Not all neuropathy starts in the feet. For many people, the symptoms in their legs and feet actually originate at the spine, where nerves can become compressed or irritated as they exit the spinal column. Spinal decompression therapy gently relieves that pressure, addressing a root cause that other foot-focused treatments can miss.
It is a comfortable, non-surgical therapy that can be an important piece of the neuropathy puzzle.
It is a comfortable, non-surgical therapy that can be an important piece of the neuropathy puzzle.
At a glance
Often combined with:
When neuropathy starts at the spine
The nerves that travel to your legs and feet begin at the lower spine. When discs bulge, joints stiffen, or the spaces where nerves exit become narrowed, those nerves can be pinched or irritated long before they reach your feet. The result can be numbness, tingling, burning and weakness that looks exactly like peripheral neuropathy, because in a sense it is, just with a different origin.
This is why a thorough evaluation matters so much. If spinal nerve compression is contributing to your symptoms, treating only the feet will never fully solve the problem. Decompression therapy targets the source.
This is why a thorough evaluation matters so much. If spinal nerve compression is contributing to your symptoms, treating only the feet will never fully solve the problem. Decompression therapy targets the source.
How decompression works
Spinal decompression therapy uses a specialized table to gently and precisely stretch the spine. This controlled stretch creates negative pressure within the discs, which helps relieve pressure on compressed nerves, encourages bulging discs to retract, and draws in the fluid and nutrients discs need to stay healthy. By opening space around the irritated nerves, decompression can reduce the symptoms those nerves are sending to your legs and feet.
A relaxing, non-surgical option
Sessions are gentle and comfortable. You lie fully clothed on the decompression table while it applies a slow, cyclic stretch. Most patients find the experience relaxing and many simply rest during treatment. There are no needles, no medications and no surgery, and there is no downtime afterward.
Decompression therapy is delivered as a series of sessions, allowing the pressure relief and disc healing to build gradually. We track your symptoms throughout to confirm the therapy is helping and to fine-tune your overall plan.
Decompression therapy is delivered as a series of sessions, allowing the pressure relief and disc healing to build gradually. We track your symptoms throughout to confirm the therapy is helping and to fine-tune your overall plan.
Part of a complete approach
In our neuropathy program, decompression therapy addresses the spinal component of nerve symptoms while our other therapies work on circulation, nerve stimulation and cellular repair in the extremities. Treating the problem from both ends, the source at the spine and the symptoms in the feet, gives many patients a far better outcome than treating either alone.
Could spinal nerves be involved?
If your neuropathy symptoms are accompanied by back pain, or if they follow the path of a specific nerve, spinal involvement may be part of the picture. A careful evaluation and a painless nerve scan help us determine whether decompression therapy should be part of your personalized neuropathy plan, so we can address every cause of your symptoms, not just the most obvious one.
What progress can look like
When spinal nerve compression is a true driver of your symptoms, relieving that pressure can produce some of the most satisfying results in the whole program, less radiating pain, improved sensation in the legs and feet, and often relief of accompanying back discomfort. Because decompression addresses a structural source, progress tends to track with the health of the discs and nerves involved, and it builds across your series of sessions. We keep expectations realistic based on your exam and imaging, monitor your symptoms closely, and coordinate decompression with the therapies treating your extremities so every contributor to your neuropathy is being addressed at once.
