I undergo weekly spinal decompression therapy. While not exactly the same as the medieval torture devices, being strapped in and having my spine pulled from both directions with 200lbs of force is pretty close.
In my spine my L5-S1 and L4-L5 are herniated (as of 2017, haven’t checked if any more are). Full on herniated, not bulging. It started when I was 20, and my doctor said surgery should be avoided since it could impact my quality of life significantly at my age (not that my QoL wasn’t already severely impacted). Epidurals and physical therapy didn’t help.
Back then it wasn’t miserable 24/7 but it had it’s moments. Eventually I had an “episode” where I was bedridden in immense amounts of pain for a solid week. During that desperation I found the IDD option and started that. It was rough back then at the start. But within weeks the constant pain died down and I recovered mobility as well as my sciatica improved.
Through… Losing a job I discovered the effects wear off after 2ish months and I start being susceptible to the episodes and random function loss again, so now I just go weekly to keep things peachy. It isn’t full recovery obviously, I still wind up in pain if I do too much with my back, even stuff as little as bending over slightly to do the dishes (because I’m tall), but it beats being disabled in constant pain… Those few episodes I’ve had haunt me. Being so helpless I couldn’t even.
Every time I recall those episodes, and the pain, it gets easier to do, emotionally.
And theoretically I could just get it operated on - there have been improvements in the field. But the prospect of going under the knife is scary, especially in an area where one fuckup or miscalculation could lead to partial paralysis for life. Throw in a mix of abusive American healthcare and… Weekly therapy is more preferable.
No. I’ve considered it though, but I’m a tad worried it won’t make a difference considering the options I’ve seen probably don’t result in 200lbs of force being applied.
I undergo weekly spinal decompression therapy. While not exactly the same as the medieval torture devices, being strapped in and having my spine pulled from both directions with 200lbs of force is pretty close.
And yes, it feels amazing for a second or two.
May I ask what condition you’re treating with that therapy?
In my spine my L5-S1 and L4-L5 are herniated (as of 2017, haven’t checked if any more are). Full on herniated, not bulging. It started when I was 20, and my doctor said surgery should be avoided since it could impact my quality of life significantly at my age (not that my QoL wasn’t already severely impacted). Epidurals and physical therapy didn’t help.
Back then it wasn’t miserable 24/7 but it had it’s moments. Eventually I had an “episode” where I was bedridden in immense amounts of pain for a solid week. During that desperation I found the IDD option and started that. It was rough back then at the start. But within weeks the constant pain died down and I recovered mobility as well as my sciatica improved.
Through… Losing a job I discovered the effects wear off after 2ish months and I start being susceptible to the episodes and random function loss again, so now I just go weekly to keep things peachy. It isn’t full recovery obviously, I still wind up in pain if I do too much with my back, even stuff as little as bending over slightly to do the dishes (because I’m tall), but it beats being disabled in constant pain… Those few episodes I’ve had haunt me. Being so helpless I couldn’t even.
Noooo that sucks
Sorry to hear overall though glad you’ve also shared the sliver of a silver lining, so you give a tidbit of hope there
Closing with words bound to sound empty: wishing for research on this for you
Every time I recall those episodes, and the pain, it gets easier to do, emotionally.
And theoretically I could just get it operated on - there have been improvements in the field. But the prospect of going under the knife is scary, especially in an area where one fuckup or miscalculation could lead to partial paralysis for life. Throw in a mix of abusive American healthcare and… Weekly therapy is more preferable.
Do you have a home traction/decompression setup?
No. I’ve considered it though, but I’m a tad worried it won’t make a difference considering the options I’ve seen probably don’t result in 200lbs of force being applied.