Flexion-Distraction Technique
Alleviate lower back pain now!
Learn how flexion distraction technique may help…
Lower back pain is a very common ailment in the U.S. In addition to respiratory infections of the upper region, back pain alone is a reason why many choose to go to the doctor.
For many, back pain is a chronic problem. You don’t need to learn to live with the pain, numbness, and other symptoms that can come with back pain. You can do something by visiting a local skilled chiropractor like us.
At Harmony Chiropractic, we use efficient methods to alleviate back pain. One such method is flexion distraction technique. As a natural, non-surgical approach, flexion-distraction treatment is one of the best alternative pain management options that your chiropractor gives. Read on to see if you can benefit from this special treatment.
Examining Your Discs
Before we jump into what flexion distraction therapy refers to, it is useful to know the area that it applies – your spinal discs.
Your spine is made of an arrangement of vertebrae, where each part is separated from the other by spongy discs. These offer the necessary support and lubrication to allow your joints to move without restrictions or pain. If spinal discs did not exist in the area, your bones would rub each other, leading to excruciating pain and discomfort.
While this spongy and stretchy material is ideal for supporting active joints, it comes with a catch. Gravity tends to apply down pressure to your body throughout the day, resulting in the compression of your discs. If you lack hydration, this will worsen.
What is Flexion Distraction Technique?
Flexion distraction is a method that targets spinal disc compression through spinal stretching.
During flexion-distraction therapy, your chiropractor will gradually manipulate your spine while utilizing a specially segmented table which moves in different directions. Your back, hip or leg discomfort will be relieved as a result of the manipulation and traction, which will decompress and stretch your spine.
During the mild manipulations that your chiropractor is performing, a portion of the treatment table will drop or shift, which will cause a change in the position that your body is in. The dropping down of the table results in applying a traction force to your legs and back that decompresses your spinal discs and relieves pressure on nerves. Once your feet reach the floor, your chiropractor may gently press your spine to boost the treatment effects and to focus the treatment to a specific level of the spine. Often, the feet are also secured to increase the treatment effect.
The above motion stretches your spine gently and separates the vertebrae apart. Due to the fact that your discs are spongy and flexible, they loosen up and switch to their original healthy state.
Advantages of Flexion Distraction Therapy
The quickest and most evident advantage of flexion distraction is decreased pressure on your discs.
Several factors may trigger intradiscal pressure and discomfort such as excessive sitting and staying in an unhealthy position. Too much sitting puts pressure on your entire body and not just the spinal discs.
Flexion distraction therapy, besides offering your joints optimal support, it also eases pressure on the nerves that pass through the spine. If you suffer from referred pain, which appears when a spinal nerve is pinched and sends a pain sensation to another body area, you may benefit from this method.
Additional benefits of flexion distraction include:
- Lessen the strain placed on your spinal discs and nerves
- Reduce the protrusion of disc herniations
- Increase your range of movement and mobility
- Assist you in the management of chronic low back pain
- Ease stiffness
- In some instances, eliminate or postpone the requirement for surgical intervention
- Encourage better disc health
- Alleviate pain and/or numbness in the back, legs, and buttocks
- Improve overall posture
Since flexion distraction is non-invasive and gentle, it may help recovery from a back surgery.
How exactly does the Flexion Distraction method function?
Flexion distraction, as described on the website for Cox Technic, may reduce intradiscal pressures to as little as 192mmHg and can increase the size of the spinal canal by up to 28%.
In addition, flexion distraction restores mobility to the spinal joints, which is a significant benefit. The answer that makes the most sense is that the table enables the doctor to stretch the patient’s spine and the muscles surrounding it without the patient having to bear any weight. The patient can rest while the doctor and the table do the necessary tasks.
Who Should Have Flexion Distraction Technique?
Flexion Distraction is an effective treatment option for patients with severe back pain who cannot move through normal ranges of motion without experiencing discomfort. Patients with herniated discs are ideal candidates for the therapeutic approach described here. By bending the spine, we create spaces between the spinal segments, which causes the disc material to be subjected to pressure. Flexion Distraction’s ultimate objective is to return spinal joints to their natural, physiological range of motion so patients can experience pain relief. People in Toledo who are looking for non-invasive remedies for their back pain to avoid invasive spinal procedures like mid-level injections or even surgery should seriously consider this type of treatment.
Flexion Distraction vs. Spinal Decompression
If you already know about chiropractic, you may also have heard about spinal decompression. While spinal decompression targets pressure on the spinal discs, it is different from flexion distraction in two aspects.
Spinal decompression is a fancy word to lumbar traction. It is typically done over a longer period of time than lumbar traction to justify the increased cost. The patient can be face up or down, but is strapped and squeezed down at the hips and chest. Nothing is used to direct the force to specific areas of the spine, so the high total force used is spaced out among the segments between the hip and chest straps.
The majority of patients find that spinal decompression is less comfortable compared to flexion distraction. Mechanical tables may apply pressure to other body regions, causing pain, headaches and even raising the risk of a stroke. Some studies have shown that this method stretches the spine from your back as opposed to the front–as a result, the overall treatment is less effective.
At Harmony Chiropractic, we use flexion distraction therapy to offer the stretch needed to compressed discs in your spine. Through our years of practice and research, we have found this method to be more efficient and comfortable compared to others.
