts become active. The fibroblastic activity leads to collagen formation and deposition, thus, leading to healing of the annulus fibrosus. In minimal spinal defects, traction only can be used to correct the defect but in severe cases, medical and manual intervention may be added (Hoffmann and Kelly, 2).
Traction relieves pressure from encroached tissues as in osteophytes and also lowers back pain. It allows increased movement within the joints. It reduces inflammation and promotes healing.
There are various innovations to improve spinal decompression therapy. The use of devices with reduced tension and friction reduces the workload of the practitioner. Also, the use of individual timer settings tends to reduce the incidences of muscle spasms and permits smooth end-range fluctuation. Additionally, there is also customized pull speeds depending on the condition that the patient has. These have made physiotherapy more comfortable and the change to the use of the gym for stabilization exercises faster.
The article is of great importance to practitioners of today. The advantages of decompression therapy outweigh the disadvantages. It can be used to manage many spinal defects as well as neck and lower back pain. It is also a very useful tool in harmonization of different branches of health care as it involves many disciplines. More innovations should be encouraged so as to make it more effective than it currently is.
This article has gone a long way to show that there is a safe, non-invasive way of managing neck and back pain plus skeletal defects. It has also shown the numerous advantages of spinal traction. Several innovations have also been realized. On the other hand, however, it is still hypothetical since it does not provide data on the success rates. There is no fact-based evidence that it has therapeutic effect in severe cases when other methods have not worked.
Work cited
Hoffmann, Paul and John Kelly. Back in Place. London: Oxford University Press, 2007.