Decompression Therapy: What You Should Know About This Technique

Nerves can become compressed for many reasons — from inflammation and injury to aging and bone loss around your joints.

Decompression therapy opens up the spaces in areas like your spine or knees where the spinal nerve roots pass through to reduce pressure on them. This can also help reposition joints and treat slipped discs so that you don’t continue having severe or disruptive pain.

Mechanical traction can be used to provide spinal compression therapy. This involves manually opening up the spaces where spinal nerve roots pass through. Physical therapists or chiropractors typically perform this type of traction.

Another common therapy involves using traction devices — sometimes called nonsurgical spinal decompression (NSD) therapy. These devices basically perform a more advanced form of mechanical traction via a sensitive computerized feedback mechanism to decompress the spinal nerve roots through a process called segmental distraction.

Decompression therapy is not typically a first-line treatment for nerve pain caused by compression.

For mild or temporary compressed nerve pain, a doctor may recommend:

• resting the affected area
• applying ice or heat regularly
• taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications
• using home pain relief techniques, such as stretching
• wearing a brace to prevent further pain or injury

If these treatments don’t work, a doctor may recommend decompression therapy.

You may also need decompression therapy if you have health conditions that result in nerve compression like:

• frequent bulging or slipped discs from joint or autoimmune conditions like arthritis or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS)
• degenerative disc diseases, which cause spinal discs to wear down quickly
• spinal cord injuries or diseases, which can cause pain in spinal nerve roots (known as radiculopathy)
• sciatica, which causes severe pain in your lower back, buttocks, and legs
• spinal stenosis, which narrows the openings in your spine around your nerves and causes back pain

Some tests that help determine whether decompression therapy will help include:

• bone scan, which helps look for breaks, masses, or inflammation that may be causing pain
• diskography, which uses contrast dye and computed tomography (CT) to look for damaged or injuries discs
• electrical tests like electromyography (EMG), nerve conduction velocity (NCV) tests, or evoked potential tests, which are used to monitor electrical signals from your nerves to your brain
• X-rays, which are used to look at bones that may be broken or injured and are putting pressure on nearby nerves
• magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is used to create detailed, cross-sectional views of the affected area

A traction — or NSD — device is often used in decompression therapy. You’ll usually see these devices in outpatient facilities like chiropractic treatment centers or clinics focused on neck and back care.

You may need to attend multiple sessions — from 5 to 30 depending on your pain and condition — for chronic pain, swelling, or damage in your joints.

There are very few reported risks associated with decompression therapy. Some reported side effects can include:

• mild, temporary soreness in the affected area
• muscle spasms
• shooting pains down the legs
• persisting pain if the underlying cause isn’t treated

Some limited research also suggests that decompression therapy may be effective in reducing the symptoms associated with compression, but evidence is mixed.

A 2007 review of studies published between 1990 and 2006 suggests that there’s limited evidence that routine decompression therapy is more effective than less costly alternatives with more research supporting them like exercise or spinal manipulation.

An older set of clinical guidelines published in 2012 looked comprehensively at various treatments for lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy, including decompression therapy. Many treatments didn’t have enough evidence to support their effectiveness, but nonsurgical decompression showed some promise in relieving pain and disability associated with compression.

A 2022 study looked at a small sample size of 60 people with herniated discs in their low back.

The researchers separated people into two groups — 30 who received decompression therapy and 30 who didn’t. Results showed that decompression therapy helped noticeably improve symptoms in the group who received it, while the other group didn’t experience any improvement.

It’s common to feel sore or stiff after a decompression therapy session.

But noticeable pain is not typical. Contact the doctor right away if you’re still experiencing:

• pain
• tenderness
• swelling
• numbness
• tingling

The cost for a single decompression therapy session can range from $20 to $200, according to online estimates. Multiple sessions to treat severe or chronic nerve compression may cost up to $6,000 for a full course of treatment.

Decompression therapy costs can vary based on:

• your health insurance coverage, such as Medicare for manipulation of the spine
• the facility where you choose to get treatment
• the doctor or specialist who performs the treatment

Decompression therapy is considered an effective treatment for pain caused by compressed nerves that’s severe or chronic and disrupts your daily life.

Contact a doctor or chiropractic specialist if you have severe pain in your spine, lower back, hips, or knees that doesn’t go away with treatment at home or other therapies.