http://www.OCSpinalDecompression.com/testimonials.htm

Before Spinal Decompression Cindy from Costa Mesa, CA suffered from chronic low back pain and intermittent neck pain that she attributed to over thirty years of horse-backing injuries.

“Before Spinal Decompression I had chronic lower back and occasional neck pain and discomfort. My lower back was the worst at night and it kept me from getting a good night’s sleep. Both injuries were due to several horseback falls over a period of 30+ years!

“After completing both the neck and low back Spinal Decompression Therapy I no longer have pain in either area. I feel great! I can’t believe the difference.

“The entire staff deserves a standing ovation. From the doctors to the front desk and all the Spinal Decompression therapists this office is efficient, friendly and extremely professional! Not to mention fun! I will miss everyone tremendously!”

Cindy W. – Costa Mesa, CA

This was originally posted on the website of the Orange County Spinal Decompression Office of the Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression (http://SpinalDecompression-OrangeCounty.com). Please call our office at (949) 857-1888 or visit our website at http://www.OCSpinalDecompression.com.

Dramatic Rise in Spinal Decompression Interest (over 700% over 5 years) Corresponds to a Dramatic Decline in Back Surgery Interest (greater than 60% decline) Over the Same Period

A very interesting and dramatic trend is occurring in the treatment of  serious Spinal Conditions. Google Insights provides us with a unique look at this global trend.

http://www.google.com/insights/search

For those that aren’t familiar with Google Insights it is a way to track the the number of internet searches on specific topics. Keywords or keyphrases are entered into the system and compared to one another. For this particular Google Insight analysis I used the keyphrases: “spinal decompression” and “back surgery”.

http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=%22spinal%20decompression%22%2C%22back%20surgery%22&cmpt=q

Spinal Decompression on the Rise; Back Surgery Declining

The results are truly amazing! Over the last 5 years (the farthest back Google has publicly available data) searches for the term “back surgery” have declined over 60% while searches for the term “spinal decompression” have increased by over 700%. In fact, both terms (“spinal decompression” and “back surgery”) are separated by a less 30% spread. This is truly remarkable considering that the number of Orthopedic Surgeons outnumber the number of Spinal Decompression Doctors by nearly 30 to 1 (source: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, http://www.aaos.org/research/orthocensus/2006CensusPublic.pdf and AxiomWorlwide, Manufacturer of the DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Therapy Unit, http://www.AxiomWorldwide.com).

An interesting side note is that the “spike” in “back surgery” searches that you see toward the end of the red line was directly attributable to Former Vice President Dick Cheney announcing that he would be seeking elective back surgery. Quite the poster child for Back Surgery! Perhaps he should have looked into Spinal Decompression!

Before committing to spinal surgery you may want to consider researching Non-Surgical DRX9000 Spinal Decompression.

Visit our Spinal Decompression website at http://www.OCSpinalDecompression.com or

call our Spinal Decompression office at (949) 857-1888.

This was originally posted on the website of the Orange County Spinal Decompression Office of the Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression (http://SpinalDecompression-OrangeCounty.com). Please call our office at (949) 857-1888 or visit our website at http://www.OCSpinalDecompression.com.

Surgery should always be considered the last option. Surgery is by far the most dangerous of all available treatment options AND is associated with the lowest success rates AND has the longest recovery time AND is the most expensive AND is the most painful. In very rare circumstances, surgery cannot be avoided. Patients that may have no other option than to forego conservative treatment and receive surgery include those with progressive neurological deficit (motor weakness, loss of reflexes, etc.) or cauda equina syndrome (bilateral sciatica, saddle dysesthesia, motor weakness in the lower extremities and/or loss of bowel and bladder control). Nearly all other cases should consider less dangerous, non-invasive interventions first.

Surgery is not without its risks. According to a study published in the respected medical journal, Spine (1991; 16[1]), 1 out of every 575 lumbar discectomy surgeries (one of the most commonly performed low back spinal surgeries) will involve severe vascular complications. Of these complications 37-61% will result in the death of the patient. In other words, approximately 1 out of every 1000 lumbar discectomy patients will die as a direct result of the surgery.

