Spinal Decompression Vs. Back Surgery

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Spinal Decompression Vs. Back Surgery

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

For people with severe disc-related back pain and sciatica, long-term relief can be hard to come by and the treatment options often come down to spinal decompression or back surgery. Each treatment option has its pros and cons, but in the end, the best option will depend on a variety of factors that are unique to each case.

Unfortunately, there are several misconceptions concerning both spinal decompression and back surgery that can make it very difficult for one to choose a treatment approach, particularly when one’s judgement may be clouded by pain and/or pain medication. The purpose of this article is to attempt to cut through some of the myths and misconceptions concerning these forms of disc treatment to assist disc pain sufferers in making an informed decision as to the form of treatment to pursue.

Although spinal decompression is a kind of traction, the effects of spinal decompression vary considerably from those of regular traction. True spinal decompression systems utilize computer controlled motors that can “fool” the muscles along the spine into staying relaxed during the treatment session. This allows for a suction effect inside the spinal disc being treated, which pulls bulging disc material back into the disc and also pulls in fluid and nutrients that help the disc to recover and heal. Since ordinary traction machines must contend with muscular resistance, their effects on the discs are much less and traction typically does not provide long-term improvements in disc health, nor lasting elimination of pain.

Although spinal decompression is extremely effective in the vast majority of disc-pain cases, it does not work in every case, and their are situations in which it cannot be safely applied. From my experience in my San Antonio Spinal Decompression office, I have found that decompression is not usually effective in cases of large disc extrusions (when large amounts of the inner gel of the disc breach the disc wall). In addition, spinal decompression cannot be safely used when there is substantial ligamentous instability in the spine because the stretching effect of the decompression would tend to make such instability worse. In cases where spinal decompression is not appropriate, surgery is indicated as really the only option for getting long term relief for the patient.

Surgery is not the ideal solution for disc-related back pain, although it is the only real option in a small number of cases. Although patients sometimes get the idea that surgery will “fix” the problem once and for all, this is often not the case. In fact, one of the leading predictors that someone will eventually need back surgery in the future is having had back surgery in the past. Although aggressive surgical techniques that involve removing a problematic disc will guarantee that a patient will not have any trouble with that particular disc again, these surgeries create other problems that over time can make things even worse than the original problem.

Post-surgical scar tissue and increased wear and tear on adjacent discs can conspire to create new areas of spinal cord and/or spinal nerve compression months or years after spinal surgery. For this reason, it is my opinion that spinal surgery should be reserved as a last resort when all other treatments (including spinal decompression) have failed or have otherwise been ruled out.

For a FREE report with additional information on spinal decompression and back surgery, visit the San Antonio Spinal Decompression website.