A physician at Back Pain STL examines your back, decides whether this belongs in your plan and writes the order. A trained technician carries it out exactly as written. Nothing starts unless a physician is in the clinic and free to come to you right away.

What is it?

You recline in the chair and a set program pulls and releases along your spine. It runs about 15 minutes.

How does it help a sore back?

When a disc bulges or a joint is irritated, the muscles around it clench to protect it, and that squeeze adds more pressure. A slow, repeated stretch gives the spine a little room and lets those muscles let go.

Many people with disc pain or a pinched nerve find the stretch eases the ache in the back and sometimes the pain down the leg while they are in the chair. That relief can make it easier to do the exercises that build lasting change.

What does it feel like?

A slow pull along your back, then a release. The pull begins at the weakest setting and climbs one notch at a time, stopping at the level your physician ordered. Expect your technician to check in at the 2-minute mark and again at the halfway point.

Who should not have it?

• Spine surgery in the recent past
• Thin bones (osteoporosis)
• A fracture your physician has not cleared
• Pregnancy
• Leg numbness or weakness that keeps getting worse
• Rheumatoid arthritis affecting the neck

Your technician reads the safety questions out loud before every visit. If your answers have changed, the physician decides before anything starts. You can ask to stop at any point.

More on this site: whether it is really the disc, degenerative disc disease.

Other treatments in the program

• Heat or cold
• Vibration platform
• Laser therapy
• Shockwave therapy
• TENS

This page is part of our physiotherapy program for back pain, where a physician orders, supervises and re-checks every step.