Questions patients ask us every day

In many cases, yes. Herniated disc material can shrink back and be reabsorbed by the body over time, and many patients recover without an operation. Non-surgical spinal decompression supports that process by gently unloading the disc, creating negative pressure that gives the herniation room to retract. In a 2025 review of 267 DRX9000 patient records published in Military Medicine, 90.5 percent of patients reported pain reduction. Individual results vary, and that study was a retrospective chart review with no control group.

Physical therapy strengthens the muscles around the spine and injections calm inflammation, but neither is designed to repair the disc itself. If your pain keeps returning after both, the disc may be the driver, and that is exactly the case spinal decompression was built for. The next step is an evaluation with imaging review to confirm whether your disc is a candidate for non-surgical care.

The DRX9000 is a computerized table that gently stretches and repositions the spine in a precise, controlled cycle. That cycling creates negative pressure inside the disc, which takes pressure off pinched nerves and may give the disc a chance to retract and recover. Treatment is non-surgical and drug-free, and each session lasts under an hour.

Adjustments restore motion to stiff spinal joints, which helps many people, but a single adjustment cannot hold a damaged disc unloaded long enough for it to heal. Decompression keeps the disc under negative pressure for sustained periods across a full course of sessions. Many of our patients are people who got short-term relief from adjustments and wanted something that addressed the disc itself.

Sciatica is a symptom, not a diagnosis: it means the sciatic nerve is irritated or pinched. A herniated disc in the lower back is the most common cause, when disc material presses directly on a nerve root. That is why sciatica often shows up as shooting leg pain, numbness, or tingling rather than just back pain.

Most people do not. Surgery is usually reserved for severe or progressive nerve problems, or when months of conservative care have failed. Because surgery carries real risks and a long recovery, it is worth trying non-surgical decompression first. If your case truly needs a surgeon, we will tell you and refer you for a surgical evaluation.

It depends on the severity of the herniation and how long you have had the problem. Most treatment plans run as a multi-week course of sessions, and we reassess your progress along the way. Your first visit includes an exam and imaging review, after which we map out a plan specific to your disc.

When sciatica keeps returning, the next step is imaging to help find the cause, then care that targets that cause instead of just the pain. If a herniated or degenerated disc may be pinching the nerve, non-surgical spinal decompression unloads the disc so the nerve gets relief. If the cause is something else, we will tell you what fits your case better.

Often, yes. A herniated disc in the lumbar spine pressing on a nerve root is the most common cause of sciatica. But stenosis, degenerative disc changes, and deep muscle irritation of the nerve can produce the same leg symptoms. An evaluation with imaging review is how we find out which one is driving yours.

Shooting pain down the leg usually means a nerve is being pinched or irritated somewhere between the low back and the foot. The most common source is a lumbar disc herniation pressing on a nerve root. Less common causes include spinal stenosis and deep muscle irritation of the sciatic nerve.

Numbness and tingling follow the same logic as the pain: a nerve is under pressure. A herniated disc is the most frequent culprit, but stenosis and peripheral nerve issues can mimic it. The pattern matters. Which nerve distribution is affected tells us where to look, and imaging confirms it.

It may help, when the sciatica comes from a disc problem. The DRX9000 is the computerized decompression table we use when sciatica may be caused by herniated discs, degenerative discs, or posterior facet syndrome. By creating negative pressure in the disc, decompression takes pressure off the irritated nerve root. In a 2025 review of 267 DRX9000 patient records published in Military Medicine, 90.5 percent of patients reported pain reduction. Individual results vary, and that study was a retrospective chart review with no control group.

Because most sciatica treatments calm the irritated nerve without fixing what is irritating it. Painkillers, muscle relaxers, and even epidural injections wear off, and if the disc is still pressing on the nerve, the symptoms return. Breaking the cycle usually means treating the disc itself.

