Chiropractic Flexion-Distraction Technique
At Align Chiropractic & Sports Medicine, Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain. Increasingly, it is being used for overall wellness, including stress management.
Are you experiencing pain in your muscles, joints, neck, and back? For some people, the pain might only last a few days. However, for others, they become chronic and may last for several months or years.
It’s time to take action when the pain affects your daily activities, mood and hinders you from living life to the fullest. Whether you’ve been in an accident, undergone surgery, or had a physical injury, we can help you through it. Back pain can be debilitating – you can entrust our team to get you back on your feet.
What Is Chiropractic Flexion Distraction?
Traditionally, pain medication has been relied on to relieve pain and discomfort. The temporary pain relief is not enough and has significant downsides like nausea and dizziness.
Taking pain meds over a long time may also result in body-building resistance. This is where flexion-distraction comes in. Chiropractic techniques are holistic health care processes that focus on the spine and joints and their connection to their nervous system.
Flexion-distraction is a gentle chiropractic technique applied to patients with lower back and neck pains. It is a non-surgical therapy for relieving pains, aligning your spine, and improving your range of motion.
How Does the Chiropractic Flexion-Distraction Technique Work?
The procedure is performed on a unique table that promotes proper spinal rotation. The patient is usually lying face down on the table throughout the process. The table takes on pivotal motions with a gentle rhythm. As this happens, the force of gravity maximizes the treatment’s effects and helps align the spine.
The pivoting of the table aims at relaxing the body and promoting movement. In addition to the pivoting motions, the doctor also applies different techniques to eliminate pressure from the spinal areas and discs. The doctor’s practice also helps slowly manipulate the spine.
What Conditions Does This Chiropractic Technique Help Treat?
Chiropractic flexion distraction can be used to treat the following conditions:
- Bulging, rupturing and herniated lumbar discs and other similar injuries of the disc
- Lower back and neck pain
- Pain in the legs
- Arthritis
- General stiffness in the lower back
- Muscular or joint sprain and strain
- Scoliosis and sacroiliac syndrome
- Spinal stenosis
- Sciatica
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Failed back surgeries and several other issues
The Benefits of This Chiropractic Therapy
The therapy offers the following benefits:
- It helps reduce pressure to the spinal nerves and discs
- The therapy helps decrease bulging of the herniated discs
- The chiropractic procedure helps improve your body’s range of motion and mobility
- It helps you manage chronic muscle, joint, and back pains
- It relieves bodily stiffness
- The therapy helps eliminate or delay the need for surgery in some instances
- It can improve your spinal and lumbar disc’s health
- It can help improve your general posture
This chiropractic technique is gentle enough to be applied after spinal surgery. Doctors will recommend the treatment as part of a spinal surgery recovery treatment plan. It is also gentle enough to be safe for people with osteoporosis and other conditions that affect bone strength. Therefore, you do not have to worry about the treatment worsening your condition if you have brittle or frail bones.
What Is the Difference Between Flexion Distraction and Spinal Decompression?
These techniques are often compared because of their numerous similarities. One of their similarities is that they aim to relieve pain, especially musculoskeletal pain. The two techniques also involve unique tables. However, one significant difference is that the latter (SD) uses a motorized or traction table. The table aims to elongate the patient’s spine.
On the other hand, the FD technique combines a Leander table and manual chiropractic manipulation. Regardless, both treatments are effective. It would be wise to consider your needs and how long you have suffered the pain when choosing between the two.
The trick to enjoying the best benefits from this chiropractic technique is to get it done by a professional. The technique involves a lot of manual spinal manipulation. Therefore, it needs to be done by a professional to avoid any mishaps.
Whether you have been experiencing pain for a day, week, several months, or years, we will find the proper treatment for you. You may also have to schedule frequent treatments for better and maintained results.