The risk associated with surgery is not always the procedure itself, but the general anesthesia necessary to perform the operation. A small percentage of patients die every year or are permanently disabled as a direct result of both properly and improperly applied anesthesia. Some surgeons are incorporating epidural anesthesia into their less-invasive surgical protocols in an attempt to reduce some of these risks.

The failure rate of surgery for back pain and neck pain is very high. Some 200,000 patients undergo lumbar spine surgery every year. On average, approximately 53 percent of all lumbar spine disc surgeries fail to relieve symptoms according to a study published in International Orthopedics (1987; 11:255-259). The results from another study published in Spine (2004; 29[17]:1931-7) showed that 20-40 percent of patients will fail to gain the desired outcome and 10 percent of patients will be worse after the initial surgery. The same study followed the progress of 3,362 patients that received spinal surgery. The results of a SF-36 Health Survey showed that patients with a history of spine surgery fared significantly worse on areas such as physical functioning, general health and mental health compared to those patients with no prior history of spine surgery. The researchers went on to say that “[p]revious back surgery is associated with significantly worse general health status than those without surgery…”

Before committing to spinal surgery you may want to consider researching Non-Surgical DRX9000 Spinal Decompression.

Visit our Spinal Decompression website at http://www.OCSpinalDecompression.com or

call our Spinal Decompression office at (949) 857-1888.

http://www.OCSpinalDecompression.com/testimonials.htm

Spinal Decompression Testimonial: Severe Low Back Pain and Sciatica due to a Herniated Disc treated successfully with DRX9000 Spinal Decompression.

Elena S. from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA suffered from severe Low Back Pain and Sciatica due to a Herniated Disc in her low back. She suffered for with her Herniated Disc symptoms for a year before receiving DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Therapy in our Orange County office, the Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression Offices.

“I would like to thank Dr. Twombly and all the staff at Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression. Because of them I am a much happier person now. I’ve suffered from a Herniated Disc for a year. I know this doesn’t sound like much compared to others, but it was an awfully long time me – especially because I was missing my son’s football games, couldn’t take my daughter to the park or do any chores around the house.

“It has been 2 months since I completed Spinal Decompression. I am back at the football field screaming and cheering my son’s team. I can now go on a swing with my daughter and can even sit in front of the TV for the first time in a long time. I can honestly say that the DRX9000 Spinal Decompression treatment works!

“Everyone at the office is very caring and wonderful and the optimistic attitude is very contagious.”

Elena S. – Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

To learn more visit our website at http://www.OCSpinalDecompression.com or call us at (949) 857-1888.

This article was originally posted on OrangeCounty.net  (http://www.OrangeCounty.net). It was posted by Orange County Spinal Decompression at the Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression Offices in Irvine, CA (Orange County, CA).

Keywords: Herniated Disc, Disc Herniation, Sciatica, Low Back Pain, DRX9000 Spinal Decompression, Spinal Decompression Therapy, Spinal Decompression, Rancho Santa Margarita, Spinal Decompression Testimonial

(originally posted on OrangeCounty.net)

Contributed by Orange County Spinal Decompression at the Irvine Family Health Center

Herniated Discs can cause a variety of symptoms – sometimes severe and debilitating. Several treatment options exist to treat the symptoms of a Herniated Disc, but a revolutionary treatment known as DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Therapy has turned the world of Herniated Disc treatment upside down.

DRX9000C Spinal Decompression Therapy Table

To understand how DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Therapy works you must first understand how a healthy spinal disc (also know as an Intervertebral Disc) functions. Spinal Decompression Therapy is the only treatment that has been scientifically proven to correct a Herniated Disc without surgery. DRX9000 Spinal Decompression is painless, non-surgical and highly effective.

Disc Bulges, Herniated Discs and Disc Extrusions:: An Overview

The bones of the spine are separated by tough cartilage pads called intervertebral discs (inter = “between”; vertebral = “bones of the spine”). Healthy intervertebral discs are thick and flexible (like a wet sponge) and allow a wide range of motions. An unhealthy disc is stiff and hard (like a dry sponge) and is prone to conditions like Disc Bulges or Herniated Discs. Over time gravity, joint dysfunction and cumulative trauma cause the spinal discs to compress, flatten or degenerate. This constant disc compression prevents oxygen and nutrients from entering the spinal disc. This ongoing starvation causes the once-tough outer layers of the disc to become soft which allows the disc to become injured or degenerated. Disc conditions can occur anywhere in the spine. However, the discs of the neck (cervical spine) and lower back (lumbar spine) are the most commonly injured.