If your sciatica has lasted more than a few weeks, keeps coming back, or is getting worse, yes. An MRI can show which disc or structure may be pressing on the nerve, which is what determines the right treatment. Bring any imaging you already have to your evaluation and we will review it with you.

Go to the emergency room if you develop loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness in the saddle area, or rapidly worsening leg weakness. Those can signal cauda equina syndrome, which needs immediate surgical evaluation. These are rare, but they are the red flags every sciatica patient should know.

No. Disc degeneration is extremely common with age and most people with it never need surgery. It becomes a problem worth treating when the worn disc keeps generating pain. Non-surgical spinal decompression was designed for exactly that situation.

Yes. Because the pain comes from a worn, thinning disc, the goal is to take pressure off that disc, which may help it recover some height and hydration. Spinal decompression does this by cycling the spine under controlled negative pressure. Strengthening and mobility work support the result, but they cannot rehydrate a disc on their own.

Desiccated just means dried out. A healthy disc is about 80 percent water, and as discs degenerate they lose fluid and flatten, which narrows the space for nearby nerves. Decompression creates negative pressure inside the disc so it may draw fluid back in; some patients have shown improved disc height on follow-up imaging.

It is one of the main conditions decompression was built for. The DRX9000 is the computerized decompression table we use when low back pain may be coming from degenerative discs, among other disc conditions. A 2025 study in the Journal of Contemporary Chiropractic found measurable disc height gains on MRI after decompression care. Individual results vary.

Injections calm inflammation around the disc, but they are not designed to restore a dried-out, flattened disc, so the relief is usually temporary. When injections keep wearing off, the next logical step is treatment that addresses the disc itself. That is when patients typically come to us.

They are related but not the same. Degenerative disc disease is wear of the discs between the vertebrae; spinal arthritis is wear of the facet joints behind them. They often show up together and feel similar, which is why imaging and a hands-on exam matter for telling them apart.

Disc pain fluctuates with load. Sitting, bending, and lifting all raise pressure inside the disc, so long days at a desk or heavy activity flare it up, while lying down unloads it. If your pain follows that load pattern day after day and month after month, that is a sign the disc itself may need treatment, not just rest.

Not necessarily. Many stenosis patients do well with non-surgical care, especially when symptoms are stable rather than rapidly worsening. Because surgery carries real risks and a long recovery, it makes sense to try decompression first. We refer for surgical evaluation when the case genuinely calls for it.

That pattern is the hallmark of lumbar stenosis. Standing and walking narrow the spinal canal further and pinch the nerves; sitting or bending forward opens the canal back up and relieves the pressure. If that describes you, stenosis is high on the suspect list.

A herniated disc is a soft-tissue problem: disc material pushes out and presses a nerve. Stenosis is a space problem: the spinal canal itself narrows, from arthritis, thickened ligaments, or disc bulging, and squeezes the nerves. They cause similar leg symptoms and often coexist, which is why imaging matters.

It may help, by gently opening the spaces the nerves travel through. The decompression cycle stretches the spine and creates negative pressure, which can relieve the nerve compression behind stenosis symptoms. Candidacy depends on the severity and the exact anatomy, which we assess with your imaging.

Not automatically. Severe on an MRI describes the anatomy, not how you have to be treated. What matters is your symptoms, how fast they are changing, and whether there is progressive nerve damage. Bring your imaging and we will give you an honest read on whether decompression is a reasonable option.

Because the canal does not widen on its own. Painkillers, rest, and injections can quiet the irritated nerves for a while, but the narrowing is still there when the treatment wears off. Lasting improvement usually comes from creating more space for the nerves or reducing what is crowding them.

It usually progresses slowly, with walking distance shrinking over months or years. In most cases it is not dangerous, just limiting. The exceptions are progressive leg weakness or bladder and bowel changes, which need prompt medical attention. Getting evaluated early gives you the most options.

