Irvine DRX9000 Spinal Decompression
Orange County Spinal Decompression
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Did You Know?

Degenerative Disc Disease is one of the most common spinal conditions.

Spinal discs are the body's "shock absorbers". Because of this they are under constant pressure.

Spinal Decompression is the ONLY treatment that can reduce the symptoms of Degenerative Disc Disease. It does this by treating the CAUSE of the degeneration – chronic disc compression that leads to loss of disc fluid.

Degenerative Disc Disease

Discs of the Spine:: An Overview

The bones of the spine are separated by tough cartilage pads called intervertebral discs (inter means “between”; vertebral means “bones of the spine”). Healthy discs are thick and flexible (like a wet sponge) which allows a wide range of bending and twisting motions. An unhealthy disc is stiff and inflexible (like a dry sponge) and prone to injuries such as Disc Bulges and Disc Herniations. Over time gravity, joint dysfunction of the spine and accumulated trauma cause the discs to compress, flatten or degenerate. This constant compression prevents much-needed nutrients and oxygen from entering the disc. This ongoing starvation causes the tough outer layers of the disc to soften. This allows the disc to become injured or diseased over time leading to Degenerative Disc Disease. Disc damage can occur at any level in the spine. However, the discs of the neck (cervical spine) and low back (lumbar spine) are the most commonly involved.

How Does DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Work? Click PLAY to Find Out.

Disease of the discs of the spine can take many forms. Significant disc damage can lead to a Disc Bulge, tear to become a Disc Herniation or the inner jelly material of the disc can leak out in the case of a Ruptured Disc. The “jelly-center” of the disc can also dry out over time. This is referred to as Degenerative Disc Disease. All disc injuries can eventually impinge on the nerves exiting the spine (“Pinched Nerve”) which can create numbness, tingling, sharp pain or burning down the arms or legs. Sharp pain originating from the back and “shooting” down the legs is often called Sciatica.

Degenerative Disc Disease:: Introduction to Degenerative Disc Disease

To understand the condition of Degenerative Disc Disease one must know two main facts about discs:

  • Discs of the spine do NOT have a direct blood supply. There are no arteries that feed the disc with blood rich in oxygen and nutrients. Therefore, discs of the spine must receive their oxygen and nutrients a different. Normal, healthy discs are oxygenated and fed by the constant recycling of disc fluid that occurs with normal spinal joint movement. This joint motion “sucks in” the fluid filled with oxygen and nutrients and “pumps out” waste fluid. This process of fluid diffusion is greatly affected by internal disc pressure which brings us to key point #2:
  • The spinal discs are under constant pressure. The discs are designed to absorb shock and maintain flexibility of the spine by acting as cushions during body movement. The spinal discs act similar to shock absorbers in a car. Car shock absorbers maintain a constant pressure to “push back” against the movement and weight of the car. Spinal discs act in a similar fashion. The pressure inside the discs pushes the spinal bones apart preventing them from crashing together during activities like running and jumping. Unfortunately, this constant disc pressure also pushes fluid out of the disc consistently each day. This makes it hard for the body to “suck” in new, healthy disc fluid with its healing oxygen and nutrients.

These two factors make it very difficult for the body to maintain plump, healthy discs making Degenerative Disc Disease one of the most common spinal ailments.

 

Degenerative Disc

Degenerative Disc Disease: As the spinal disc degenerates it loses height (called Disc Height Reduction) allowing the bones to “sandwich” the nerve between them.

Degenerative Disc Disease, as the name implies, is caused by the progressive degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Nearly every physical activity (no matter how simple) places strain upon these discs. Over time, repeated daily stress and minor traumas begin to weaken the discs of the spine. This process of accumulated wear and tear will eventually lead to disc degeneration commonly referred to as Degenerative Disc Disease.

The process of disc degeneration often begins with a chronic lack of oxygen and nutrients. This can occur because of 1) greater than normal compression of the disc or 2) as a result of decreased hydration. Greater compression comes from repetitive harmful activities such as bending, lifting or twisting – even prolonged sitting can create abnormally high levels of disc compression. Decreased hydration occurs when less fluid is pulled into the disc than is “pressed” out of the disc. This slowly creates a deflated or dehydrated disc. The medical term for this lack of disc fluid is Disc Desiccation and is the MRI finding most commonly used to identify Degenerative Disc Disease.

