Spinal Decompression Near Magnolia, TX: The Drive, the Table and What to Expect

If you live in Magnolia and have been told your back pain or leg pain comes from a disc, spinal decompression is probably one of the options you have read about. It is the option built specifically for disc problems, and Blue Zone Advanced Chiropractic offers it at our office on FM 2978, at the corner of Woodlands Parkway. The building sits inside Magnolia ISD, and for many Magnolia families the drive is one they already make for school, errands or work.

Getting here from Magnolia

From downtown Magnolia the drive is about 13.9 miles and 23 minutes. Head east on FM 1488, then turn south onto FM 2978 and follow it to Woodlands Parkway. Our center is just past that intersection, on the east side of FM 2978.

From the corner of FM 1488 and FM 2978 it is about 5.1 miles, or roughly 13 minutes. Suite 600 is on the ground floor, which helps when sitting, standing and climbing stairs all hurt.

What spinal decompression is built to do

Spinal decompression is built for disc problems. You lie on a motorized, computer-controlled table, fully clothed, with one harness around your pelvis and another around your chest. The angle of the pull is set to focus on the disc level your exam and imaging point to, and the force is set for you.

The table pulls gradually, holds and releases in cycles rather than holding one steady stretch. That slow build is designed so the muscles along your spine stay relaxed instead of guarding against the pull. Sessions take place in our office under the supervision of Dr. Mariam Mobarak, DC, and the settings can be adjusted from one session to the next. Most people describe it as a slow stretch in the lower back.

Negative pressure, measured inside the disc

Decompression is designed to create negative pressure inside the disc, often called the vacuum effect. In a 1994 study in the Journal of Neurosurgery, researchers placed a pressure sensor inside the L4-5 disc of people lying face down on a VAX-D decompression table and recorded the pressure dropping below zero as the pull increased (Ramos and Martin, 1994). That negative pressure may help draw pressure off the disc and the nerve beside it.

Who tends to ask about it

People usually ask about decompression when they have:

• A herniated or bulging disc in the lower back
• Sciatica, with pain, tingling or numbness running into the leg
• Wear-related disc changes that show up on imaging
• Low back pain that keeps returning

Decompression is not used for everyone. Pregnancy, a recent spinal fracture, metal hardware in the spine, advanced osteoporosis and spinal tumors are reasons it is not a fit. Your exam and X-rays screen for those first.

What the research shows

Several studies on decompression report encouraging results, though controlled trials are still limited and the research is still growing. In a 2010 study of 30 adults with disc herniation who completed six weeks of decompression, average pain scores fell from 6.2 to 1.6 out of 10, and disc height measured on CT scans increased (Apfel and colleagues, 2010). That study had no comparison group, and its authors called for a randomized trial to confirm the result.

A 2006 review found that most earlier randomized trials of motorized decompression showed no clear difference from the comparison treatments. The reviewers rated those trials as low quality, noted that mixed patient groups and the difficulty of blinding patients to the pull may have played a part, and called for larger, better-designed studies (Macario and Pergolizzi, 2006).

We use decompression as one part of care, alongside chiropractic adjustments, soft tissue work and exercises that build strength around the spine.

Decompression vs at-home inversion

Some Magnolia patients try an inversion table at home before they call us. An inversion table uses gravity to stretch the whole spine, so it cannot be aimed at one disc, and you run it on your own. Hanging head-down also raises blood pressure and eye pressure, which is why researchers have said people with high blood pressure may need to avoid it, and have advised people with glaucoma not to use it (Haskvitz and Hanten, 1986; Weinreb and colleagues, 1984). We have not found a published study that measured pressure inside the disc during inversion the way it has been measured during decompression. Read the full comparison in inversion table vs spinal decompression.

What to bring

Bring a photo ID, your insurance card if you have one, a list of your medications, and the written report from any MRI or CT scan of your back. If a doctor in Magnolia or Conroe has already treated the problem, notes from those visits help too. Wear clothes you can lie down and move in, since the exam includes some simple movement tests.

Fitting sessions around a Magnolia schedule

Decompression is done as a series of sessions rather than a single visit, so the drive and your calendar matter. Office hours are Monday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. We are closed on weekends. The later hours on Mondays and Wednesdays help if you commute along FM 1488, and Friday morning appointments suit people who want the afternoon free.

Your first visit

Your first visit includes a conversation about your symptoms, a physical and neurological exam, and X-rays taken here in the office. If you have an MRI report, bring it. The $99 covers your exam, X-rays and your first treatment. Dr. Mobarak goes over the findings with you, and together you talk through whether decompression, adjustments or another approach makes sense.

If a herniated or bulging disc is behind your pain, spinal decompression is built for that problem in a way an inversion table is not. Book an exam to see if you are a candidate. See our spinal decompression page for more detail, or read about our care for Magnolia patients.

Book online or call (281) 688-5580. Blue Zone Advanced Chiropractic, 30340 FM 2978, Suite 600, The Woodlands, TX 77354.

Sources

• Ramos G, Martin W. Effects of vertebral axial decompression on intradiscal pressure. J Neurosurg. 1994;81(3):350-353. PubMed 8057141
• Apfel CC, et al. Restoration of disk height through non-surgical spinal decompression is associated with decreased discogenic low back pain: a retrospective cohort study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2010;11:155. PubMed 20615252
• Macario A, Pergolizzi JV. Systematic literature review of spinal decompression via motorized traction for chronic discogenic low back pain. Pain Pract. 2006;6(3):171-178. PubMed 17147594
• Haskvitz EM, Hanten WP. Blood pressure response to inversion traction. Phys Ther. 1986;66(9):1361-1364. PubMed 2944136
• Weinreb RN, Cook J, Friberg TR. Effect of inverted body position on intraocular pressure. Am J Ophthalmol. 1984;98(6):784-787. PubMed 6507552