With age, comes experience, wisdom, and a long list of health complications. No matter how healthy we are, once we hit 60, the ability to ward off every illness in the book becomes less feasible. As our bones weaken and the probability of accidents increase, back problems such as spinal stenosis turn into a reality for many.

Affecting primarily the lumbar and cervical areas of the spine, spinal stenosis occurs when the spinal canal (which is composed of nerves and the spinal cord itself), begins to compress. While the narrowing itself does not cause extreme pain, the pressed nerve endings inflict discomfort. People afflicted with lumbar spinal stenosis are likely to experience pain and sometimes numbness in their back and legs. Symptoms are usually more intense with cervical spinal stenosis. This pain can occur in their arms, legs and even cause imbalance.

Spinal stenosis targets many older victims, as it is a medical condition that derives from weak bones or illnesses such as osteoarthritis. When we age, our bones begin to calcify and lose some of its cushion that protects the area. As a result, it becomes more difficult to move quickly and walk great distances. While some are born with it, women who are over 50 tend to be primary targets.If you suffer from painful spinal stenosis, it is advisable that you consider all options available to you. Surgery is usually not a popular method, especially with older patients. Nonetheless, there are many beneficial treatments which are non-invasive in nature that could reduce some of the pain.

Spinal decompression therapy, for example, is one treatment that is pain-free. It requires the patient to lay on a table hooked up to a harness and receive pressure to their spine. This pressure actually creates a vacuum effect, tugging the discs apart, allowing them to gain flexibility and stretch out. By decompressing this area, vital nutrients and blood supply re-enter, which allows the spine to heal. The result: pain and muscle spasms are reduced and mobility without the discomfort of the pain. Though people with herniated discs often experience a full recovery, those with spinal stenosis may only feel less pain, given that their bones are already degenerating. Even still, this makes a world of a difference. Most patients need to undergo 4-5 sessions per week for a minimum of twenty sessions.

In addition to spinal decompression therapy, those with spinal stenosis can also benefit from exercise. Depending on your flexibility, many would recommend Pilates, Yoga or perhaps a physical therapy driven routine. Exercise routine that works up your back pain is vital to the healing process. If you are still experiencing pain and discomfort, you may ask your doctor and seek advice on medications. While it’s true that cortisone shots reduces muscle spasms, it does not qualify as a long-term treatment. Whichever option you choose, there are a lot of treatments available for spinal stenosis. If we could reduce just some of the pain in our lives, living into our 100’s would certainly be a walk in the park.

Spinal decompression is an advanced form of spinal traction used in the treatment of disc-related back pain and related conditions such as sciatica.  The primary difference between true spinal decompression and traction (and inversion) machines is that spinal decompression machines are set up to “trick” the spinal muscles into staying relaxed during treatment, allowing for greater changes in disc pressure than with regular traction, which has to fight the resistance of the muscles.  Spinal decompression treatment provides excellent results for many people, but some fail to get any improvement at all, and others may even feel worse.  I will attempt to explain the most common reasons for these treatment failures, and give suggestions for how to know when spinal decompression is and is not likely to help you.

Spinal decompression in my San Antonio office has been quite successful for most patients, but it is not appropriate or effective for every patient.  It has been my observation that some providers of spinal decompression services will recommend it as a “cure-all” for all patients in an attempt to keep their machines full and maximize their return on investment on the equipment.  Even the best doctors don’t have a 100% success rate, because no treatment works for everyone.  The problem is when doctors accept patients who are not really good candidates for treatment, the results are lacking, and some poorly-selected patients may even temporarily get worse when they receive this form of treatment.

From my experiences in my San Antonio practice, the patients who get the best results with spinal decompression are those with one or more bulging/herniated discs and patients with mild to moderate disc degeneration.  Patients who have previously undergone disc surgery are somewhat more complicated, but most still get good results when they meet the selection criteria (no metal implantation in the spine, no spinal instability, and no impaired healing at the site of surgery). The vast majority of people who meet these criteria get very good results and are usually able to return to their normal activities without any significant pain.

