Posts Tagged ‘sciatica’

Spinal Decompression

Posted by admin on January 9th, 2010

Treatment of severe chronic back and neck pain

Spinal Decompression offers the most advanced technology available for the treatment of severe chronic back and/or neck pain. Conditions treated include herniated discs, bulging or protruding discs, degenerative disc disease, stenosis, spinal arthritis, posterior facet syndrome and sciatica.

Spinal Decompression is revolutionary. It is non-surgical, non-invasive, and has no known side effects. It is proven to be successful even with patients who have had limited success with other conventional therapies like drugs, injections, chiropractic, physiotherapy, massage, acupuncture, and even failed surgery.

Spinal Decompression creates a unique and highly specific force that gently stretches the spine, causing negative pressure to develop in the damaged disc. This causes the disc bulge (or herniation) to move off of the injured nerve and retract back into the disc. At the same time, the negative pressure also draws water, oxygen and nutrients back into the disc, restoring and rejuvenating the disc towards a normal height. During the course of Spinal Decompression care your pain diminishes as the disc heals.

The NEW DRX9000 is considered by many doctors to be the leading technology in Spinal Decompression. The technology behind the DRX9000 allows for customized and specific decompression care for each patient. It is very different from generalized traction, an antiquated device that is unable to single out and target a specific damaged disc the way Spinal Decompression can.
American Spinal Decompression Therapy Association
The DRX9000’s internal computer is programmed by the doctor to target the exact location of your damaged disc for care. During each treatment session, the pulling forces you experience are calculated specifically for you. The DRX9000 on-board computer monitors the decompression forces – 4,000 times per second — and adjusts them as needed based on your body’s response to treatment. This ensures that you experience an accurate and pain-free session.

The Patient Experience

During each treatment session, the patient lies on a heavily-padded comfortable bed, secured into position by an upper- and lower-body harness. Typically, each session is divided into cycles where spinal decompression forces alternate between a maximum and minimum therapeutic level. The cycling of forces in this manner creates a pumping action that simulates the natural processes responsible for re-nourishing and healing your damaged disc. Most patients experience a gentle stretch in the lumbar spine (or neck). Patients find this therapy quite comfortable and even relaxing. Few patients may experience mild muscular soreness during treatment, similar to what one might feel when starting a new exercise regimen. Adjunctive therapies are prescribed to support the benefits of Spinal Decompression therapy. After the course of care is complete, patients return for evaluation and monitoring.

Some Interesting Facts

Research studies consistently show an incredibly high success rate with qualified patients who complete their program of Spinal Decompression care:

  • On average, eighty-six percent of patients report immediate resolution of symptoms
  • Eighty-four percent remain pain-free 90 days post-treatment
  • Use of pain medications is usually completely discontinued or decreased by the patient’s MD
  • Daily life activities are resumed – things such as work, bathing, dressing, walking, sleeping and sports.

No other treatment or therapy for severe back and neck pain caused by damaged discs is as effective.
Spinal Decompression is helping thousands of people find relief from their back and neck pain — without injections, medication or surgery.

Dr. Ron Nusbaum is the Director of Back Clinics of Canada. He has been in practice for 21 years, helping those suffering from severe, chronic back pain and neck pain achieve a pain-free life and regain vitality and strength. Dr. Nusbaum has performed more than 4,000 Spinal Decompression sessions over the last two years, and his patients experience an unprecedented success rate when they follow his program of care.

Back Clinics of Canada serves primarily the Southern Ontario Region, but patients do come from across Canada and the United States, and sometimes from overseas.

Reasons For Back Pain

Posted by Health articles on November 16th, 2009

Many people suffer from back pain due to varying reasons. Back pain affects 8 out of 10 people at some point in their lives. It could be acute pain or chronic pain depending on how long the pain sensation has been going on. Where acute pain is sudden and lasting for a few days or a week, chronic pain, however, last for more than three months. Pain could be constant, dull pain or a sudden sharp pain.

