Spinal Decompression Therapy Decatur GA
(404) 558-4015
- 35 years + experience including orthopedics, physical medicine, physical therapy and neurosurgery
- Participated in the care of 40,000+ patients
- Video Session - Comming Soon
Patients' Google Reviews - Of Spinal Decompression Therapy Decatur GA
I have chronic neck and back pain due to past car accidents. I have tried many treatments to get relief over the years. Trigger point injections, radio frequency ablation, and even a breast reduction! Dr. Castanet recommended the spinal decompression treatment. It doesn't hurt at all. It's very gentle and relaxing. I am very grateful that I found Dr. Castanet and this type of treatment. I only wish I could have found them sooner!
Backstrong Patients' Video Reviews
Patient, Rufus Kinsey
What was the problem with Mr. Rufus Kinsey?
Mr. Kinsey initially had severe neck and arm pain, years ago, resolved after several treatments. He has also had a history of sciatica pain, for which he has also had treatment with resolution, but sciatica can recur intermittently, and he is back for another bout of treatment..
How did we resolve this problem?
Spinal decompression treatment has resolved his complaints before, but spinal problems can recur. The question is how quickly does the treatment work, and does it stay better for a reasonably long time. Most patients who resolve their problems will stay better for months to years. In the case of Mr. Kinsey, he has sought treatment on several different occasions for neck pain and a pinched nerve that radiated down his arm, severely. On other occasions he has sought help for sciatica pain. As for his initial neck and arm pain, he had a disc/osteophyte complex for which we treated him with spinal decompression, with resolution of the problem. On other occasions he has had sciatica for which we treated him with spinal decompression, effectively. Each time his improvement lasts a reasonably long time, and neither injections nor surgery have been. necessary. But spinal problems can recur because we cannot give someone their 15 year old spine again. But most patients don’t mind doing occasional, infrequent treatment to get better, with less pain and normal function.
Previous Patients' Yelp Reviews
THANK YOU, Dr. Castanet! After 3 weeks of sudden lower back pains, I was fortunate I had my first consultation with Dr. Castanet. Now, after 3 sessions of SpineMed - Spinal Decompression treatment, I'm 99% BACK to normal. I HIGHLY recommend this treatment. I'm 42 yrs old and never had any back problems until suddenly I could hardly bend to put on my shoe, sit or move without pain. I didn't lift or do any strenuous that specifically hurt my back so I was totally clueless why I was in so much pain for weeks. I had no idea what spinal compression meant, but after seeing Dr. Castanet and doing my first spinal decompression within a couple of days I felt significantly better. After a few more follow-up sessions, here I am feeling AMAZING! At 42 and not getting any younger, I feel spinal decompression is a great physically regime comparable to routine dental check-up and cleaning. I will be back to see Dr. Castanet occasionally.
Dr. Craig Castanet- Clinic Owner of Backstrong Non-Surgical Rehab Clinic
Hi, I am Dr. Craig Castanet, D.C. & clinic owner of Backstrong Non-Surgical Rehab Clinic. I have 35+ years experience including orthopedics, physical medicine, physical therapy and neurosurgery. I specialize in spinal decompression treatment for neck, back, hip and shoulder pain.
Dr. Craig Castanet – Related Certifications
Why Choose Backstrong Non-Surgical Rehab Clinic - Decatur GA
- Dr. Castanet is a Non-surgical doctor, with 35+ years of clinical experience, including 18 years in orthopedics, physical medicine, and physical therapy, as well as 5 years in a neurosurgical clinic.
- He is well-versed in the surgical and non-surgical, treatment of spinal problems.
- He has participated in the treatment of more than 40,000 patients, and has specialized in the non-surgical treatment of neck and back pain, using spinal decompression, since 2006.
- He has 17 years of experience with spinal decompression treatment.
- Dr. Castanet has certifications in a broad variety of study. You can find his CV on the website, www.backstrong.net
- His certifications include expertise in many evaluative and treatment rehab machines.
Sometimes a degenerated, painful, or injured spine needs surgical treatment. And in the right patient, for the right problem, at the right time, with the right procedure by the right surgeon, surgery can be a blessing. But if you have neck, back, hip, or shoulder pain, and want the most effective, non-surgical treatment, Dr. Castanet can provide it.
