Neck decompression therapy at the Padda Institute in St. Louis is done face up, head resting in a padded cradle, while a computer-run table eases the neck into a gentle pull and back out, cycle after cycle. The pull eases pressure on neck discs and nerves, which can calm neck pain and arm pain from a pinched nerve.
This is one station in our physician-directed physiotherapy program. It runs only on your physician’s written order, at the strength your physician sets.
You lie face up with your head resting in a soft cradle. A computer-guided table pulls your neck gently, then lets it relax, over and over.
The gentle pull opens a little space around the discs and nerve roots of the neck. That can ease neck pain and the pain that travels down the arm from a pinched nerve, the same nerve problem a cervical epidural or selective nerve root block is aimed at.
A slow, even stretch, then a release, repeated. You hold a stop switch in your hand the entire time. Your technician stays in the room through the first full cycle, and you rest for a minute before you sit up.
Each visit opens with spoken safety questions. If something has changed since last time, such as a new medicine, a new symptom or a procedure this week, the physician decides before anything starts. Say stop at any moment and it stops.
Fifteen to twenty minutes.
Show us you have it: Before the next session starts, press the stop switch once while we watch. If any part is unclear, ask, and we will walk through it again at your next visit.
Related reading: pneumatic cervical traction, numb hands: neck or carpal tunnel.
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