It can be frightening to feel pain in your back. Whether you’ve lifted something heavy and felt a sharp pain or you’ve gradually felt uncomfortable until one day, your back began to hurt, you may be dealing with what’s called spinal compression. This condition can happen almost anywhere along your spine from our neck (cervical spine) down to your lower back (lumbar spine). As a messenger highway, your spine houses bundles of nerves that allow for your brain and body—muscles and soft tissues—to communicate almost instantaneously. Your spinal cord and nerves are protected by a “stack” of bones called vertebrae. These are the bones that help hold you upright while sitting or standing. If you’re experiencing pain, it may be time to see a back pain specialist at a wellness clinic.
A common cause of spinal compression is gradual wear and tear called osteoarthritis. This gradual degradation of your muscles, soft tissues, and overall health can be attributed to aging. Over time, those who develop spinal cord compression tend to feel discomfort or pain in specific areas along their back and, in some cases, out through their extremities. Other conditions that can cause compression are as follows: Abnormal spine alignment (scoliosis), a spine injury, a spinal tumor, rheumatoid arthritis, infection, or certain bone diseases.
Through physical therapy and chiropractic treatment protocol, the team at Senara help those suffering from spinal cord compression improve gradually. Decompression traction therapy is one way to relieve long-term neck or back pain due to spine compression. If you’re suffering from this condition, we share some more common health concerns that could cause compression in your spine and how therapy could help relieve them below:
Four Spine Compression Health Concerns
Bulging Or Herniated Discs
If you’ve ever experienced a bulging or herniated disc, you know that it can be painful. The cushion between vertebrae is what creates the space and offers padding for movement and nerve pathways. When those cushions protrude or burst, you can experience excruciating pain that does more than negatively affect your day; it can affect your life. Once those cushions are compromised, the vertebrae compress, causing pinched nerves and the general inability to move.
Decompression traction therapy offers a gentle stretch to elongate your spine, creating space between those vertebrae once again. This allows for the bulging disc to slip back into its natural space between vertebrae. Through traction therapy, the disc will move back into place and pain will diminish gradually.
Spine Compression
As mentioned briefly above, spine compression can occur due to our lifestyles. For many of us, we spend a lot of time sitting or maintaining an unnatural position while at work. This gradual wear and tear can compress the spine over time. As the vertebrae compress, muscles tighten and nerves are pinched, which can affect the body from general discomfort to chronic pain.
A series of decompression traction therapy sessions will, as mentioned earlier, help stretch your spine and give space back between vertebrae. Nerves will relax and inflammation will gradually decrease.
Sciatica
Those experiencing sciatic nerve pain will know that it’s not pleasant. It can surface as a constant pain, or it can radiate between the lower back, down the back of the legs, into the feet, and back up again. A pinched sciatic nerve can be caused due to a number of reasons. Spine compression can cause sciatica.
When the spine is stretched out through decompression therapy, the sciatic nerve is given room to heal. Irritation will decrease, which leads to reduced inflammation. This all results in less pain and discomfort.
Headaches And Migraines
Cervical compression can be the root cause of headaches or migraines. The condition is called cervicogenic headaches. These start in the neck where the spine is compressed. In some cases, these headaches can mimic migraine symptoms, which are more serious and chronic. The pain can be unilateral (to one side) in your head, and eventually spread across the entire skull.
Once the spine is stretched and the vertebrae in the neck are lengthened, pain relief can begin. Those who experience headaches due to spine compression tend to feel debilitated and unable to focus on regular daily tasks. Decompression therapy will gradually help remedy this pain.
Relieve Pain With Physical Therapy And Chiropractic Care
Each person’s pain is different when it comes to spinal compression, whether it’s in the neck, in the lower back, or somewhere in between. You may even experience pain related to sciatica, which can span down into your feet. Physical therapy in Peoria, alongside chiropractic care, is able to offer specific therapy sessions to address your pain and make a gradual, healthy recovery. Contact Senara Health and Healing Center & Spa in Peoria to schedule your appointment.