Decompression Is More Than Just Letting The Air Out Of A Balloon

At the end of a long, stressful day, many of us talk about getting home or going to the gym or walking the dog to "decompress." That is, to let the pressure off. The same is essentially true when speaking of decompression and one's back. Although there is more of a physical than mental component to this.

When you get what's called in the vernacular, a "slipped disc", it means that your back is hurting like the dickens because a spinal disc - the fluid-filled cushions that keep your vertebrae from rubbing up against each other and crippling you - has developed a tear. When this happens, the soft, spongy material inside bulges out, often, depending upon severity, to the point where you can see a physical defect in the back.

When this happens, the vertebrae lose some of their essential support and nerves get compressed. This is where the pain comes in. Try pinching the skin of your arm or hand. It's like that, only supporting the entire weight of your body.

Even if nerves don't become compressed as a result of the disc herniation there can be intense pain, both as a result of the tear itself and from chemicals that are released that the body interprets as severe pain. This is your body's way of telling you to stop whatever it is that you're doing and seek help.

Despite the term, the disc doesn't actually slip. The way it's positioned in your body it can't unless something catastrophic has happened to your vertebrae, in which case, you'd probably know it. Despite this, the term sticks. There are many words for the same condition including sciatica, degenerative disc disease, pinched nerve, and bulging disc.

Because this kind of insult to the discs can range in severity from mildly annoying to incapacitating, there are a range of treatments. In very severe cases, surgery may be called for. Surgery can also be required for a disc problem left untreated until it reaches the debilitating stage.

Between the very mild stage and the "count backwards from 100" stage, there are many levels, most of which can be treated with a combination of over-the-counter painkillers, exercise and chiropractic adjustments called decompression. Both the exercises and the adjustments are designed to do the same thing - take the pressure off the nerves and or herniated disc.

If early treatment is sought for a mild to moderate insult, you may be able to avoid surgery altogether. This is a viable goal as back surgery can often be problematic. There are many factors, the skill of the surgeon being only one, which can lead to a person coming out of back surgery with more pain than going in. A person's extant health and weight can both factor in as can other pre-existing back problems.

Another reason to investigate chiropractic decompression over back surgery is that any surgery is painful. For a number of reasons, back surgeries, even when they go well, tend to produce more pain than other types. This can lead to a dependence on prescription narcotics, which might well leave you worse off than when you started.