Upper back surgery made the news earlier this year when U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln underwent a procedure to remove part of a herniated disc which was pinching a nerve in her back. What is particularly interesting about this surgery, beside the fact it was on a sitting U.S. Senator, is how uncommon the need for upper back surgery actually is.
Surgery for back pain is only performed in about 5% of all cases. And only 1% of all disc herniations occur in the thoracic, or upper back, due to its stability. This is good news for those with upper back pain: odds are high upper back surgery won’t be in your future.
While upper back surgery is still rare, upper back pain itself is becoming more common. Accidents, sports injuries, and other trauma can cause muscle sprains and worse. But an increasingly common cause of upper back pain is related to postural and strength issues, particularly for those who spend much of the day working on computers.
There are a number of natural health avenues one may consider for when dealing with upper back pain issues, including:
Muscle Balance Therapy uses targeted exercise and stretching to strengthen deconditioned muscles and stretch overly tight ones to relieve muscle pain and pressure on the spine.
Massage Therapy by a trained massage therapist can provide relief from upper back and increase joint mobility.
Trigger Point Therapy is used to relieve myofascial pain from irritated muscles, particularly common in the broad upper back and shoulder muscles.
The Alexander Technique, taught in private or group sessions, provides instruction on how to change movement habits to remove muscle restrictions and create more ease of movement. The Alexander Technique is particularly helpful for postural issues such as forward head posture and hunched shoulders.
Remember, except in cases of severe trauma your upper back pain did not happen overnight. It can take time to overcome the underlying causes of pain. But actively working towards better health naturally is almost always a better approach than what should be your last resort: upper back surgery.
Chronic back pain and sciatica sufferers for years have turned to doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists for pain relief. Back pain is frequently caused by pinched nerves along the spinal column. As a result, various surgical and non-surgical spinal decompression techniques have been developed to increase the space between vertebrae relieving the pressure and reducing pain.
Two home spinal decompression devices have become very popular in recent years: inversion therapy tables and the Nubax Trio. Both provide back pain and sciatica sufferers a safe and convenient home treatment option. With price points well below $500 they also cost significantly less than traditional therapy.
Inversion tables and gravity boots are based on techniques dating to at least Hippocrates circa 400BC. Used to hang upside down, these devices harness the force of gravity to provide a gentle traction on the entire length of the spine. Inversion therapy has been proven effective with one recent study showing patients who used inversion therapy along with physiotherapy (stretching exercises) were 70% less likely to require back surgery than patients using physiotherapy alone.
The Nubax Trio is a newer spinal decompression device clinically proven to treat a wide range of chronic back problems. A belt secures the user’s waist while gripping the handles and leaning forward. This creates a gentle traction from the shoulder blades down through the SI Joint at the bottom of the back using the body’s own weight without requiring inversion.
While both inversion tables and the Nubax Trio provide traction, only inversion tables provide traction along the entire length of the spine. Since the Nubax Trio does not decompress the upper spine it is not as effective for neck pain.
The Nubax Trio provides effective traction for the mid and lower back without the strain on knees and ankles some inversion tables and gravity boots cause. It also eliminates the undesirable effects of inversion some people notice such as lightheadedness or dizziness and is safe for diabetics and those with high blood pressure.
Both devices can provide very effective back pain and sciatica relief. Optimum results will often be obtained by combining home spinal decompression therapy with other treatments such as muscle balance therapy which address the underlying causes of back pain.
Many patients who hear a diagnosis of a herniated disc immediately question whether spinal surgery is in their future. Whether or not surgery is the right option should be discussed with one’s doctor. However, most patients can find back pain relief using more conservative treatments.
The most common school of thought on treating herniated discs focuses on treating pain. Anti-inflammatory drugs, cortisone injections, hot packs, ultrasound, and therapeutic exercises fall in this category.
While pain relief is important, the weakness of this approach is it fails to address the underlying cause of the herniated disc: why did it herniate in the first place? Ignoring the cause leads to repeated doctor visits for pain treatment. As pain worsens over time, surgery becomes a presented option.
A better approach is to understand the reason for the herniation and correct the problem. Not just mask the symptoms with pain killers.
Why a disc herniates
Outside of trauma, herniated discs do not happen overnight. They occur from long term uneven pressure on the disc due to postural dysfunctions caused by muscle imbalances.
Think of a jelly donut. If someone places a lot of pressure on one side and less on the other, the jelly is likely to bulge out the opposite side from the pressure. With enough pressure, the jelly will break through the donut. On the other hand, if the same amount of pressure was placed evenly across the entire donut the jelly might compress but would likely stay intact inside the donut.
Similarly, when muscle imbalances create improper hip and spine posture, the spinal discs between the vertebrae are unnaturally forced to sustain more weight and stress on one side than the other. Eventually, the disc wears down leading to a bulging, herniated or even a ruptured disc.
Non-surgical alternative treatments for herniated discs
There are at least five significant actions one can take right at home to help treat and reduce back pain from a herniated disc. Each is a superior alternative treatment to spinal surgery in most cases.
Reduce inflammation by increasing fluid intake (preferably by drinking clean water), improving eating habits, and reducing excess fibrin with proteolytic enzymes when possible.
Stop pain spasms, improve blood flow and increase range of motion with heat and cold therapy. The most effective and safe form of heat therapy is Far Infrared Heat (FIR).
