The flexion distraction table is a chiropractic technique involving a table that can safely move the spine in a therapeutic way to alleviate pain and take pressure off the lumbar spine. This in turn can eliminate pain in your arms, legs and neck, too. Flexion distraction is a non-invasive, non-surgical chiropractic method that offers pain relief.
Statistics show that the most common cause for disc herniation is aging; not injury. As you age, your disks become less flexible and more prone to tearing or rupturing. Your discs become less flexible due to age-related degeneration.
At the core of this is hydration. When you’re young, your discs are 80% water. This decreases as you age mainly due to poor blood flow. Yes, hydration is important, but if you don’t have good blood flow to your discs, then not enough fluids and nutrients will make it in. Flexion distraction therapy helps loosen you up, promote better blood flow, restore range of motion, and help stave of natural degeneration.
Other flexion distraction therapy benefits include reduced pressure on spinal nerves, decreased headache occurrences, better good disc health, and eliminated or delayed need for surgery. Flexion-distraction manipulation treatments impacted pain levels and disability in patients with spinal stenosis, a condition marked by a narrowed spinal canal. Narrowing can squeeze nerves, causing pain, numbness, weakness and cramping. In addition to improving spinal stenosis symptoms, flexion-distraction can also be used to treat many other types of back pain. It may reduce pain and stiffness associated with osteoarthritis and improve spinal movement in patients who have scoliosis.
Flexion-distraction therapy can be helpful if you have sacroiliac syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis, sciatica, spondylolisthesis, sprains, and strains. It's also very effective in treating muscle spasms or low back pain unrelated to a specific condition.
The technique is gentle enough to use after spinal surgery and can be an important part of your recovery treatment plan. If you have osteoporosis or another condition that affects your bones, some treatments may be too risky. Luckily, flexion-distraction is gentle enough that it can be a safe therapy option for people who have brittle bones or are frail.
Flexion-distraction therapy can:
Reduce pressure on your spinal nerves and discs
Decrease bulging of herniated discs
Improve range of motion and mobility
Help you manage chronic back pain
Relieve stiffness
Decrease neck pain and headaches
Eliminate or delay the need for surgery in some cases
Promote good disc health
Relieve pain and numbness in the back, buttocks, arms, and legs
Improve posture