Significant disc injury can lead to a Spinal Disc Bulge, become a tear called a Herniated Disc or the inner “jelly” material of the disc can leak out in the case of a Disc Extrusion. The “jelly center” of the disc can also dry out which is referred to as Degenerative Disc Disease. All forms of disc conditions can eventually pinch the nerves that exit the spine (“Pinched Nerve”) which can create numbness, tingling, burning or sharp pain down the legs or arms. Sharp pain “shooting” down the legs is often referred to as Sciatica.

The most effective treatment available to reverse herniated discs is Spinal Decompression Therapy using the DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Unit.

Herniated Disc:: DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Therapy

DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Therapy removes pressure on the spinal nerves caused by the Herniated Disc. When the direct nerve compression is gone, so is the pain!

DRX9000 Spinal Decompression achieves this by reducing pressure within the discs (also called decompression) by slow and methodically separating the vertebrae of the spine. When the pressure is brought down to zero and then below zero a vacuum is formed. This vacuum “sucks” the Herniated Disc back toward the center. Over time the disc regains a healthy shape returning the spine to its normal pain-free function. This vacuum also pulls important oxygen and nutrients into the disc to begin the healing process to reverse the disc degeneration.

DRX9000 Spinal Decompression:: Formula for Relief

DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Therapy is the only treatment that has been scientifically proven to reduce this pressure to 160 mmHg BELOW ZERO (-160 mmHg). This reverses the flow of disc fluid allowing oxygen and nutrients to return to the disc (spinal decompression) to start the healing process. As an example traction has only been shown to reduce intradiscal pressure to around 40 mmHg ABOVE ZERO – no vacuum is created with traction.

The DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Therapy motion is computer controlled to provide gentle and painless decompression of the spinal discs. The DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Unit cycles the treatment through a series of gentle pulls followed by brief periods of rest. This oscillation creates a “pumping” action that enhances the effectiveness of the negative disc pressure generated by the DRX9000.

“Spinal Decompression Therapy Reverses Herniated Discs” was contributed by Orange County Spinal Decompression at the Irvine Family Health Center

About Orange County Spinal Decompression at the Irvine Family Health Center
Orange County Spinal Decompression has been improving the health and wellbeing of Orange County residents for over 25 years. Our doctors have over 50 years of combined experience treating some of the most challenging spinal conditions without resorting to drugs or surgery. Our state-of-the-art facility is in the Irvine Family Health Center. We are located just off the 5 Freeway in the Heart of Orange County – Irvine. DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Therapy is safe and effective for a variety of low back and neck conditions including Sciatica, Herniated Disc , Disc Bulges, Pinched Nerve, Degenerative Disc Disease, Low Back Pain, Neck Pain and Facet Syndrome. For more information, please visit www.OCSpinalDecompression.com.

To learn more visit our website at http://www.OCSpinalDecompression.com or call us at (949) 857-1888.

This article was originally posted on OrangeCounty.net  (http://www.OrangeCounty.net). It was posted by Orange County Spinal Decompression at the Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression Offices in Irvine, CA (Orange County, CA).

Keywords: DRX9000 Spinal Decompression, Spinal Decompression, Spinal Decompression Therapy, Disc Bulge, Bulging Disc, Disc Herniation, Herniated Disc, Degenerative Disc Disease, Sciatica, Pinched Nerves, Disc Extrusion, Extruded Disc

“I have been told that I am a candidate for Back Surgery for Degenerative Disc Disease. My question is this: How many Back Surgeries am I going to need? Yes, how many? I have seen too many Failed Back Surgeries, too many redo’s, repeats and too many people seeking disability because of Failed Back Surgeries…”

Just the fact that Marguerite asked this question tells me that she has done her research. I strongly recommend anyone seeking neck surgery or back surgery to do the same thing. Spinal Surgery is irreversible! With the advances in Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression the need for spinal surgery of any kind is extremely rare.  It is especially important to do your research since the number one cause of Failed Back Surgery Syndrome is “improper screening of the patient”. In other words, the patient didn’t actually NEED the surgery in the first place. Therefore, the patient continues to have the same symptoms after the surgery that they suffered before the surgery. I don’t care how much you like your doctor; no doctor is going to care about you the way you care about you – not even your Uncle Frank who is also a doctor!

