The Evolution of Spinal Care: Why Decompression is the Future of Effective Treatment
If you’re seeking physical therapy in stone mountain, or decatur ga physical therapy, or physical therapy atlanta ga, I would like to tell you why you should choose Backstrong Non-Surgical Rehab Clinic for the treatment of your neck or back pain.
We specialize in herniated discs, degenerated discs, pinched nerves, including sciatica, and joint pain. Dr. Castanet has a unique perspective on spinal pain that I think you will find persuasive and more effective than other, conventional treatments. So if you tried other treatments and didn’t improve, we help most of those patients, too.
Here’s our explanation for what causes neck and back pain and why we are your best choice for the treatment of your neck or back pain.
First, I’m going to explain why neck and back pain is so common, and the best way to treat it. This explanation is unique because most doctors don’t take the time to explain the “big picture”, and usually they are so focused on the small picture, that they are not thinking or explaining in broader terms. Nonetheless, you will understand this. It will make perfect sense to you, and no doctor will refute this explanation. It is simply a more comprehensive way to view neck and back pain problems. And explaining it in this broader framework serves the purpose of understanding what and why is more effective treatment for neck and back pain.
As we age, our spinal discs experience micro-tears in the outer walls/ layers of the disc. These micro-tears start in childhood, from physical demands, postures, and traumas- large and small. These micro-tears don’t heal 100%, so they accumulate as we age. As these tears accumulate, the outer walls of our disc become weakened, and they bulge, herniate, degenerate and, eventually, collapse. They can even result in bone-on-bone of your vertebrae. We see all of these changes in patients’ spines on x-rays and MRI scans. These degenerative changes take many years to accumulate and as they do, we see the progressive collapse of your spine. All of this starts on a microscopic scale and can progress to a gross, deformed collapse of your spine. Your discs are like a deflating tire (although it is actually a process of dehydration, i.e. water loss, not air loss). As the discs degenerate, your bones/vertebrae and joints are forced to bear more weight in a pathological manner, and the bones then become deformed, enlarged, degenerated, and painful.
During the entire process of disc degeneration, bulging, and herniation, and the ensuing boney degeneration, our spinal nerves can become pinched, acutely, intermittently, or chronically. Pinched nerves are usually very painful. But when your nerves are pinched other signs and symptoms can arise. You can experience pain, tingling, numbness, weakness, loss of reflexes, and loss of function such as limited walking, and limited use of your arms.
As all of this degenerative process is deforming your spinal discs and vertebrae, and your spine is slowly, progressively, collapsing. It is a process of COMPRESSION. This is why you lose height as you age. With 24 vertebrae and 23 spinal discs, you can lose several inches of your height.
So this process I just explained results in compression of your spine. And it is this compression that causes pain and disability, intermittently, as we age. Although doctors, therapists and patients can cite other factors to which they may ascribe the pain, it is this process, underlying all else, that causes pain. And it is essential for the most effective treatment, to understand that it is compressive in nature. And decompressing your spine is the most direct and effective treatment for neck and back pain. This is why you should come to me for treatment if you were searching for chiropractor in Decatur Ga or Chiropractor in Atlanta.
Although I have been in clinical practice since 1987, working in orthopedics, physical medicine, physical therapy, and neurosurgery, for the last 17 years I have specialized in treating spinal compression. And this approach to treatment has been much more effective for many more patients than all the other treatments I have seen and used, non-surgically.
Keep in mind, that I have no bias against injections and surgery when they are indicated. I send some patients to pain management for injections, and some patients for surgical treatment. And because of my decades of experience, including orthopedics and neurosurgery, I know when injections and surgery are indicated. But they are a last resort. And treating spinal compression, directly, with spinal DECOMPRESSION treatment, is the most rational, effective, non-surgical treatment I have used since 1987.
