Flexion-Distraction Therapy for Back Pain

Flexion-Distraction Therapy is a chiropractic technique that helps ease back pain in a non-invasive and non-surgical way.

Dynamic Chiropractic has a flexion-distraction table that is specifically designed to assist patients with disc injuries. The table simultaneously stretches and flexes the spine in a cyclic motion, whilst your chiropractor applies pressure to targeted areas.

The overall result helps relieve pain and improve the mobility of the joints in the spine.

Studies show flexion-distraction therapy is especially good for assisting patients with disc injuries, which anyone who’s experienced one knows how painful they can be and how difficult they are to treat.

Flexion-distraction tables have been designed to create a gentle flexion movement in the lumbar spine which helps the injured disc heal. It is very gentle and can be a reliable approach for helping people with lower back pain and leg pain symptoms plus provides an alternative to surgery for those with severe disc injuries.

How Does Flexion-Distraction Therapy Work?

Most patients describe flexion-distraction therapy as comfortable and relaxing.

Flexion-distraction therapy involves the patient lying on a specialised table that can be used to stretch (distract) and flex the lumbar spine. The chiropractor will control the speed of the table and apply gentle pressure on the area of the disc injury. We do this for a couple of minutes and it feels very comfortable for the lower back, usually like a nice stretch and an easing of pressure in the injured area.

This is a unique technique compared to many other chiropractic techniques, as there is no high force spinal adjustments or spine ‘cracking’ involved. This makes it well suited to patients recovering from injury or surgery and those who experience severe discomfort from vigorous chiropractic adjustments.

The gentle movement of the table places the injured disc under negative pressure, which creates a vacuum within the disc. This vacuum lets the slipped disc material be pulled back into the central area of the disc, allowing the injury to heal. This technique also enables the injured disc to be pulled away from the nerve, reducing inflammation and pressure on the nerve which can help with any pins and needles, sciatica or leg pain.

Flexion-distraction is a powerful technique that can be used to help patients who are otherwise requiring cortisone injections or surgery to restore function to their lower backs.

Conditions That May Benefit From Flexion-Distraction Therapy

There are many conditions that may benefit from flexion-distraction therapy including:

Degenerative spinal conditions
Lumbar disc injuries (ruptured discs, bulging discs, herniated “slipped discs” or degenerated discs)
Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
Low back pain or strain
Leg pain
Buttock pain
Sciatica pain
Arthritis
General lower back stiffness
Post-surgical back pain
Sacroiliac syndrome

Book Your Flexion-Distraction Therapy Today

Many patients find relief from back pain, disc injuries and sciatica with flexion-distraction therapy. It’s non-invasive and does not require high force spinal adjustments, making it a gentle choice for easing back pain.

Dynamic Chiropractic is led by Dr Miki Humphrey, a qualified Chiropractor who provides high-quality chiropractic care in a friendly, relaxed and professional environment in Brisbane CBD.

If you or anyone you know would like to try a natural way of getting relief from lower back pain we would love to help them out. We have many techniques and services that we offer and Flexion-Distraction Therapy is just one of them.

Please feel free to ask about what we do and how we can help you achieve your optimum health and wellbeing!