Back to Marguerite’s question “How many Back Surgeries am I going to need?”

This is a difficult question to answer for two reasons: 1) it depends greatly on your age, and 2) long-term research on surgical success rates are extremely rare (it seems that docs – like most of us – don’t like to air their dirty laundry).

Short answer: If you are 80 years old it is likely that you will only need one back surgery because you will likely (based on statistics) be dead before you would require a second one. If you are less than 80 years old then it appears that you have a 15-18% chance of needing a repeat surgery within 5 years and about a 67% chance of needing a repeat surgery within 10 years. The younger you are, the more likely you will require more repeat surgeries!

The rest of this post explains how I came up with these numbers.

One research article I found on the subject comes from Spine, a highly-respected peer-reviewed medical journal:

Seven- to 10-year Outcome of Decompressive Surgery for Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Results: Average preoperative age was 69 years and eight patients received fusion. Of 88 patients in the original cohort, 20 (23%) were deceased and 20 (23%) had undergone re-operation by 7- to 10-year follow-up. Fifty-five patients answered questionnaires. Average duration of follow-up was 8.1 years. Thirty-three percent of the respondents had severe back pain at followup, 53% were unable to walk two blocks…

Commentary:

1/3 (33%) of the patients had severe low back pain an average of 8.1 years after the surgery!

53% of the patients were unable to walk two blocks!

23% underwent another surgery during this time.

Of course, this also assumes that the deceased patients (20% of them) had the same levels of pain and disability.

These are all fascinating numbers, but lets take a closer look at them. If we assume that the 23% that had another surgery responded well to the surgery (i.e. were greatly improved at the time of the questionnaire) then we can subtract them from the total number of respondents. This would mean that 23% received re-operations while the REMAINING 43% (33% of the non-operated 77%) continued to suffer severe low back pain!

Put another way you could say that 67% (or 2/3) of the patients that underwent Back Surgery either repeated the surgery within 10 years or were suffering to such a degree that surgery would be considered an option!

Another study from Spine:

5-year reoperation rates after different types of lumbar spine surgery.

Unadjusted reoperation rates over the 5-year period were greater for patients who underwent fusion than for patients who underwent nonfusion surgery (18% vs. 15%, respectively)…

Commentary: In other words 18% of Lumbar Spinal Fusion Patients underwent reoperation within 5 years! 15% of nonfusion surgery patients underwent reoperation within 5 years! If you compare this with the previous study you will notice that the average reoperation occurred around 8.1 years which is over 3 years beyond the scope of this study. Therefore, it can be assumed that the reoperation number would go way up if this study had been extended by 3 or 5 years or more.

“How many Back Surgeries am I going to need?”

Short answer: If you are 80 years old it is likely that you will only need one back surgery because you will likely (based on statistics) be dead before you would require a second one. If you are less than 80 years old then it appears that you have a 15-18% chance of needing a repeat surgery within 5 years and about a 67% chance of needing a repeat surgery within 10 years. The younger you are, the more likely you will require more repeat surgeries!

Alternatives to Spinal Surgery: Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression using some of the latest technology like the DRX9000 Spinal Decompression Unit have dramatically reduced the need for the majority of spinal surgeries. DRX9000 Spinal Decompression is non-surgical, painless and highly effective. Look in to Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Therapy before considering surgery.

To learn more visit our website at http://www.OCSpinalDecompression.com or call us at (949) 857-1888.

This article was originally posted on the Orange County Spinal Decompression Blog (http://www.SpinalDecompression-OrangeCounty.com). It was posted by Orange County Spinal Decompression at the Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression Offices in Irvine, CA (Orange County, CA).

