Posted on 10/01/2018 8:28:22 AM PDT by NewJerseyJoe
Hello FReepers. I have long had a problem with the cervical vertebrae in my neck -- the problem manifests as numbness, tingling, and/or pain in my left forearm and left hand. In the past, I have gotten relief from a chiropractor who had a computerized traction table for decompression. He has since sold his practice, and other local chiropractors don't have this equipment.
My question: do any of you have personal experience with a home device such as this one? ComforTrac Deluxe Cervical Traction Kit If you do, I'd very much like to hear your feedback about your experience with it. Thanks
Yes, we have the upside down thingy you hang from like a bat and the water bag weight that you hang from a door.............
DO IT!
Also get a huge rubber ball and lay on it and stretch your back.
Lay one it on your back AND on your stomach- it shows you how out of shape your stomach muscles are.
But those decompression (hanging upside down) devices are the best thing I ever did for my back.
Getting back into strengthening your stomach muscles helps tremendously too.
Your mileage may vary.
I was afflicted with a similar condition 15 years ago....spent a year with PT, devices, balls, stretchers etc. At the end of that, which I felt was a waste time and money, I had a cervical fusion. There was no regrets and no looking back.
1. Tried an inversion table?
2. I had a similar problem, decided it was a pinched nerve, and concentrated on improving my posture (stand , sit, and walk tall).
That worked great —problem went away after a week or two, didn’t return.
When those first came out in the 1980’s, I was at a drunken high school party with this guy named Brett. (oh sorry, slipped into Dr. Fraud mode for a second)
I worked at a small sporting goods shop and we sold the anti gravity boots. We had a pull up bar going into the office. One day, I was at the store alone and was hanging in the boots. I was swinging a little and hit my head on a chair or something. It was really fun trying to get out of my upside down predicament before I passed out.
Another day, the store owner was hanging on them. His torso was covered by the counter so all you could see was his legs. I was helping a customer and she saw his legs and asked “Is that a dummy or something?” I wasn’t going to say anything but I did. I told her we had a side business and ran a funeral home out the back. We hang the body and drill a hole in the head to drain the blood.
Yea, I really said that. I guess I’m ineligible for SCOTUS.
Did ja feel that one all the way down?
Nobody here is your doc. Ask your doc
I need to get one of those “thingies.” My sciatica is acting up.
Those upside down hangy table thingys are called Inversion Tables and I try to use mine every day. I love it!! I’m sorry I don’t have any opinion regarding the item you posted. I do have neck and back and lower back.. oh heck, my whole spine is a mess. I’d try an inversion table first. If you can join a gym and swim, too. Really helps.
Good luck and sorry for the pain.
Why not find out what the problem is instead of trying to treat symptoms?
The days when poor result fusion surgery were all you could expect are now gone. They have one day surgery to remove completely ruptured disc material extruded into nerve paths etc.
Go find a doc that will show you the real issue.
get a chart of the vertebrae/nerve bundle and muscle/tactile interactions. (saw one while on a jury trial) that will tell you the specific vertebra involved. An inversion table will likely give some temporary relief, but to truly get long term relief your going to need some of the bone to be remove to take the pressure off the nerve bundle. You could try how ever to while your on an inversion table, adding weight to your head to stretch your neck. after you find some relief add weights and then lift your head, think sit ups with just your head. strengthening your neck muscles should help stabilize the vertebrae and if nothing else prevent further damage. Take it slow. If your only having neck pain you might want to try hanging your self by a helmet. just be careful.
It works, but don’t eat before you use it..................
I use an inversion machine. Takes awhile to get used to hanging upside down but it de compresses my back. I went to a leading back doctor and he said these machines work or don’t work for people. When they work they are quite good.
1: I am of mixed mind on chiros. On one hand, in the short term they can do a lot of good. OTOH, I also believe they can over-sensitize you to whatever is bugging your back.
2: I absolutely, unequivocably and vociferously recommend reading “Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection” by John E. Sarno. Spend <$10 on a used book near the start of whatever course of action you decide upon. Yes, a book. He also has a number of other books, but they all say the same thing. The one I mentioned is the main one. Simply reading this book probably eliminated about 70% of my back issues. Which were non-trivial; at some points, I could not get off my back to urinate and I had a friend go buy me a walker. At age 45. Go buy this book, today.
3: I had a Teeter clone for a while; I think it did *some* good. You can buy a used one and sell it for what you paid for it if you get it reasonable, so that could cost almost nothing to try.
My attitude on bad backism is: You gotta do whatever it takes to fix it, as it is pretty debilitating.
4: A quality mattress is an exceptionally important component. Nobody can tell you nor predict what flavor of mattress will work for you.
5: If you spend a lot of time sitting in a chair, that’s not so good. I am looking at buying a used Aeron chair because I sit a lot.
6: finally, exercise. Yeah, I know.
Go find a really good physical therapist - one who has all the tender sympathies of a Marine DI - and follow his exercise routine to the letter. You fill find you are re-engaging and strengthening core muscles that you haven’t used in years and didn’t even know you weren’t using them.
I was prescribed one by my Physical Therapist and ortho dock and have had good luck with it. Be careful not to pull too hard (mine was a pump hydraulic thingie ;)) and release it slowly as once I let it go at once and there was a horrific pinch in there somewhere.
I tried an inflatable collar for a while but didn’t give me much relief. I have scoliosis, stenosis, and bulging disks in the neck and upper back. I think the collar was OK at stretching but put pressure on my upper back.
I take Mobic every day. If I don’t I sure can tell it. Also....weather fronts seem to make the pain worse.
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