Spinal Decompression - Lumbar Flexion/Distraction
Accident Care Specialists will be using Flexion/Distraction tables to decompress the spine, remove irritation to constricted nerves and stretch tight lumbar musculature.
Flexion-distraction technique has become the most widely used treatment for symptomatic disc injuries involving back pain and the often-accompanying leg pain (Sciatica). Flexion-distraction involves the use of a specialized table that stretches the spine, allowing the chiropractor to isolate the disc area while slightly flexing the spine in a pumping rhythm. There is no induced pain involved during the treatment.
The tractioning or distraction of the disc combined with isolation and gentle pumping of the involved area allows the central area of the disc, the nucleus pulposus, to assume its correct position after a disc herniation occurs.
These actions move the disc away from the nerve, reducing inflammation of the nerve root, and eventually the associated pain and inflammation in the leg. Flexion-distraction is also thought to improve disc height.