Will Flexion-Distraction Give Me Relief?
Flexion-distraction technique may be utilized to treat various forms of lower back, hip and leg pain. For example, patients with scoliosis may notice an improvement in their spinal mobility and a reduction in the pain and stiffness associated with degeneration and arthritis.
If you suffer from ankylosing spondylitis, sacroiliac syndrome, sciatica, spondylolisthesis, or even strains and sprains, flexion-distraction treatment may be able to assist. In addition, treating muscular spasms or low back pain that is not caused by a specific ailment is also helpful.
The method is gentle and safe enough to be utilized after a spinal operation and may be essential to the rehabilitation therapy plan you choose to follow. If you have osteoporosis or another illness that weakens your bones, you might not be a good candidate for some therapies. People who are fragile or have brittle bones are fortunate that a treatment option that is soft enough to be risk-free is flexion-distraction therapy.
Flexion-distraction therapy may be of some use even in treating knee discomfort. For example, patients who suffered from knee pain that was either acute or chronic were treated with flexion-distraction treatment for a period of two to three weeks in a research that was published in The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. After finishing the course of therapy, the average number of points on the pain scale had fallen from 7.7 to 1.8. In addition, patients who suffered from persistent knee discomfort could sustain their outcomes by having therapy once each month
Are you sick of being in constant discomfort? Whether you have been feeling pain for a few days or weeks or whether you have a chronic disease, flexion-distraction treatment may offer the right solution to reduce your symptoms. Flexion-distraction therapy combines flexion and distraction techniques. Give us a call now to arrange appointment as soon as possible.
How We Treat Patients with Back Pain
Physical, mental, and emotional well-being are connected; when one is out of alignment, the other two tend to follow. At Harmony Chiropractic Center, we focus on whole-body recovery and health. Finding balance is essential to life quality, and our chiropractic care team has the knowledge and commitment to help you thrive.
We never mask pain with quick fixes that keep you coming back or with harmful medications. We work to find the source so you can jump back into your routine as soon as possible without discomfort– and keep it that way.
Many of our patients staved off their visit to our clinic for as long as possible; we get it. Who wants to go to the doctor? But, we assure you that you’ll feel confident and comfortable in the treatment plan we design uniquely for your needs, goals, limits, and lifestyle.
Our comprehensive back pain solutions are quick, effective, and safe. Some include:
- Chiropractic adjustment and spinal manipulation
- Graston Technique
- Cold Laser Therapy
- McKenzie Method
- Flexion Distraction
- Cupping Therapy
- Kinesio Taping
- Massage Therapy
- Corrective exercise
- And more
Know that with each treatment, you’re getting closer to your body’s full function and potential, which is why we often combine solutions that best meet your needs. Our team is here for you and will always openly discuss any concerns you may have throughout your process.
What Happens When Back Pain Goes Untreated?
When left untreated, back pain has the potential to spread and worsen. With pain comes the tendency to overcompensate in other areas of the body. For instance, you may walk with a limp or only use one arm so that you don’t further injure an already injured area.
While this does sound like a rational solution, taking those measures can actually cause damage to the area that’s picking up the slack.
The mechanics of the human body are incredible in that specific areas and parts support other specific areas and parts. If one area isn’t pulling its weight, that means an area that’s ill-equipped to do so must step in. This puts pressure on joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons that may not be able to provide the proper support, which can lead to further injury.
Chiropractic care will help. Our reliable, safe methods reduce further damage.
Don’t let your back pain become more unbearable; we’re in this with you, and we’ll help you get better.
HARMONY CHIROPRACTIC CENTER HAS SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR BACK PAIN
Our chiropractor and therapists are an integrated team with the resources to get your life on track through safe, restorative methods. Your body is eagerly waiting for you to take control and start doing those things you love. We’ll support you through this journey with an array of sophisticated solutions and advice.
Are you ready to find the happiest, healthiest, most efficient version of yourself? Let’s do it because you deserve this. Your body deserves this. Contact us, and let’s get started today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why try flexion distraction therapy?
This mild yet efficient treatment method, similar to other chiropractic techniques, treats the root cause rather than the symptoms. Most patients agree that chiropractic alignments, e-stim treatments, and flexion distraction prevent reliance on drugs or surgery to fix the issue. Plus, the recovery time is only a few hours.
Whether you had an accident or simply want to alleviate chronic pain, you can just schedule an appointment with us anytime and go back to your regular duties on the same day.
At Harmony Chiropractic, we provide our patients the greatest possible chance of recovery in the shortest time by combining Flexion Distraction with a holistic treatment program that includes corrective exercises, McKenzie Therapy, massage and chiropractic adjustments.
What is special about the FLEXION DISTRACTION TABLE?
Flexion Distraction is a safe, and regulated kind of traction developed expressly to relieve spinal pain. The table has the appearance of a conventional chiropractic table, but it can flex and side-flex, which enables patients to obtain traction treatment in a manner that does not involve weight bearing.
The individual being treated will be asked to lie on their stomach. At the same time, the attending physician performs a series of gentle flexions and extensions of the spinal segments and muscles located in the area being treated. The patient does not need to engage any of their muscles or soft tissues to utilize this equipment, which is one of its many appealing features. In addition, the doctor can stretch these structures without causing any spasm or other reaction from the patient’s body since they have eliminated any active motions made by the patient.