If you are one of millions who suffer with the debilitating symptoms of back pain and have tried conventional medicine for your pain without lasting results, then maybe it is time that you give decompression therapy a try.  Decompression therapy is offered in many professional chiropractor’s offices and has provided lasting and quick relief to those suffering from back pain.  To decide whether this therapy is right for you, read on and learn more in order to make up your mind.

You will first need to learn about what decompression therapy is.  In a nut shell, it is the simple use of traction that has been utilized for many years.  This type of therapy used to have the patient lie in a bed and be hooked up to ropes and pulleys in order to create a gentle stretching of the spinal vertebrate which allows a herniated or bulging disc to be brought back into its original pocket.  This method of decompression took many days in order to achieve any sense of relief from spinal pain.  Loss of work and social time was a given when it came to this type of traction.  Fortunately, technology has finally caught up with the need for efficiency and successful pain relief and today’s chiropractors use computerized tables in order to achieve the same results as traditional traction, but in a lot less time.  This leaves the patient both happy and healthy at the end of decompression therapy. 

Another major benefit to using decompression therapy is that it is non-invasive as well as being cost-effective.  Lots of times, those who have been in extensive amounts of pain for many years and have taken large amounts of pain killers think that only back surgery will relieve them of their pain.  This is a common misconception by anyone who has not seen a chiropractor.  So, compared to the cost of a long hospital stay, the surgeon’s fees, the anesthesiologist’s fees, the hospital’s fees, and also the weeks of work that will be missed, a few quick chiropractic appointments are really a no-brainer when it comes to relieving the pain.

You will need to ask yourself a few questions in order to make the final decision to have decompression done on you.  First, are you currently depending on medications, either over the counter or prescriptions, on a daily basis to ease your pain?  Has this pain limited your activity and affected your daily routine?  Have your relationships been negatively affected because you cannot participate in even simple outings?  Have you missed out on work due to the unceasing pain?  If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then it is time to look into decompression therapy in order to give you your life back.  Remember, it is non-invasive, incredibly effective, requires no drugs, and will have you back to work the same day.

Whiplash hurts, happens fast, and causes tremendous amounts of neck pain and upper shoulder pain.  Whiplash affects the soft tissues in the neck and is often referred to as a neck sprain or neck strain and the pain can be minor to severe, but either way, it causes neck pain that will medical attention.

A large percentage of whiplash injuries are due to car accidents, especially if you are rear ended by another vehicle.  It can happen in an instant; you think should you continue through the yellow traffic light.  It feels like you have time, but that car behind you is close and coming fast. You don’t want to be rear ended but too late, you stop for the yellow light but the car behind you doesn’t and slams into you full force.  As if in slow motion you feel your neck snap forward and then back and the dull onset of pain begins.

What happens with a whiplash injury is the neck joints will overextend and in doing so, all the neck muscles and ligaments are pulled and overstretched as well.  Because the neck has the ability to move in many directions, the ligaments and muscles can be over stretched or extended in many directions as well. And it hurts – a lot!

Symptoms of whiplash can vary slightly.  You may only experience neck pain but often times it’s accompanied with the onset of upper back pain as well.  The neck pain can start immediately after an accident or in some cases can take a few days to develop but for each person the symptoms vary from slight discomfort to extreme neck pain making movement difficult.

Other symptoms of whiplash can be tightness in the neck and or upper back. There can also be a headache or dizziness which can be a symptom of a concussion, so it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible.  If your esophagus or larynx has been damaged from the muscle overextension, you may experience hoarseness or have a difficult time swallowing. Whiplash is a common occurrence with painful a aftermath but you’ll feel better and the pain will subside with a doctor’s care.

Diagnosis of whiplash can be determined by a number of medical procedures. Usually a simple X-ray to eliminate the possibility of bone fractures or breaks is the first protocol.  An X-ray determines the initial extent of your injury but in some cases a few more steps may need to be taken.

Health practitioners may want a Computer Axial Tomography (CT scan) or a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) especially if there is a question of disc or joint injury.  Both procedures are non-invasive and painless. A CT scan or an MRI are better suited to identify sever damage to the soft tissue. Your health care provider will know which is best for diagnosing your injury.