While there are case reports that indicate complete disc ruptures can be treated with spinal decompression, in my experience, people with actual ruptures tend to not do very well with this form of treatment.  It should be noted that even doctors sometimes incorrectly call a disc bulge or herniation a rupture.  True disc ruptures (also called extrusions and sequestered discs), in which the inner gel of the disc is actually leaking out, are relatively rare, so it is good to find out for sure what your actual condition is. 

Besides the obvious importance of only using spinal decompression in cases where it is really appropriate, it is very important for the machine operator to be well-trained to ensure proper set-up of the machine for the patient.  There are several different decompression machines on the market, each with their own specific set-up procedures.  Whatever machine is being used, it is critical to have ongoing refresher training for the operating technicians to be sure that all patients are being set up on the machine exactly right.  While the better machines are unlikely to produce any major injury if they are not set up exactly right, results can suffer tremendously if the patient is not positioned and secured on the machine correctly on every visit.  I highly suggest asking any spinal decompression provider how frequently the technicians undergo training and only work with those providers who do re-training at a minimum of every 3 months. 

One other consideration is the fact that some patients are not good candidates for spinal decompression treatment because of their inability or unwillingness to follow the recommended treatment protocol.  In my experience, the primary reasons why a patient can’t or won’t follow the treatment recommendations are usually related to money and/or time. 

A complete spinal decompression program of care that inclues decompression as well as additional treatments may seem expensive to some people.  Since spinal decompression is an alternative to disc surgery though, a cost comparison with surgery will show spinal decompression to be much less expensive with statistically much better resuts, making it a good value in most cases.  Even so, some people try to lower the cost by attempting to reduce the amount of treatment they get.  In my experiences from my San Antonio office, this approach is often a very big mistake.  The people who discontinue care prematurely will often feel better and return to activities before their disc condition is stable.  This can lead to re-injury and even worse problems.  In my opinion, it is far better to invest in the recommended treatment in order to get maximum benefits.

Of course, some people fail to follow treatment recommendations primarily because they have busy lives and are unwilling to spend the time on getting better.  This type of patient tends to miss a lot of appointments and may go long periods of time between treatment sessions.  Unfortunately, the success of spinal decompression usually depends on getting the recommended amount of treatment at the recommended frequency of treatments.  The effectiveness and results are not as good when people don’t make time for their appointments.  What some busy people fail to realize is that if they don’t set aside time to properly deal with their health problem, sooner or later that health problem will deteriorate to the point where it forces them to make time to get treatment, and this often occurs when they are at their busiest and treatment is least convenient.  It is my recommendation to invest the necessary time in getting better, rather than do the treatment intermittently and not get the best results. 

In summary, spinal decompression is a very effective means of treating the pain and disability associated with herniated and degenerated spinal discs, but there are some important factors in getting maximum results.  Doctors and patients alike are responsible for making sure the treament is done properly to get maximum results. 

Dr. George Best specializes in the treatment of disc-related pain.  For more information about spinal decompression in San Antonio, visit his website at www.spinesanantonio.com.

Sciatica pain happens in your back because of different nerves that are in the back that may become inflamed or irritated. This pain may also move to your lower legs and buttocks. A lot of folks think about seeing chiropractors when they’re in this kind of pain, but they should begin with a regular physician. Tests are needed to determine the cause, since there are many causes of sciatica. This might even be a symptom of some other kind of medical issue.

Most of the time Sciatica pain is the result of a herniated disk in the back. These disks are most and the separate the bones of the spine. As a person ages though they can start to dry out and even wear away. If one of the disks tears open then it can end up resting on one of the nerves.

Pain may result from some sort of pressure exerted on your spinal cord. Tumors of the spinal cord may press on nerves emerging from the spinal cord and cause pain. All sorts of trauma, such as car accidents or a fall from a great height can cause injuries to your back. Since there are so many causes that produce pain it is not easy for a doctor to pinpoint the cause of Sciatica pain.

