You may know from working out at the gym that you can get very sore and the pain goes away in a few days. However, an injury to a disc can go on for weeks or months. Why? Muscles are red because of the amount of blood in them. They have a good capacity to heal because of their blood supply. If you buy red meat at the store, it literally runs out of the package. Discs, however, are white because they have very little blood supply. Because of this, recovery can be very difficult.
When you open up the aorta (the main blood line off the heart), there are pinholes on the back side of it to supply the spinal bones. These are called “Segmental Arties”. They are only about 1/16” in diameter! Imagine all of the tissue this little artery serves!
Because of this, we must take a different approach in recovering from a disc injury. The discs in the spine rely on a concept called “Imbibition”, which is a sponge like process through which it absorbs fluids and nutrients. Typically this is done by pumping the discs with traction, AKA Decompression. Another benefit to this therapy is that it also stretches the disc axially to help pull the bulging disc inward, and off the nerve. The overall goal is to transfer fluids, reduce disc bulging, and to keep the disc as pliable as possible. Hopefully, this will alleviate symptoms and help you avoid surgery.
We have decompression therapy at our clinic. This can be done for disc injuries to both the neck and back. Feel free to call and make an appointment to talk to one of our doctors about this easy and affordable therapy. Our number is 316-729-2528.
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