Now I’ll tell you about this treatment called spinal decompression. In the olden days doctors and hospitals used old traction devices with patients in the hospital. These devices were not very comfortable or easy to use, for patients or doctors. And today you can’t hospitalize patients for days or weeks for this purpose because hospitals are too expensive.
Fortunately, in the 1990’s the first, more sophisticated traction machine, made for doctors’ offices, was invented. And this table has been improved upon since then. I evaluated this table back in the 1990’s and finally started using a superior one in 2006. And it is the best treatment I have used in clinical practice in 35+ years, with more than 40,000 patients.
In short, the way this spinal decompression table works for neck pain or low back pain, is that I place the patient on the table, and I secure the patient’s anatomy to the table constraints. This is reasonably comfortable for patients. Then the table very gently, and slowly separates/tractions the spinal discs and vertebrae, and partially reverses their spinal compression in a process of spinal decompression. This is done for 30 minutes and many patients fall asleep during the treatment.
This brings me back to the importance of understanding the broader picture in the cause of neck pain and back pain problems. If the doctor focuses on the broader, long-range, process of the aging of the spine, i.e. this slowly, progressive, degenerative, compression of the spine, and all the attending affects on the so-called “pain generators” of the spine, I.e. the discs, the joints, and the nerves, then it is easy to understand why this treatment approach is so rational, effective, and appropriate as a treatment, relative to other treatments.
The reason that I have used spinal decompression treatment since 2006 is because I was frustrated in my clinical experience with all the patients who did not improve enough from all the conventional treatments in orthopedics, physical medicine, Physical Therapy Decaturga, and chiropractic. Also, I had personal experience with chronic back pain and limitations that didn’t improve to my satisfaction with conventional treatments.
We specialize in herniated discs, degenerated discs, pinched nerves, including sciatica, and joint pain. Dr. Castanet has a unique perspective on spinal pain that I think you will find persuasive and more effective than other, conventional treatments. So if you tried other treatments and didn’t improve, we help most of those patients, too.
Here’s our explanation for what causes neck and back pain and why we are your best choice for the treatment of your neck or back pain.
First, I’m going to explain why neck and back pain is so common, and the best way to treat it. This explanation is unique because most doctors don’t take the time to explain the “big picture”, and usually they are so focused on the small picture, that they are not thinking or explaining in broader terms. Nonetheless, you will understand this. It will make perfect sense to you, and no doctor will refute this explanation. It is simply a more comprehensive way to view neck and back pain problems. And explaining it in this broader framework serves the purpose of understanding what and why is more effective treatment for neck and back pain.
As we age, our spinal discs experience micro-tears in the outer walls/ layers of the disc. These micro-tears start in childhood, from physical demands, postures, and traumas- large and small. These micro-tears don’t heal 100%, so they accumulate as we age. As these tears accumulate, the outer walls of our disc become weakened, and they bulge, herniate, degenerate and, eventually, collapse. They can even result in bone-on-bone of your vertebrae. We see all of these changes in patients’ spines on x-rays and MRI scans. These degenerative changes take many years to accumulate and as they do, we see the progressive collapse of your spine. All of this starts on a microscopic scale and can progress to a gross, deformed collapse of your spine. Your discs are like a deflating tire (although it is actually a process of dehydration, i.e. water loss, not air loss). As the discs degenerate, your bones/vertebrae and joints are forced to bear more weight in a pathological manner, and the bones then become deformed, enlarged, degenerated, and painful.
During the entire process of disc degeneration, bulging, and herniation, and the ensuing boney degeneration, our spinal nerves can become pinched, acutely, intermittently, or chronically. Pinched nerves are usually very painful. But when your nerves are pinched other signs and symptoms can arise. You can experience pain, tingling, numbness, weakness, loss of reflexes, and loss of function such as limited walking, and limited use of your arms.
As all of this degenerative process is deforming your spinal discs and vertebrae, and your spine is slowly, progressively, collapsing. It is a process of COMPRESSION. This is why you lose height as you age. With 24 vertebrae and 23 spinal discs, you can lose several inches of your height.
