Spinal Decompression therapy in Chiang Mai?

[krey]

Does anyone know if any clinics, hospitals do Spinal Decompression therapy and I am talking about the non surgery

version where you are laid on a special traction table and your spine is stretched, also has anyone done it?

[Sheryl]

What you describe in lumbar traction. The PT departments of any good sized hospital can do this.

[krey]

yes I been considering a inversion table, so thanks for the link

I have emailed a few hospitals waiting on results.. I am looking more on the spinal decompression table that is built specifically for the spine, its computerized like the DRX9000 as an example

I know if you say lumber traction to some people it often just means stretching out on a table and massaged etc

I am just looking for other options the disk fusion which has been thrown my way a couple of times by doctors here in Thailand. Fusion scares me as there seems to be so much negative posts out there on the internet, but that doenst mean it doenst work for some people... just once you operate like fusion, well you can go back.. like to exhaust more non evasive ideas first

if anyone has any disc degeneration tips I am all up for hearing them

[NancyL]

I saw an orthopedic specialist at CM Ram for neck pain and he recommended a course of decompression treatments in the PT dept at the hospital. I went every other day for about three weeks as I recall and they used a machine, not as fancy as the DRX9000 when I looked it up on YouTube, but the same idea. The first time they started it up, I thought they'd put me on a torture rack, but the stretching stopped before the situation became really alarming.

I was on my back for the treatments, with a hot pad under my neck and the room was darkened. The treatments lasted about 20 minutes, with intermittent stretching and relaxing by the machine. Amazingly, I found it very relaxing and fell asleep every time. They said nearly everyone does.

It really worked for me. It probably also helped that the really cold weather disappeared during this three weeks and my arthritis quieted down, too.

[watgate]

It sounds like Nancy had what I had, only my treatment was in the USA at a chiropractors office. You would lie on a hard bed and can either be lying down all the way on your back or sitting up and your neck would be in a clamp which is tightened on both sides of your neck to ensure a tight and snug fit. Then, they adjust the length of the pull on your neck. It would be for 20 minutes and your neck would be gently but effectively stretched out and then released which would last for 20 minutes. This was done with other associated modalities such as massage, electrical stimulation, a chiropractic adjustment. You would be sore in the cervical area but it was a good sore because your vertebrae and surrounding soft tissue, as well as ligaments and cartilage were being stretched. Over a period of several weeks my neck truly loosened up and delivered the comfort I was seeking. This stretching apparatus can also be incorporated for the lumbar region of the spine. It is very similar to a spinal decompression machine and well worth trying to see if it gives you any relief.

Edited May 2, 2016 by watgate

[NancyL]

Yes, CM Ram combined my treatment with ultrasound treatments which I'm not certain did much of anything. Just seemed like they were moving a wand around on my skin around my neck and shoulders. Couldn't feel a thing. But, it was part of what the orthopedic doctor prescribed, so I went along with it. To me the decompression and hot pad did the most good.

I bought an electric hot pad during this period for use at home, but the lowest setting was still too hot. Even wrapped in a towel, it was scalding. One night while asleep, the towel slipped and I gave myself a nasty burn. Still have the scar on my shoulder.

I still think the best "treatment" was the end of the two weeks of cold winter weather in Chiang Mai.

[Gonsalviz]

I had a doc that gave me muscle relaxant and put me on a traction table. Did absolutely no good, whatsoever. NADA.

Thai massage is better. Yeah, it can be rough but a good therapist will help you.

[Konini]

A very highly qualified physio in Australia put me in traction after unsiezing up some very siezed up muscles - like an iron girdle to protect me from more harm. The orthopaedic surgeon said I could never prove it in a court, but he would stake his career on it being the traction which the very next day made one of my discs explode. I looked at fusion, but decided against it after doing my own research and talking extensively with the surgeon. I have a lot of fresh air between 2 of my vertebrata where disc and bone used to be. Seemed to be the better option for me and it was. No jumping or skipping, but pretty much everything else that others can do.

Your mileage may vary. I would never have allowed traction if I had known of the possible consequences. Consult a medical doctor and ask their opinion before taking any such therapy or buying an inversion table. It may be that in your particular circumstance it will work out fine, but it has to be worth the 300 or so baht consultation fee to see an orthopod. There are a couple of excellent ones here in Chiang Mai, I can't remember the name of the one I went to, up near the boxing stadium by the railway station, but I would recommend him without hesitation (even though he was unable to do anything for me, my operation was more than 15 years ago, he could only recommend a new (to me) medication to help with the neurological pain from nerve damage. Rather than operate, which may not have helped anyway, he said I'd be back in the same position after a few years and it wasn't worth it to me (I could see that he didn't want to go down that route either and he made no money from me in expensive pharmaceuticals, he wrote the name down for me with the strength and dosage to buy elsewhere.