Decompress the disc using inversion therapy. Excellent inversion tables can be purchased for this purpose for just a few hundred dollars.
Eliminate referred pain caused by trigger points which are a form of tiny muscular contraction knots.
Correct postural dysfunctions through stretching and exercise targeting specific muscle imbalances to eliminate the underlying root cause of your disc herniation.
Let me be very clear that despite what you may have been told, it is very possible to heal a herniated disc. Yes, I said heal… and without invasive surgery or years of physical therapy.
Why haven’t you heard this statement before? It’s simply because most doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists base their treatment on the diagnosis (i.e., herniated disc), rather than on correcting the cause of the diagnosis (e.g., muscle imbalances).
Once you understand that something or some things have caused your disc to herniate, slip, bulge or otherwise become dysfunctional, you will be able to address that cause and choose alternative treatment options that will 1) correct the problem, 2) diminish the pain, and 3) prevent the disc from herniating again.
I wanted to take a moment here in today’s email to share with you an email I received last week from a reader, along with my reply to it… I think you should find this very valuable. Ok, here’s his email:
“Congratulations!! Yet another ingenious way coined to make money from sick people. I am an engineer now aged 78, and have looked after my bad back for over 60 years since rupturing an L4 disc doing gymnastics in my youth.
“My treatment experience is likely better informed than yours. It has taught me above all that not only do bad back episodes vary in symptoms and remedial effectiveness from person to person, but these aspects are likely to differ in sequential episodes for the same individual.
“While not familiar with your proposition of “Muscle Imbalance” causality, to claim it a universal symptom precursor, and its resolution as a panacea, is just as patently absurd as to state, as you do elsewhere, that bad backs do not result from one time injury, and that commonly practised excercises such as toe touching, leg lifting and back arching do not help. On the contrary, they help me and thousands more.
“Presentation of individual patient testimonials following reams of waffle is quack salemanship typical of alternative therapy purveyors, whereas the discrimatimg consumer requires to see statistically based outcomes from double blind evaluation trials. Where are yours?
“It would be nice one day to see you and your likes enjoy the kind of disgrace currently assigned to the financial fraternity leaders, but your lot is unfortunately harder to catch out. Hope you enjoyed reading this.”
–Mr. Angry Cynic
AND HERE IS MY REPLY:
Thanks for writing in… First, it’s obvious that the negative cynic in you can’t accept the fact that we make money by helping people reduce or eliminate their pain so they can enjoy life again. In fact, if we were only “in it for the money” as you claim, we wouldn’t offer so much for free…
Like the hundreds of articles, dozens of videos and audios, discussion forum, phone consultations and product free trials, all of which we offer at no charge. So, I hope it’s obvious that we are NOT in this for the money.
Second, I, and the rest of the team here at the Healthy Back Institute agree with you about each person’s case being different, and also that what triggers a “flare up” can also be different from person to person as well as from flare up to flare up.
About muscle imbalances… we DO NOT claim they are the only cause. We not only claim, but have proven that, they are one of the biggest causes. And yes, ALL people have them… It’s impossible to not have them and for them not to be a major factor.
And nowhere do we say that toe touching and other related exercises are bad… What we say is that they are general exercises and they may help or they may make things worse… You MUST identify your imbalances first and then do the right combination of exercises and stretches for you… not some generic list from your doctor or some book.
Why no “double blind studies”? Because medical schools won’t fund it! For years we have been trying to get doctors and medical researchers involved to perform “clinical studies” but have met stiff resistance… It seems they don’t like the idea of people getting rid of back pain on their own with only a handful of simple exercises and stretches… I wonder why?
Quack salesmanship? Please! We present hundreds of successful client case studies because we know people want proof… they tell us “Prove to me this really works and that it can work for me.” So while we may not have any double blind clinical studies (yet), we do have tens of thousands of people who have used our treatment approach to reduce or eliminate their pain. And if that’s not enough to convince you, you will likely stay in pain a long time.
It seems that negative energy and a closed mind keep more people in pain than anything else. So I hope that all of you reading this will keep an open mind and remember that almost everyone who gets quick and lasting relief do so by using a combination of treatments and approaches.
Here’s what we have found is the recipe for success:
The Healthy Back Institute - 333 Main St. Suite #201 Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: 800-216-4908 Fax: 866-843-4319
The Healthy Back Institute is a Get Healthy and Fit Company
Upper back surgery made the news earlier this year when U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln underwent a procedure to remove part of a herniated disc which was pinching a nerve in her back. What is particularly interesting about this surgery, beside the fact it was on a sitting U.S. Senator, is how uncommon the need for upper back surgery actually is.
Two home spinal decompression devices have become very popular in recent years: inversion therapy tables and the Nubax Trio. Both provide back pain and sciatica sufferers a safe and convenient home treatment option. With price points well below $500 they also cost significantly less than traditional therapy.
The 
Many patients who hear a diagnosis of a herniated disc immediately question whether spinal surgery is in their future. Whether or not surgery is the right option should be discussed with one’s doctor. However, most patients can find back pain relief using more conservative treatments.
Let me be very clear that despite what you may have been told, it is very possible to heal a herniated disc. Yes, I said heal… and without invasive surgery or years of physical therapy.
