Decompression Therapy: A Painless & Effective Alternative to Surgery By Dylan Yépez Photos Vincent Pearson Photography
P
ain, numbness or weakness in your lower back or a limb may be symptomatic of a problem often treated by surgery. For spinal conditions such as disc protrusions, pinched nerves or sciatica, surgery is a double whammy: it costs tens of thousands of dollars, and often fails to correct the ailment. These ailments, however, can frequently be addressed through non-invasive spinal decompression therapy. Decompression therapy is a nonsurgical alternative treatment that is effective and painless. In fact, research places the effectiveness of this therapy between 86 and 93 percent; surgery, on the other hand, yields an estimated success rate of between 20 and 50 percent — and it costs about onetenth the price of surgery.
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Fine Lifestyles Magazine Cleveland
Nearly 15 years ago, Dr. John Livingston began using spinal decompression therapy for his patients with spinal disc problems. The treatment was so successful that Dr. Livingston continues to use it to treat a variety of spinal issues in the back and neck, such as disc protrusions, herniations, and bulges, as well as conditions including pinched nerves and sciatica. Dr. Livingston is a third-generation chiropractic physician who has been in practice for 20 years. He and his partners at Livingston Chiropractic Center take a holistic approach to health care, to identify and address the causes of pain, rather than masking the symptoms. Beyond cost and efficacy, decompression
therapy provides a plethora of benefits over surgical alternatives like trimming the affected disc or cutting open the spine to remove the disc. Decompression therapy is simple, easy, and even relaxing. The therapy requires the patient to lie horizontally on the table-like decompression machine, while it provides gentle, intermittent, angled traction to the affected area of the spine. This gentle traction separates the vertebrae around the protruded disc, creating a vacuum-like effect that draws the disc away from the spinal nerve and back where it belongs. “It’s quick and easy,” Dr. Livingston says. “A lot of people actually fall asleep.” This therapy is noninvasive, painless, and gradual in nature. It incrementally moves the disc back into place over four to eight