SPINAL DECOMPRESSION THERAPY
SETTING REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
SETTING REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
Mountain View, Missouri (West Plains / Willow Springs / Winona / Cabool / Summersville / Thayer) ---- Spinal Decompression Doctor, Russell Schierling, presents another blog article on Spinal Decompression Therapy.
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One of my duties to the Chronic Disc patients I treat is to help set realistic expectations for their recovery. Expectations are critical. Because spinal pain ---- most particularly the severe, debilitating lower back or neck pain associated with SCIATICA or RADICULOPATHY caused by HERNIATED DISCS, SPINAL STENOSIS, or DEGENERATIVE DISCS ---- can present a challenge for any physician to treat, you need to turn to someone who is both knowledgeable and trustworthy. I strive to be both.
Although it would be easy to take advantage of desperate people who are in pain, I have to turn about half the people I consult with away because I ALREADY KNOW that theirs is not a problem that Spinal Decompression Therapy is going to help. Sometimes patients need to see a specialist. Sometimes they do not have a disc problem. Sometimes they need to be treated in a completely different manner than Spinal Decompression Therapy ---- particularly if they have a disc-mimicking problem like PIRIFORMIS SYNDROME. Bottom line: If I can help you, I will help you. But if yours is not a problem that will benefit from Spinal Decompression Therapy, I will tell you that as well ---- and try to get you to someone who can help you.
Ask anyone who has been on the medical merry-go-round with spinal problems. Pain pills, CORTICOSTEROID INJECTIONS and SPINAL SURGERIES don't work for the long haul, and are known to have an extremely poor track record as far as dangerous and even deadly side effects are concerned. Not only is this borne out in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, but just look at the Online Support Groups for people with debilitating spinal pain ---- people that have already been through one or more Spinal Surgeries and are being told their only solution is more surgery. Or better yet, ask someone you know who has been down this route. Few of them are jumping up and down and shouting halleluiah because their surgeries or trips to the Pain Clinic were a rip roaring success.
Even though a person's severe pain may have just started, it is critical to understand that the underlying cause of that pain has most likely been there for decades --- slowly progressing. As much as I wish that I could sprinkle a bit of pixie dust on your back side and make you well overnight, treatment for severe disc problems takes time. Even the medical community admits this. There is no way to avoid this fact. And even though I have had patients with long-standing spinal pain see massive improvements almost overnight (we once had a post-surgical case respond to their Spinal Decompression 80% after his very first treatment), most respond slowly. While many patients report a slow and steady improvement with each treatment, the truth is sometimes people respond erratically to treatment. Better one day, and worse the next ---- three steps forward and two steps back. (The patient who responded 80% on his first treatment? He took a month and a half to reach 100% improvement.)
Although our STANDARD DISC PROTOCOL is 24 sessions over a period of approximately two months, some patients may take more treatment than that. Especially if they have severe degeneration. Although I will often put a person on the Spinal Decompression Table to see how they will tolerate the treatment, or to find out which position will be the most comfortable, "Trial Sessions" of a few treatments do not provide us with valuable information as to how well patients will respond over the long haul. I know this because most of my Spinal Decompression patients see the majority of their improvement during the last half of their treatment schedule.
If you are tired of living with Chronic Pain that is affecting your ability to do all of the things that you love the most, call us at (417) 934-6337. Schedule a free, no-obligation consult with me; Dr. Russell Schierling. I will go over your history and tests and determine whether or not you are a GOOD CANDIDATE for Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Therapy. My goal is to provide you an exit strategy ---- a way to get off the medical merry-go-round and get your life back.
One of my duties to the Chronic Disc patients I treat is to help set realistic expectations for their recovery. Expectations are critical. Because spinal pain ---- most particularly the severe, debilitating lower back or neck pain associated with SCIATICA or RADICULOPATHY caused by HERNIATED DISCS, SPINAL STENOSIS, or DEGENERATIVE DISCS ---- can present a challenge for any physician to treat, you need to turn to someone who is both knowledgeable and trustworthy. I strive to be both.
Although it would be easy to take advantage of desperate people who are in pain, I have to turn about half the people I consult with away because I ALREADY KNOW that theirs is not a problem that Spinal Decompression Therapy is going to help. Sometimes patients need to see a specialist. Sometimes they do not have a disc problem. Sometimes they need to be treated in a completely different manner than Spinal Decompression Therapy ---- particularly if they have a disc-mimicking problem like PIRIFORMIS SYNDROME. Bottom line: If I can help you, I will help you. But if yours is not a problem that will benefit from Spinal Decompression Therapy, I will tell you that as well ---- and try to get you to someone who can help you.
Ask anyone who has been on the medical merry-go-round with spinal problems. Pain pills, CORTICOSTEROID INJECTIONS and SPINAL SURGERIES don't work for the long haul, and are known to have an extremely poor track record as far as dangerous and even deadly side effects are concerned. Not only is this borne out in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, but just look at the Online Support Groups for people with debilitating spinal pain ---- people that have already been through one or more Spinal Surgeries and are being told their only solution is more surgery. Or better yet, ask someone you know who has been down this route. Few of them are jumping up and down and shouting halleluiah because their surgeries or trips to the Pain Clinic were a rip roaring success.
Even though a person's severe pain may have just started, it is critical to understand that the underlying cause of that pain has most likely been there for decades --- slowly progressing. As much as I wish that I could sprinkle a bit of pixie dust on your back side and make you well overnight, treatment for severe disc problems takes time. Even the medical community admits this. There is no way to avoid this fact. And even though I have had patients with long-standing spinal pain see massive improvements almost overnight (we once had a post-surgical case respond to their Spinal Decompression 80% after his very first treatment), most respond slowly. While many patients report a slow and steady improvement with each treatment, the truth is sometimes people respond erratically to treatment. Better one day, and worse the next ---- three steps forward and two steps back. (The patient who responded 80% on his first treatment? He took a month and a half to reach 100% improvement.)
Although our STANDARD DISC PROTOCOL is 24 sessions over a period of approximately two months, some patients may take more treatment than that. Especially if they have severe degeneration. Although I will often put a person on the Spinal Decompression Table to see how they will tolerate the treatment, or to find out which position will be the most comfortable, "Trial Sessions" of a few treatments do not provide us with valuable information as to how well patients will respond over the long haul. I know this because most of my Spinal Decompression patients see the majority of their improvement during the last half of their treatment schedule.
If you are tired of living with Chronic Pain that is affecting your ability to do all of the things that you love the most, call us at (417) 934-6337. Schedule a free, no-obligation consult with me; Dr. Russell Schierling. I will go over your history and tests and determine whether or not you are a GOOD CANDIDATE for Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Therapy. My goal is to provide you an exit strategy ---- a way to get off the medical merry-go-round and get your life back.
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