• Connolly JA
• Luginsland LA
• Welsh S
• Bexley JA
• Pirone J
• Martin WR
• Thorpe S
• Schilaty ND

• Decompression
• Intervertebral Disc
• Low Back Pain
• Open Access Document

Objective: Non-surgical spinal decompression is a conservative approach to treating lesions of the spinal column. As low back pain is a common health complaint that has a substantial economic burden laden with treatment options with poor long-term outcomes, it is requisite to explore the non-pharmacological application of non-surgical spinal decompression to treat common presentations of spinal lesions (intervertebral disc, sciatica, degenerative disc disease, etc.).

Clinical Features: In this case series, we present 13 patients (7 male; 6 female; age 18-82 years) with a broad presentation of intervertebral disc lesions (level, radiating pain, disability, etc.). Patients were selected from a convenience sample of those that had both pre- and post-intervention MRIs. Two separate radiologists provided independent medical imaging impressions.

Intervention and Outcome: After confirming diagnosis via MRI, these patients received 20 treatments of non-surgical spinal decompression delivered with the DRX9000. Clinical examination was performed and outcome measures of pain, disability, and subjective improvement of activities of daily living were assessed both pre- and post-intervention.

Conclusion: The results demonstrated that there was significant (p<0.001) improvement of pain (80%), disability (50%), and subjective recovery (75%). Further, both the average disc height and canal anterior-posterior dimension increased by 1.0-1.6 mm and 1.5-2.1 mm, respectively. Thus, non-surgical spinal decompression demonstrated good to excellent clinical outcomes as a conservative, non-surgical treatment for intervertebral disc lesions.

Author keywords: Intervertebral Disc; Spinal Decompression; Clinical Imaging; Case Series

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