What Makes Dr. Craig Castanet Unique Among Providers?
- I have participated in the treatment of more than 40,000 patients.
- Since 2006, I have specialized in providing superior treatment for difficult neck and back pain, using spinal decompression treatment.
- If your problem is surgical, I will explain why. But most neck and back problems are not surgical, and I can provide more effective treatment for such problems.
- When it comes to providing expert explanations and treatment for your neck, back, hip, or shoulder pain, I think you’ll find me to be exceptionally helpful and effective.
The reason this treatment is more effective than most is that it partially reverses the cause of most neck and back pain, which is the slow, progressive, degenerative, compression of the human spine.
How To Get To Our Office?
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Spinal Decompression?
Spinal decompression treatment is a table that reverses the compression on your spine. This includes your discs, joints, and nerves, which are the usual sources of neck and back pain. Patients are placed on the table, face-up,, and comfortably secured to the table. Then the table slowly separates, to decompress the painful, inflamed tissue, disc, joint, and/or nerve. The process is usually comfortable, and many patients fall asleep during the treatment.
What Types Of Spinal Decompression Therapies Are There?
There are several types of treatment that TRY to accomplish some form of spinal decompression. Mostly, they do a poor job, as follows:
- Inversion tables: The idea is somewhat similar, and for mild problems, this may provide some relief. The limitations are that you cannot invert yourself 180 degrees, upside-down. You cannot adjust the amount of pull on your low back. You cannot do any on a neck problem. You cannot stay upside-down for more than a couple of minutes. Your bodyweight is not enough pull on your low back problem.
- Manual Spinal Decompression: Some spinal manual therapists may use their hands to pull on the neck or low back. And manual work with human hands, has its place, but not for providing meaningful spinal decompression in an exacting and protracted manner. For that purpose, only a superior-engineered machine will suffice.
- Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Therapy with Decompression Tables: Since their invention in about 1996, there have been about 4 manufacturers of these highly-engineered, sophisticated, spinal decompression table. I vetted them all in 2005, and was convinced that the Spinemed table was the best. That doesn’t mean that the others don’t work, but I still favor the Spinemed tables that I continue to use. When I compare my treatment outcomes, now, to the results I used to attain before using spinal decompression treatment, I would not practice without it, because my results are so much superior now.
- Spinal Decompression Surgery: This is the ultimate spinal decompression. Done in the right circumstances, this surgery can be a blessing. After all, it does exactly what needs doing, and in the ultimate way. But, as all surgeons will tell you, surgery is the last resort, when it is indicated. Since I spent 18 years in orthopedics and 5 years in a neurosurgical practice, I can tell you when surgery is indicated and not. And I am not reluctant to refer you for surgical spinal decompression, when indicated.
Does Spinal Decompression Work?
The most important question. Yes, better than any other non-surgical treatment I have seen or used since 1987. That includes my many years in orthopedics, physical therapy, physical medicine, and neurosurgery. And it should not be surprising. All of us spine specialists are treating the normal process of slow, progressive, degenerative compression of the spine. This process gives rise to intermittent, or chronic, neck, back and thoracic pain. The real surprise is that this treatment is not the first thing offered to patients with neck and back pain. It is the most direct treatment for the compressive nature of this process. And in my clinical experience it is more effective, hence works faster, than other treatments for most patients with neck and back pain. In fact, I am frequently surprised with how it can turn intractable neck and back pain into an easy problem to resolve.
Neck and back problems can be very difficult for spine specialists to treat, effectively. In my clinical experience of 35+ years including orthopedics, physical medicine, physical therapy, and neurosurgery, spinal decompression treatment is the most effective method I have seen, and used, with patients.
How Does Spinal Decompression Work?
