Irvine Family Health Center News
Back Surgery May Be Worse Than No Surgery
Are you considering surgery for your back pain?
Before you do, consider this: Research shows that many patients who undergo surgery for lower back pain often have subsequent surgeries for the same condition due to the failure of the initial procedure, which can contribute to further patient disability.
Researchers sought to examine whether such patients had poorer general health than those with no history of spine surgery.
The study examined more than 18,000 patients with back pain enrolled at first visit in the National Spine Network (NSN) database from January 1998 – April 2000.
Why Do Some Patients Keep Hurting Their Back?
Why do Some Patients Keep Hurting Their Back?
Evidence of ongoing back muscle dysfunction during remission from recurrent back pain.
Conclusion: This study presents evidence that even though study participants were pain-free and between episodes of Low Back Pain, recurrent unilateral Low Back Pain Subjects don’t control their back muscles in the same way as healthy controls.
These findings raise the possibility that this abnormal pattern of muscle control, in the absence of pain, may leave the spine vulnerable to re-injury and predispose them to recurrent episodes.
Question: What happens when Spinal Decompression treatment is done?
Question: OK, but what happens when the machine stops pulling you apart? Gravity does the opposite… adds pressure, which re-compresses the disc and it bulges back out. Seems like decompression would just be temporary relief.
Answer: @kw757 Excellent question. Discs are designed to last our entire lives. The proteins within the disc hold onto the fluid quite strongly – gravity alone should not be enough to drive this fluid out. Unfortunately, trauma and chronic spinal dysfunction can eventually push this disc fluid out causing the discs to desiccate (dry out).
How Spinal Discs Live and Breathe – Part 3
How Spinal Discs Live and Breathe
…And How Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Can Keep Them That Way!
Part 3
There is a growing body of evidence that has evaluated the clinical effects of bed rest and immobility, both of which have been universally and thoroughly discredited as effective methods of treatment for both back and neck problems.
Waddell, MD noted in 1987 (6) that there is a loss of 3% muscle strength per day with complete bed rest.
How Spinal Discs Live and Breathe – Part 2
How Spinal Discs Live and Breathe
…And How Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Can Keep Them That Way!
Part 2
As Kraemer, MD (3) concluded: the continual alteration between loading and unloading promotes the cleansing mechanism of the disc. Unchanging long-term posture leads to an interruption of the pressure dependent transfer of joint fluid.
The spinal disc and joints of the body live because of movement.
Current concepts concerning the central role of motion and joint nutrition in reducing spinal degeneration were derived from compelling studies published by internationally renowned researchers investigating the relationship between movement and disc function.
How Spinal Discs Live and Breathe – Part 1
How Spinal Discs Live and Breathe
…And How Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Can Keep Them That Way!
Part 1
The spinal discs and joints of the body live because of movement and motion. The joints and discs of the body do not have a blood supply (avascular), which leaves them dependent on movement for their oxygen and nutrients.
In 1995, Buckwalter, MD (1) concluded based on his research, that intervertebral discs undergo age-related degenerative changes. The most important cause appears to be declining joint nutrition and lubrication of the central disc, which allows an accumulation of cell waste products, degraded matrix molecules, and a fall in pH.
Spinal Decompression and Insurance: Is it Covered?
Question:
Is Spinal Decompression Covered by Insurance?
Simple Answer:
It depends on which office you choose.
More Detailed Answer:
Spinal Decompression is a highly advanced non-surgical treatment for Disc Bulges, Herniated Discs, Disc Extrusions and Degenerative Disc Disease. Most insurance companies currently do not cover Spinal Decompression Therapy. Therefore, most offices have a cash-only policy. There is no special code (like S9090 or 97012) that will magically make a non-covered service payable through an insurance company.
Does Spinal Decompression Work? MRIs Before and After Spinal Decompression
12mm Herniated Disc with Extrusion Dramatically Improved with Spinal Decompression
Dramatic change is obvious on these Before and After MRI images even to someone that is not used to reading MRI films.
Sharon W. reported severe “Sciatica” pain radiating from her low back all the way down her left leg to her foot. She said that the pain felt like a “pinched nerve”. The pain was so severe that she had significant difficulty sitting, driving, standing up straight and walking.
How Spinal Discs Live and Breathe – Part 4
How Spinal Discs Live and Breathe
…And How Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Can Keep Them That Way!
Part 4
In 1995 Twomey, PhD and Taylor, MD, PhD (11) reviewed the current literature on movement and its impact on joint articular cartilage and disc nutrition/lubrication. They concluded that discs and facet joints require movement to ensure the proper flow of fluid and nutrients across and through joint surfaces. Disc nutrition is very dependent on movement. Exercise and joint movement ensures the passage of synovial fluid over articular cartilage, enabling it to be expressed and “sucked back” into cartilage.