Sciatica pain can be treated in many ways but there is no cure for it. Apart from seeing their regular doctors, people usually see the chiropractors. As the treatment options does not always work the same for every individuals, people can also consider few other cost effective treatment options like acupuncture, osteopathy and Rolfing to treat their pain.

Chiropractors may help get you much-needed relief from your sciatica pain by manipulating and changing the location of parts of the spine. This helps in taking pressure off nerves, giving you less pain. They may also give you various kinds of stretching exercises to do for your muscles, as well as massages created specifically to help lessen the pain from sciatica.

Treatment of Sciatic nerve pain becomes a tragedy if you don’t meet the right Chiropractor. Since this is a rare disease all Chiropractor’s don’t have apt experience in this area. Try to schedule as many free consultations as possible. Just try to understand how have been the results of patients suffering from sciatica pain of a particular physician. Please try too understand the type of action plan that the Chiropractor is going to follow to help you reduce the pain and go for it only if you are convinced.

Back Pain Exercise Program

Many people are asking the question today about which is the right back pain exercise program. Contrary to popular conception, bed rest and especially too much of it, can actually worsen the back pain rather than improve it. Along with some bed rest it is also recommended that a suitable back pain exercise program can help with a quicker recovery.

The Benefits of a Back Pain Exercise Program 

The simple truth is that the right back pain exercise program will help in the proper distribution of nutrients to various important parts of the body including the spinal column as well as major muscles as too nerves, ligaments and the joints. The back will become more supple and the right program will also help to stretch the back muscles. While the right program will also help in strengthening the back and making it able to withstand pressures and strain more effectively.

If you choose these exercise programs they will help you to overcome weakness and stiffness that may normally develop with bed rest alone. The simplest back pain exercise program should involve stretching of muscles and ligaments as well as tendons.

To prevent back trauma and injury it is also recommended that you do back exercise to strengthen your back muscles. A warm up of your body is vital before starting any back pain exercise program and in the beginning take things slowly in case you feel any pain. it is just as vital that you do a gentle warm down to cool the body after you back pain exercise program.

Getting relief from back pain is one of the major considerations in the minds of sufferers and in order to speed up recovery it pays to look at certain items of back pain exercise equipment that will prove their worth should you choose to buy such equipment.

To learn more about all aspects of back pain and back care visit YourBackHealth.com.

As anyone who suffers from repeated episodes of low back pain knows, it can really get you down! Back problems can result to many sick days and if your health care plan is insufficient, it could put you deep in debt. For those who do have good health coverage, chronic low back pain can eat up your covered days. In addition, there are frequent trips to the doctor, physical therapy, medications and so on. And, always, the specter of BACK SURGERY is looming.

There may be a solution for you.- a new treatment to consider. It’s called Non-Surgical Spinal Decompressions and it has helped many patients who have to deal with chronic low back pain. If any of these diagnoses or conditions apply to you, this treatment may be the answer. Have you been diagnosed with or do you suffer from:

• Low back pain
• Sciatica
• Herniated Disc
• Bulging disc
• Degenerative disc disease
• Failed low back syndrome
• Numbness and tingling in a leg
• Pain in your arm
• Neck pain
• Spinal stenosis -sometimes this condition can be helped.

The American Spinal Decompression Association believes that this treatment allows patients a 70% chance of resuming a normal lifestyle. These experts have developed a series of questions to determine if this treatment might help you:

• Do you take medications regularly for back pain?
• Are your daily activities limited by your pain or decreased mobility?
• Have you had repeated injections or epidurals with little or no relief?
• Are you considering surgery?
• Do you feel comfortable with your decision about surgery?
• Have all the options that are available been discussed?
• Have you tried physical therapy or chiropractic treatment?
• Have you been away from work because of your back pains?

If you answered ‘yes’ to one or more of these questions, Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression could certainly be a viable option for you. Don’t disregard the benefits of this kind of treatment. As you gain more knowledge, you will be better able to make a wise decision about your care  – one that makes sense to you.