So this process I just explained results in compression of your spine. And it is this compression that causes pain and disability, intermittently, as we age. Although doctors, therapists and patients can cite other factors to which they may ascribe the pain, it is this process, underlying all else, that causes pain. And it is essential for the most effective treatment, to understand that it is compressive in nature. And decompressing your spine is the most direct and effective treatment for neck and back pain. This is why you should come to me for treatment if you were searching for chiropractor in Decatur Ga or Chiropractor in Atlanta.
Although I have been in clinical practice since 1987, working in orthopedics, physical medicine, physical therapy, and neurosurgery, for the last 17 years I have specialized in treating spinal compression. And this approach to treatment has been much more effective for many more patients than all the other treatments I have seen and used, non-surgically.
Keep in mind, that I have no bias against injections and surgery when they are indicated. I send some patients to pain management for injections, and some patients for surgical treatment. And because of my decades of experience, including orthopedics and neurosurgery, I know when injections and surgery are indicated. But they are a last resort. And treating spinal compression, directly, with spinal DECOMPRESSION treatment, is the most rational, effective, non-surgical treatment I have used since 1987.
Now I’ll tell you about this treatment called spinal decompression. In the olden days doctors and hospitals used old traction devices with patients in the hospital. These devices were not very comfortable or easy to use, for patients or doctors. And today you can’t hospitalize patients for days or weeks for this purpose because hospitals are too expensive.
Fortunately, in the 1990’s the first, more sophisticated traction machine, made for doctors’ offices, was invented. And this table has been improved upon since then. I evaluated this table back in the 1990’s and finally started using a superior one in 2006. And it is the best treatment I have used in clinical practice in 35+ years, with more than 40,000 patients.
In short, the way this spinal decompression table works for neck pain or low back pain, is that I place the patient on the table, and I secure the patient’s anatomy to the table constraints. This is reasonably comfortable for patients. Then the table very gently, and slowly separates/tractions the spinal discs and vertebrae, and partially reverses their spinal compression in a process of spinal decompression. This is done for 30 minutes and many patients fall asleep during the treatment.
This brings me back to the importance of understanding the broader picture in the cause of neck pain and back pain problems. If the doctor focuses on the broader, long-range, process of the aging of the spine, i.e. this slowly, progressive, degenerative, compression of the spine, and all the attending affects on the so-called “pain generators” of the spine, I.e. the discs, the joints, and the nerves, then it is easy to understand why this treatment approach is so rational, effective, and appropriate as a treatment, relative to other treatments.
The reason that I have used spinal decompression treatment since 2006 is because I was frustrated in my clinical experience with all the patients who did not improve enough from all the conventional treatments in orthopedics, physical medicine, Physical Therapy Decaturga, and chiropractic. Also, I had personal experience with chronic back pain and limitations that didn’t improve to my satisfaction with conventional treatments.
Because of the conceptual appeal that this spinal decompression approach had for me, combined with my professional and personal dissatisfaction and frustration with conventional treatments, I decided to try spinal decompression for patients, beginning in 2006, and within several weeks, it became apparent that this treatment had greater efficacy for patients with both neck pain and back pain. Nowadays, after 17+ years of specialization in this treatment, I feel very fortunate, relative to other doctors who don’t use this treatment method. I have the advantage of helping many more patients than I used to, and that conventional treatments can help. And although I know conventional treatments can help some patients, with some problems, some of the time, I think that treating neck and back problems without spinal decompression is like practicing in the stone age. And other doctors don’t know that because they have no experience with spinal decompression treatment.
Without spinal decompression treatment, other doctors are sending many more patients to pain management for injections, or to surgeons, for surgery. And remember, I do not have a bias against these treatments. They are a blessing for the right patients at the right time. It is simply that we have a triage problem in spinal treatment. Most patients should be sent for spinal decompression treatment for their neck pain and back pain, because this process that I have described of a slow, progressive, degenerative, compression of the spine is universal, causal, and partially remediable, providing the most effective clinical treatment for patients that I have seen.
