Neck decompression therapy ยท St. Louis
Neck decompression takes pressure off discs and nerve roots with a pull you control.
Neck decompression at painstl.com: you rest on your back with your head cupped in a padded cradle, and a computerized table gently pulls and releases the neck in cycles. It relieves neck pain, plus arm pain from a squeezed nerve root, and you hold a stop switch the entire time.
Nothing here happens without a physician’s order, and the order sets the strength. It runs only while a physician is on site and immediately available.
What happens in a session?
Your head sits in a cushioned cradle while you lie on your back. A computer drives a slow pull on the neck and then lets it ease, again and again.
Why would your physician order it?
The gentle pull opens the space where nerve roots leave the spine and lowers pressure inside the discs. For arm pain from cervical radiculopathy, it complements an epidural injection: the injection calms the inflamed root, and decompression eases the mechanical squeeze on it.
What will you feel?
A steady stretch, then a release, repeated. You hold the stop switch throughout. Your technician remains in the room through the entire first cycle. Afterward, stay down for a minute or so before you sit up.
When is it ruled out?
- Any fracture or instability in the neck
- Rheumatoid arthritis affecting the neck
- Thin bones (osteoporosis)
- A tumor in the spine
- Dizziness or blurred vision when you move your neck
- Arm weakness that is new
Spoken safety questions open every visit. Any change since last time goes to the physician, who rules on it before the machine runs. Ask to stop whenever you want.
How much time to plan for
Plan on about 15 to 20 minutes each time.
What to remember
- The stop switch is in your hand the whole time.
- Rest a minute before you sit up.
- Dizziness, new arm pain or tingling: stop.
Last step. Show us you have it: Right here in the clinic, demonstrate how you press the stop switch. Unsure about any step? We run through it with you again next time.
Related reading
- The painstl.com physiotherapy program, every station and test
- Cervical radiculopathy
- Epidural steroid injection
- Heat and cold therapy, another station
- Vibration therapy, another station
- Traction chair, another station
- Laser therapy, another station
- Shockwave therapy, another station
- TENS (gentle electrical stimulation), another station
Ask whether this belongs in your plan
A physician reviews your history and your procedures first, then writes the orders. Nothing is added without a reason in your chart.
4479 Woodson Rd, Suite 401
St. Louis, MO 63134
Next to St. Louis Lambert International Airport, off I-70 at Woodson Road.