Because the underlying driver was never fixed. Painkillers mask it, rest quiets it temporarily, and even good manual care wears off if a damaged disc keeps getting reloaded every day. When pain keeps returning to the same spot, the disc itself is often the driver, and that is what spinal decompression targets.

When the pain radiates into the shoulder, arm, or hand, or comes with numbness or tingling in the fingers, a cervical disc is often the source. Pure muscle tightness stays local; nerve symptoms mean a nerve is involved, and discs are a common cause. Imaging confirms it.

Adjustments restore joint motion, which genuinely helps, but they do not hold a damaged disc under sustained unloading. If the disc is what may be generating the pain, relief lasts until daily loading recompresses it. Decompression keeps the disc unloaded across a full course of care instead of a single visit.

Sometimes. Widespread disc degeneration can affect multiple spinal levels at once, and poor spinal mechanics in one region overload the other. But they can also be two separate problems. An evaluation looks at the whole spine rather than assuming one diagnosis.

If you have no symptoms, probably not. But if you have recurrent pain, sciatica, or numbness and your MRI shows bulging discs, normal for your age does not mean it is not the cause of your pain. Plenty of our patients were told exactly that before finding out the disc may have been the problem all along.

Most back and neck pain is not dangerous, but get checked promptly for severe trauma, unexplained weight loss with pain, fever with back pain, or pain that keeps worsening despite care. Numbness, weakness, or bladder changes are emergency red flags. Everything else deserves an evaluation, not panic.

If your pain keeps coming back after treatment, an MRI is usually worth it. It can show whether a disc may be the driver, which changes the entire plan. Without imaging we are guessing; with it we can tell you honestly whether decompression fits your case.

Stay calm and skip the urge to stretch it hard or have someone walk on your back. Gentle movement usually beats total bed rest, and ice can help in the first day or two. If pain shoots down your leg, or your back keeps going out in the same spot, get it evaluated. Repeat episodes are how disc problems announce themselves.

Muscle strains usually stay in one spot, feel sore to the touch, and improve steadily over days. Disc injuries tend to cause sharp pain with certain movements, pain that shoots into the buttock or leg, numbness or tingling, or pain that keeps returning to the same place. An evaluation with imaging is the only way to know for sure.

Morning stiffness that eases with movement is common with disc and joint problems. Fluid shifts overnight and irritated discs complain first thing. If it happens most mornings, get it checked instead of waiting for it to get worse. Catching a disc problem early gives you more options.

Yes, especially if it keeps coming back. Mild but recurrent pain is the most common way disc injuries show up early. The disc is damaged enough to complain but not enough to stop you. A $21 disc evaluation tells you what is actually going on before it becomes a bigger problem.

Non-surgical spinal decompression uses a specialized table, the DRX9000, to gently stretch and reposition the spine, taking pressure off compressed discs and nerves so the disc has a chance to heal, without surgery or injections.

Chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy, and pain injections can help manage symptoms, but they are not designed to heal the disc itself. Our non-surgical spinal decompression therapy is focused specifically on relieving pressure on the disc so it can rehydrate and heal.

Coverage varies by plan. Our team can help verify your benefits before your first visit and explain any out-of-pocket costs up front.

Your first visit includes a review of your symptoms and imaging (if available), a physical exam, and a conversation about whether non-surgical spinal decompression is a good fit for your condition.

Spinal decompression is non-surgical and drug-free, and most patients tolerate it well. As with any treatment, candidacy matters: our team evaluates each patient to confirm decompression is appropriate before starting care.

Treatment plans vary based on the severity and duration of your condition. Many patients begin a multi-week course of sessions, and we reassess progress regularly to adjust your plan.

For many patients with disc-related pain, non-surgical spinal decompression is worth trying before considering surgery, which carries real risks and a long recovery. We coordinate with your physician and will refer you for a surgical evaluation if that is the more appropriate path.

Use the contact form on this site, or call or text us directly at 518-875-2010. New patients can also start with our $21 disc evaluation.