The common pain generators of the spine are the discs, joints and nerves. What happens to the human spine over a lifetime, is that wear and tear results in degeneration of the discs. As they degenerate, they slowly bulge, herniate, and collapse. That causes degenerative enlargement of the bones, joints, and ligaments. All of these changes result in intermittent pain, and can pinch the nerves, which causes radiating pain down the arms or legs. All of these changes are compressive in nature. Spinal decompression works by decompressing these structures. It is the most direct redress for the nature of the problems. And that is why it is the most effective, non-surgical treatment I have ever used for patients. When the patient’s spinal discs, joints, and nerves are decompressed, the inflammatory process, responsible for your pain, will begin to reduce, and, over the course of however many treatments you need, most patients will have resolution of their pain.
What Is The Spinal Decompression Therapy Process?
Dr. Craig Castanet will review your medical history, do a physical examination, and, depending upon your problem, he may request diagnostic testing such as X-rays or MRI scans to establish the root cause of your spinal issue and whether you are a candidate for spinal decompression therapy. Many times, if you’ve had diagnostic imaging done before, that will suffice.
Most patients are candidates for spinal decompression treatment, because compression is the cause of most spinal pain. The first thing to do, however, with patients, is to explain your present problem, and let you know what to expect in the way of treatment, and what I will recommend if this treatment doesn’t work. I am often told that I communicate more, and better, than other doctors. People skills are an important part of medical treatment, and I enjoy the challenge of all the questions patients ask during the course of their treatment.
What Conditions Can Spinal Decompression Treat?
Spinal decompression can treat neck and back pain, herniated discs, bulging discs, degenerated discs, joint pain, pinched nerves, sciatica, hip, buttock, thigh, and leg pain, shoulder and arm pain, mild to moderate spinal stenosis, spondylosis, and mild spondylolisthesis. There are few, and uncommon neck and back problems that it does not help. And if you want to know who is a credible purveyor of anything, ask them about their failings. What does it not help?
Let me elaborate. I would estimate that about 10-15% of patients who go to a spine specialist have pain we don’t understand. In other words, we’re not sure thy they are having pain. Most of these people will improve with treatment, but some will not, and we’re not sure why. Dr. John Sarno, a physical medicine doctor who passed away a few years ago, developed a concept of psychosomatic pain, that he thought was true for the vast majority of neck and back pain patients. I don’t think I agree, but it may explain this subset of patients who have pain that we don’t understand.
For the other 85-90% of patients, we think we do know why they are having their pain, and we have many treatments for them.
Spinal decompression cannot help fractures, dislocations, infections, cancer, instability, spondylolisthesis above grade 1-2, and some patients who simply don’t respond, for reasons unknown. And this is true for all treatments, including surgery.
Why Do People Choose Spinal Decompression Therapy?
Patients choose spinal decompression treatment because they want the most effective, non-surgical treatment for their neck or back pain, without medications, injections, or surgery. Spinal decompression treatment only helps, because it resolves the cause of the painful inflammation arising from your discs, joints, and nerves. It does not mask the pain of your problem. Once patients are informed of how, and why, spinal decompression is more effective than conventional treatments, they find the explanation logical and worth trying for their problem. And for the majority of patients, this treatment will work faster, better, and last longer than other treatments they have tried.
What Are The Top Benefits Of Spinal Decompression?
Improvements in pain and function. About 80% of patients get some relief of pain with the first treatment; sometimes a small improvement, and sometimes a major improvement. There will be a small percentage of patients who need several treatments before they begin to improve, but that is uncommon. And, of course, there will be a smaller percentage of patients who I cannot help with this treatment, and I may recommend pain management or surgery.
As you no-doubt know, pain causes a loss of function in your daily activities, so your function should improve as well.
Some top benefits of spinal decompression are:
- Chronic back or neck pain, caused by herniated discs, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, or sciatica can be relieved by spinal decompression treatment.
- Spinal decompression therapy produces negative pressure inside the discs, which can help herniated or bulging discs retract or realign themselves.
- Spinal decompression treatment can increase spinal mobility and flexibility by decompressing the spine and relieving pressure on the nerves.
- Non-surgical Spine decompression therapy seeks to relieve pain and improve spine problems without invasive treatments.
- Spinal decompression therapy can alleviate pain and minimize the requirement for short-term and long-term medication use, hence lowering the risk of pharmaceutical reliance and its associated negative side-effects.