Back pain could arise from any of the structures of the back which is composed of muscles, ligaments, bones, tendons and disks. Sometimes, however, the exact cause of pain cannot be identified. Improper or heavy lifting and/or awkward sudden movement strains muscles and ligaments causing back pain. Back pain could be due to spasm of muscles in the back. It could also be caused by a problem in the structures of the back.

Sciatica, a sharp, shooting pain through the buttock and the back of the leg can be caused by a bulging or herniated disk which presses on the main nerve traveling down your leg. Bulging or ruptured disks may bulge out of place or rupture and press on a nerve causing pain. The disks in between the vertebrae of the spine act as cushion hence when displaced or ruptured, diminishes the support it gives to the vertebrae. However, there are also people with bulging or herniated disks that may not necessarily experience pain from that condition. Arthritis, inflammation of a joint, may also cause back pain. This inflammation commonly affects the hips, hands, knees and lower back. It could lead to stenosis of the spine- the narrowing of space around the spinal cord. Abnormal curvature of the spine such as scoliosis, a condition where a person’s spine is curved from side to side, could also cause back pain. When your bones become porous and brittle it could lead to compression fractures of the spinal vertebrae causing pain.

There are factors that increase the risk of developing back pain. These include obesity, sedentary work, physically strenuous work, older age, stressful jobs, anxiety, depression, gender, and smoking.

There are ways to reduce these risks. Exercise is a good way to keep muscles relaxed rather than tense. It improves movement and flexibility. Exercise improves blood circulation and therefore nourishment of tissues in the body. Eating healthy food to nourish your body is always a good idea. For your body to function well, it should have the necessary daily dietary requirements such as proteins, vitamins and minerals among others.

Causes of Sciatica and Ways to Treat It

Posted by admin on April 21st, 2009

Have you ever felt pains that can be felt either in the buttock, lower back, or maybe running down the upper part of your thigh? These afflictions can be nagging episodes of pain and may also be characterized by weakness or numbness. If you have felt this type of pain then you may have experienced sciatica.

Today, most of us are experiencing or at least have experienced sciatica. There are a number of causes for sciatica and we are going to discuss five of them in this article and at the same time the things that we could do in order to have relief of this pain. The reliefs may vary from a surgical and non-surgical approach.

The most common cause of sciatica is spinal disc herniation. Going back to human anatomy focusing on the skeletal system, our spinal discs have two components. The annulus or the cartilage part and the liquid nucleus. There are times, could be due to improper posture when reaching for an object or accident, when the nucleus can be displaced and protrude through the cartilage that surrounds it. This is the state where the spinal disc is herniated. The protrusion of the nucleus can cause swelling and impinge a nerve root. This will cause back pain or sciatica. But most of the time this back pain will go away once the swelling subsides.

Another cause is the Piriformis syndrome. This is where the Piriformis muscle, located at the buttock part, is impinging or compressing the sciatic nerve. The compression is because of spasms caused by accident or trauma to the Piriformis muscle.

Spinal tumors are also causing sciatica because of the growth of these tumors are compressing the nerve. These tumors may induce terrible back pain and may run up to the lower extremity area such as the legs and feet. Pregnancy can also cause sciatica, this is because as the baby grows, it also stretches the uterus and thus impinges on the sciatic nerve. Sciatica is often triggered by work related issues, for example if you carry something to heavy for yourself.

The measures to be taken in order to relieve sciatica may differ depending on the cause. The most common relief for sciatica is taking in anti-inflammatory medications. Therapy is also another way of relieving sciatica. If you do want something that you can do at home, you can try doing some stretches. Worst case scenario for relief is when you need to have surgery. Surgery however is risky and the process would involve removal of a nerve that is within the spine. One wrong move then more damage could be made and thus leading to a more serious problem.

Sciatica may come from a number of causes and have a number of remedies. Being careful with your body is probably the best way for you to not experience sciatica.
Sciatica and Back Pain are very uncomfortable and can stop you from doing numerous things in your life. Seeing a specialist is the best way of ensuring your life doesn’t remain a misery.