Bulging disc? Now what?

If you or your family members have been struggling with little or no relief from pain, then ask yourself the following questions.

- Are you currently dependent on medications on a daily basis?

- Are you limited in daily activities?

- Have you had repeated injections or epidurals with little or no relief?

- Are you considering surgery and are uncomfortable with that choice?

- Have you been out or work due to pain?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then non-surgical spinal decompression therapy is certainly a viable treatment option. In the past, a patient suffering from disc problems was usually given pain medications, instructed to refrain from physical activities, referred for physical therapy and when they weren’t progressing they were sent for spinal surgery. Conservative care proved very helpful in many cases, yet there have been some cases when surgery seemed to be the only other option. Today, you don’t have to live with that pain anymore.

Spinal decompression is an effective treatment option that is very safe and utilizes FDA cleared equipment to apply distraction forces to spinal structures in a precise and graduated manner. Distraction is offset by cycles of partial relaxation. This technique of spinal decompression — that is, unloading due to distraction and positioning — has shown the ability to gently separate the vertebrae from each other, creating a vacuum inside the discs that we are targeting. This “vacuum effect” is also known as negative intra-discal pressure.

The negative pressure may induce the retraction of the herniated or bulging disc into the inside of the disc and off the nerve root, or both. It happens only microscopically each time, but cumulatively, over four to six weeks, the results are quite dramatic. The cycles of decompression and partial relaxation, over a series of visits, promote the diffusion of water, oxygen and nutrient-rich fluids from the outside of the discs to the inside. These nutrients enable the torn and degenerated disc fibers to begin to heal.

This system provides relief of pain and symptoms associated with herniated discs, bulging or protruding intervertebral discs, degenerative disc disease, posterior facet syndrome and sciatica. Spinal decompression not only significantly reduces or eliminates back pain in many patients, but also enables the majority of patients to return to their previous lives.

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Dr. Wayne M. Fichter Jr. is a chiropractor at Natural Spine Solutions. The business is located at 3913 Schreiber Way in Coeur d’Alene, 208-966-4425.