Degenerative Disc Disease:: Symptoms of Degenerative Disc Disease

The symptoms of Degenerative Disc Disease can vary a great deal depending on the location and severity of the problem. In general the degenerative disc itself causes very little pain. If it does cause any symptoms it often creates a stiffness around the affected joints or a deep achy pain that is often increased with joint movement. However, the pain tends to decrease as the joint "warms up". This is why many Degenerative Disc Disease sufferers report increased pain in the morning with decreasing pain as the day progresses.

Although the Degenerated Disc often causes only mild symptoms, Degenerative Disc Disease as a condition can still cause severe pain and disability. One of the more serious problems related to Degenerative Disc Disease is direct nerve compression. This occurs when the disc becomes thinner as part of the degeneration process. This Disc Height Reduction causes the space between the bones to narrow down. This narrowing makes the hole between the nerves smaller, as well. Neural Foraminal Narrowing causes bone-on-nerve compression which can create severe and debilitating symptoms like sharp pain, burning, numbness, tingling and muscle weakness. This degenerative process, over time, can compromise the nerve integrity to the point that the organs controlled by these nerves can also become diseased. Therefore, the most dangerous problems associated Degenerative Disc Disease are not due to the disc itself, but how the degeneration causes the nerves and their respective organs to become diseased as a result.

Degenerative Disc Disease:: Reversing Degenerative Disc Disease Using DRX9000 Spinal Decompression

Before the recent advances in Spinal Decompression technology NO cure was available for Degenerative Disc Disease. Treatments that aimed at symptomatic relief only include physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medication, chiropractic care, bed rest, home exercises, muscle relaxant medication, narcotic pain medication, anti-depressant medication, epidural steroid injections and nerve blocks. The main surgical treatment has been to eliminate the disc entirely and "fuse" the bones above and below the disc together – called a cervical fusion or lumbar fusion surgery. Unfortunately, the success rate for this surgery is notoriously poor and repeat surgery rates approach 100% approximately 7-10 years following the initial procedure. Disc Replacement Surgery is still many years away from general use and some initial results have been less-than-favorable.

DRX9000 Spinal Decompression is the ONLY treatment currently available that can reduce the symptoms of Degenerative Disc Disease by treating the CAUSE of the problem – chronic disc compression that contributesto lose of disc fluid.

How Does DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Work?

DRX9000 Spinal Decompression reverses Degenerative Disc Disease by methodically separating the spinal bones. This reduces the pressure within the spinal discs. In fact, during treatment pressure within the disc is reduced from approximately POSITIVE 25 millimeters of mercury (+25 mmHg) to approximately 200 millimeters of mercury BELOW ZERO (-200 mmHg). This vacuum forces water, oxygen and nutrients to be drawn INTO the disc leading to rehydration of the Degenerated Disc. Repeated Spinal Decompression treatments retract the Nucleus Pulposus (jelly center of the disc) back inside the disc. Recentering the Nucleus Pulposus removes the direct pressure on the nerve that is the source of most Degenerative Disc Disease pain.

The DRX9000 Spinal Decompression treatment is computer controlled to provide gentle and pain-free decompression of the degenerated discs of the spine. The DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Unit incorporates an advanced treatment technique that slowly separates the spinal bones while preventing protective muscle spasm from hampering the treatment. This treatment motion cycles between brief moments of pulling and relaxing, known as oscillation. This creates the pumping action that is necessary to re-hydrate the disc. DRX9000 Spinal Decompression is also targeted to specific disc levels unlike outdated “traction” treatments that merely “pulled” the entire spine apart. The targeting is accomplished by changing the Angle of Distraction. The normal curvature of the cervical spine and lumbar spine makes it possible to direct the decompressive forces exactly perpendicular to the targeted disc by changing this angle. This DRX9000 innovation makes the treatment far more effective than other similar techniques AND much more comfortable at the same time. In fact, the DRX9000 Spinal Decompression therapy is so comfortable that patients often fall asleep during the treatment!

Contact our office at (866) 99-OCSPINE to arrange a consultation on the phone or in person.

 

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