Debilitating low back pain and neck pain  are among the world’s most frequent conditions. Many of the more severe forms of low back pain and neck are caused by spinal disc injuries – Disc Bulges, Herniated Discs, Disc Extrusions and Ruptured Discs. DRX9000 Spinal Decompression was invented for this exact purpose and does an amazing job at it.

http://www.axiomworldwide.com/board.asp

Pain Management expert, Dr. Joseph Pergolizzi, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University discusses the effectiveness of DRX9000 Spinal Decompression and its approach to treating back pain and neck pain in a new video released by Axiom Worldwide.

Dr Pergolizzi has been published in medical journals over 100 times. The video also features other experts in the field of Pain Management including doctors from the Mayo Clinic, Stanford University and University of California all of whom have studied the effectiveness of this technology.

Posted on Orange County Spinal Decompression’s Blog: www.SpinalDecompression-OrangeCounty.com by Orange County Spinal Decompression at the Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression Offices

Throughout the entire 25 year history of our office we have relied on word-of-mouth and referrals from other professionals. This is our very first venture into external marketing. The ad will be a 1/4 page ad in the Irvine World News.

Let me know what you think.

Our very first newspaper ad to celebrate our 25th Anniversary!

Thank you,

Orange county Spinal Decompression at the

Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression Offices

By Mahsa Khalilifar (staff writer for Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression)

Can chronic back pain be causing people more than just physical harm?  It is a big possibility, according to new studies.  More and more medical studies are showing that the results of chronic back pain can have detrimental effects, not only on the body but also on the mind.

An article from HealthDay News featured on MedlinePlus.com, A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, reports a study which found a correlation between chronic pain and the brain.

The study found researchers in Chicago from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine using devices to track the pain symptoms with the brain’s activity.  According to the article, the researchers “used functional MRI to scan brain activity in people with chronic low back pain while they tracked a moving bar on a computer screen.”  They conducted the same procedure with another group of people; these subjects were known as the control group since they had no documented pain.

The study found that people with a lack of pain, had rather balanced brain functions.  People who had chronic pain had a brain that showed a variety of emotional symptoms.  Since the front region of the brain with the people who had chronic pain seemed to be on overdrive, the region can result in wearing out the brain neurons, according to Dante Chialvo, the study’s author; in turn, such findings show that there can be permanent damage done to the brain.

Chialvo, an associate research professor of psychology, also says that chronic pain patients deal with pain constantly — 24 hours a day.  The professor was quoted saying that, “that permanent perception of pain in your brain makes these areas in your brain continuously active. This continuous dysfunction in the equilibrium of the brain can change the wiring forever and could hurt the brain.”

Chronic back pain is usually said to be diagnosed after three months of pain, but can take months to heal.  This form of low back pain can cause people to be uncomfortable, and such pain can make it hard for people to get up in the morning and be productive at work.  The pain indirectly and directly hurts the individual with pain.

“Approximately 80% of Americans experience [low back pain] during their lifetime. An estimated 15-20% develop protracted pain, and approximately 2-8% have chronic pain.  Every year, 3-4% of the population is temporarily disabled, and 1% of the working-age population is disabled totally and permanently because of [low back pain],” according to eMedicine.com, an extension of WebMD.com.

“[Low Back Pain] is second only to the common cold as a cause of lost work time; it is the fifth most frequent cause for hospitalization and the third most common reason to undergo a surgical procedure. Productivity losses from chronic low back pain approach $28 billion annually in the United States,” eMedicine online reports.

The numbers are staggering, as people with pain in the low back are becoming more disabled due to the pain.  Becoming depressed, getting anxious, and having a low self-esteem view can result from chronic back pain.

So what can you do if you fear that you may have chronic back pain?  Seeing a specialist for your pain is the first step.  Once your pain is diagnosed the route to recovery may be a long one, but can happen at a faster pace when discovered at an early stage.  Contact your local DRX9000 Spinal Decompression or call (949) 857-1888 for more information.

On The Net

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_60971.html

http://www.emedicine.com/neuro/topic516.htm

http://www.OCSpinalDecompression.com

As of the writing of this post our office, Irvine Family Health Center – Spinal Decompression, has a total of 6 reviews from patients and a weighted rating (Yelp seems to favor certain reviewers over others) of 5 stars!

Here is the link if you want to check it out:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/irvine-family-health-center-spinal-decompression-irvine

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write about their experience in our office. You are the reason we love what we do!