Does spinal decompression treatment work all the time? Of course not. All treatments in medicine fail sometimes, and often we are left to speculate why they fail. The real question is, what is the most effective treatment that we have? And, what is likely to be the most effective treatment for neck and back pain, given what we know about the natural history of the spine, all the imaging data we have seen over the years, which shows this compressive process, and our clinical experience with patients? Spinal decompression treatment has the greatest conceptual and clinical appeal to me, as a 35+ year practicing clinician. It revolutionized my treatment outcomes for patients, greatly improving my ability to help patients with a broad variety of neck pain and back pain problems. There are very few absolute or relative contraindications for this treatment. And because of its greater efficacy, it serves as a quick diagnostic tool when diagnoses are in question, e.g. “Is the scapular or mid-thoracic pain referred from the neck?” Treat the neck, see the immediate improvement, and confirm its referred etiology.
And, because it is superior treatment, it serves as a better litmus test for injections and surgery. If you fail decompression treatment, you probably do need injections or surgery.
When I write these articles, I am writing for patients, but I also try to be credible to doctors, who are agnostic to spinal decompression treatment. I hope that by explaining the natural history of the pathophysiology of spinal degeneration, this message resonates with both patients and physicians. Indeed, over the years, I have received many referrals from other doctors, and I have treated many doctors. These include primary care, rheumatologists, oral surgeons, dentists, neurosurgeons, OB/GYN’s, and more.
If you would like to learn more, you can go to Backstrong.net, or to my Youtube channel from the website. And if you are searching for physical therapy in stone mountain, or decatur ga physical therapy, or physical therapy atlanta ga, please call me at 404-558-4015.
Without spinal decompression treatment, other doctors are sending many more patients to pain management for injections, or to surgeons, for surgery. And remember, I do not have a bias against these treatments. They are a blessing for the right patients at the right time. It is simply that we have a triage problem in spinal treatment. Most patients should be sent for spinal decompression treatment for their neck pain and back pain, because this process that I have described of a slow, progressive, degenerative, compression of the spine is universal, causal, and partially remediable, providing the most effective clinical treatment for patients that I have seen.
Does spinal decompression treatment work all the time? Of course not. All treatments in medicine fail sometimes, and often we are left to speculate why they fail. The real question is, what is the most effective treatment that we have? And, what is likely to be the most effective treatment for neck and back pain, given what we know about the natural history of the spine, all the imaging data we have seen over the years, which shows this compressive process, and our clinical experience with patients? Spinal decompression treatment has the greatest conceptual and clinical appeal to me, as a 35+ year practicing clinician. It revolutionized my treatment outcomes for patients, greatly improving my ability to help patients with a broad variety of neck pain and back pain problems. There are very few absolute or relative contraindications for this treatment. And because of its greater efficacy, it serves as a quick diagnostic tool when diagnoses are in question, e.g. “Is the scapular or mid-thoracic pain referred from the neck?” Treat the neck, see the immediate improvement, and confirm its referred etiology.
And, because it is superior treatment, it serves as a better litmus test for injections and surgery. If you fail decompression treatment, you probably do need injections or surgery.
When I write these articles, I am writing for patients, but I also try to be credible to doctors, who are agnostic to spinal decompression treatment. I hope that by explaining the natural history of the pathophysiology of spinal degeneration, this message resonates with both patients and physicians. Indeed, over the years, I have received many referrals from other doctors, and I have treated many doctors. These include primary care, rheumatologists, oral surgeons, dentists, neurosurgeons, OB/GYN’s, and more.
If you would like to learn more, you can go to Backstrong.net, or to my Youtube channel from the website. And if you are searching for physical therapy in stone mountain, or decatur ga physical therapy, or physical therapy atlanta ga, please call me at 404-558-4015.
Comments
Post a Comment