When compared to the cost of pain management and surgery or years of medications, spinal decompression is a more affordable option. Meanwhile, because the non-invasive process normally does not require a recuperation period, you will most likely not have to leave work. If you have neck or back discomfort, we recommend that you look into non-invasive treatment option.
How Do You Know If Nonsurgical Spinal Decompression Is Right For You?
If you have spinal pain in your neck, back, hip, or shoulder, spinal decompression will probably improve or resolve your problem. There are a few contraindications to treatment, as there are with all medical treatments, so these must be evaluated. If you have failed to improve or resolve your pain with other treatments, spinal decompression will probably still help you. We recommend it before you proceed to injections, surgery, or the chronic use of medications. For anyone for whom spinal decompression is not contraindicated, I recommend a trial of it. Only a trial of this treatment or any other will tell you if you will benefit from it. In this regard it is important to mention that, because it is so effective, your improvement should start very quickly. About 70-80% of patients will have some improvement with the first treatment. And that is very uncommon among all spinal treatments. There will be patients who do not improve for reasons that I sometimes don’t understand. But other times, the severity of the pathology may be beyond the help of this treatment. The only way to know is with a trial of the treatment.
How Do I Know If I Need A Chiropractor for Spinal Decompression?
Any spine specialist can provide spinal decompression, including medical physicians, chiropractors, and physical therapists. But, due to the expense of true, spinal decompression tables, most providers never get to experience it with patients, so are not professionally familiar with the treatment, nor do they provide it. Most of the healthcare providers who do offer spinal decompression treatment are chiropractors, but others can provide it.
I will note that in my experience, most providers are very dubious, and sometimes resentful, of any manufacturer of equipment who charges a lot of money. And most of the so-called spinal decompression tables that providers are using, are not the better-engineered, expensive, real spinal decompression tables that cost more than $100,000. Most are using conventional traction tables that cost a few thousand dollars. Does it make a difference? I think so. I certainly didn’t want to spend $150,000 on my spinal decompression tables, which is, in fact, what I paid for my first table. But at that time I had spent 18 years in orthopedics, physical medicine, and physical therapy. And treating neck and back problems is actually rather frustrating for doctors, because it can be so difficult, and sometimes impossible, to help some patients. So my thinking was that I wanted the absolutely best chance of helping those kinds of patients. So for that reason, I did not compromise what I thought was my best chance to improve patient outcomes. I bought the best engineered spinal decompression table extant, and it is still the best among the 4 manufacturers. And, I must say, this treatment does result in vastly superior treatment outcomes and faster, too.
How Does My Chiropractic Physician Use Spinal Decompression?
There are generally accepted, protocols for the use of spinal decompression treatment, but treatment parameters are individualized to each patient. Over the many years that I have now used this treatment, I have used it in a variety of ways, manipulating all the treatment parameters. This has enabled me to be more effective and getting patients better quicker than by always adhering to stict protocols. The reasons for this are as varied as people’s lives. Some live far away, some can’t drive too far, too frequently, some need daily treatment, others do fine once a week or once a month, ages vary, weights and bone density vary, and there are many other variables you can imagine that can affect how this treatment is administered.
This is where experience with the treatment is important. And I, personally, administer the treatments to patients. I do not delegate the treatments to an employee. It is in the trenches with patients and their real questions, problems, and concerns where a doctor learns how to be better, and confront the real problems that are unique to each patient.
What Does Spinal Decompression Therapy Treat?
Spinal decompression treats all the potential pain generators of the spine that are compressed, and then cause the inflammation and pain you feel in your neck and back. Other areas where you may feel the pain that is caused by your neck and back problems, can be your arms, shoulders, shoulder blades, headaches, middle back, low back, buttocks, thighs, legs and feet.
The actual pain generators are your discs, joints and nerves. As your body ages and degenerates, this starts with the spinal disc. The disc, as a result of all the little, or large, physical traumas of life, slowly collapses, and may bulge or herniate, putting pressure on joints and nerves. This results in episodes of acute pain and inflammation. Sometimes these episodes resovle on their own. Other times they don’ resovle, and can linger for years.
