Why is the spine so prone to injury?

Your spine must be stable to support upright posture, and also flexible, allowing you to bend and twist. This is mechanically very challenging and makes your spine vulnerable to injury.

The spine is made up of a chain of bones, called vertebrae, which are connected together by ligaments and muscles. The vertebrae cover and protect the spinal cord, which carries sensory messages to and from the brain, controlling all your body functions.

A disc separates each vertebrae and acts like a cushion, absorbing shock along the spine. The disc is made up of jelly like substance known as the nucleus, covered with many strong outer layers called the annulus. The discs do not have a supply of blood vessels to nourish and replenish them, rather, they depend on a transfer of fluids, nutrients and oxygen from the bones (vertebrae) above and below them. This transfer of fluid depends on the difference in pressure between the inside of the discs and the surrounding vertebrae and blood vessels. This is why most disc nutrition and regeneration takes place when we lie down and the pressure inside the discs is reduced. This process is not very efficient, and as we age, the disc is exposed to wear and tear greater than its ability to heal and regenerate.

The discs are prone to injury and degeneration as we use our backs each day, as they are compressed and torqued through sitting, bending and lifting. In the two lower levels of the lumbar spine, stress forces can equal 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. Repeated injury weakens the annulus, while the earliest changes that occur in the discs are tears in the annulus. With increased pressure inside the disc, the tears in the annulus may allow the disc to bulge like an old tire with a broken casing. Any internal damage to the disc may cause severe pain in the back. If all of the layers of the annulus break, the jelly-like nucleus will ooze out of the disc, causing a disc herniation. A bulging or herniated disc may press on spinal nerves, causing sciatica, which can be felt as weakness in your muscles, loss of sensation in the skin or a tingling or burning sensation along the nerves in your buttock and legs.

Repeated episodes of injury results in the degeneration of the disc, which becomes stiff and dry, causing it to lose its shock absorbing properties. This process may continue until the disc is collapsed, which increases the mechanical pressure on the bones and joints lending to arthritis (facet syndrome).

Spinal Disc Decompression - What Is It Designed To Do?

Damaged intervertebral discs seldom heal as the discs are constantly under pressure. Decompression, or the reduction of pressure inside the discs, is designed to facilitate the transfer of fluids, nutrients and oxygen back inside the disc resulting in the retraction of bulging or herniated discs.

During normal activities, the pressure inside the lumbar discs typically ranges between 100 mm/HG to 300 mm/HG.

The SpineMED® Procedure

All procedures are administered with the patient fully clothed. For lumbar procedures, the patient is comfortably positioned on the table, and the (patent pending) Pelvic Restraints are adjusted to comfortably secure the patient’s pelvis. The upper torso is captured by a comfortable securing system incorporated into the fixed section of the table. The Pelvic Tilt section will be electronically tilted, so that specific spinal segments can be targeted. With precise and pain-free computer controlled tension, the specific disc segment is gently distracted.

For cervical procedures, the cervical unit is first electronically tilted to the angle required to target specific segments of the cervical spine. The patient is then placed on the table with their head positioned in the cervical cradle unit. The Cervical Restraints (patent pending) are designed to comfortably capture the base of the patient’s skull for controlled distraction. A typical daily session consists of 30 minutes of decompression on the SpineMED® Table followed by 15 minutes of ice therapy. The process is designed to be pain-free and safe, and it is not uncommon for patients to fall asleep during the procedure.

The average recommended course of procedure is 20 sessions. Ideally, the sessions are performed daily with rest on the weekend.
At the conclusion of the procedure series, patients are given mobilization and strengthening exercises to avoid further injury.

Is SpineMED® Spinal Disc Decompression For Me?

Spinal Disc Decompression with the SpineMED® Table is intended to be safe and without side effects or complications once abnormal conditions have been ruled out. Patients with conditions that compromise the integrity of the spinal column, such as gross osteoporosis, spondylolisthesis grade 2 and above, fractures, tumors, or congenital pars defects are not candidates for Spinal Disc Decompression.

Previous spinal surgery is not contraindicated unless hardware (screws, rods, cages, pins, etc.) has been implanted in the spine. Minimum age for SpineMED® procedures is 16 years. Maximum age to be determined by your healthcare practitioner, based on your health and physical condition.