The nature of this process is that over a lifetime, your spine is slowly becoming compressed. Spinal decompression treats exactly this process, so it is the most direct, and effective treatment for this process. And because it is so direct, you don’t usually need as many treatments to get better, faster, than other treatments.
The things that you might read on your x-ray or MRI report, which spinal decompression can treat are, spondylosis, spondylolisthesis, stenosis, herniated disc, degenerated disc, disc protrusion, facet arthropathy, facet effusion, bulging disc, extruded disc, ligamentum flavum hypertrophy, and more. All of these findings are associated with back and neck pain that usually improves with spinal decompression treatment.
These problems, above, have been present for a long while, and they were not painful until something very subtle changed and made you painful. So all we have to do with treatment, is to partially reverse these changes and you should recover from your episode. Spinal decompression cannot give you a young spine again, but it can usually get you pain-free again.
What Should I Expect During Treatment?
Patients will lie face-up, and either their neck or low back will be secured, comfortably, to the table. The table will then slowly move, like traction, to decompress, the neck or back. The treatment is thirty minutes long, and for most patients, the treatment is so comfortable, they may fall asleep. That is not true for everyone, of course, but it is usually a relaxing experience.
The treatment for the low back and neck differ somewhat in the patient experience. The low back is not as sensitive to tensile stress as the neck, so very often patients will say they don’t feel the low back treatment, or they may say that they only feel the table moving occasionally, but the experience with not one that feels particularly pulling in nature. This is normal for low back treatment. During treatment it is almost a non-event. And many people do nap for the 30 minute duration.
The neck treatment is different. You will feel the pulling of the treatment more appreciably. Even so, many patients do still close their eyes and fall asleep. The treatment duration is, likewise, 30 minutes. You will also feel the pressure of the components of the maching which grasp your forehead and occiput, but for most patients this is reasonably comfortable.
What To Expect From Decompression Therapy?
About eighty percent of patients will get some relief from the first treatment; sometimes a little relief, and sometimes a lot of relief. Subsequent treatments will usually result in progressive improvement of your pains. Resolution of the pain is expected, and usual for most patients. The number of treatments that any given patient needs is variable. Some patients need one treatment to be satisfied with their outcome. Others need 15-30 treatments for a severe problem, but this is less common.
Most patients that I see will resovle their problem, and I will not see them again for many months to years, for the same or different problem. Spinal decompression can’t give you a young spine again, but it is better, faster, and lasts longer than other treatments I have seen and used in my 36 year career treating neck and back problems, in orthopedics, physical medicine, physical therapy and neurosurgery.
What Can You Expect From A Spinal Decompression Treatment Session?
Throughout the sessions Dr. Castanet will assess your response to each treatment and make adjustments to the procedure, accordingly. There are numerous variables to consider during the course of your treatment. And the treatment tends to be progressive in nature, with an increase in the amount of spinal decompression with successive treatments. At each visit you’ll be asked about your pain, other symptoms and signs, and your functional improvements. In some cases, spinal decompression therapy may be combined with other therapies. But most of the time, it is not necessary to combine other treatments, and doing so will confound response-to-treatment assessments. In fact, it is almost always better to do the least amount of treatment necessary to reach the objective. And that makes it easier to critical evaluate the efficacy of treatments. Possible adjunctive treatments can include manual techniques, ice application, or electrical stimulation. During the course of treatment you are encouraged to discuss your activities and postures, and ergonomic means of doing things. Later, you may be encouraged to do strengthening exercises at home.
Contact Us Today
Back and neck pain can be nagging and annoying, or even incapacitating. And, as you know, it has a negative impact on your quality of life. If you have back or neck pain, we recommend you look into our affordable and better, non-surgical, Spinal Therapy option.
Backstrong Non-Surgical Rehab Clinic
2771 Lawrenceville Hwy #101,
Decatur, GA 30033
Phone: +1 404-558-4015
craigcastanet@gmail.com
Monday 8 AM–6 PM
Tuesday 8 AM–6 PM
Wednesday 8 AM–6 PM
Thursday 8 AM–6 PM
Friday 8 AM–6 PM
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed
