Full Title: IDD Therapy: Evolving Conservative Spinal Treatment Modalities
Author: Wood,P.T-MCSP
Affiliation: University of Exeter
Publication: Spinal Surgery News
Opening Statement: As part of conservative care, IDD Therapy® spinal decompression is emerging as an invaluable tool for physiotherapists treating chronic herniated disc conditions and related symptoms such as radicular pain and radiculopathy. Developed to address the failings of traditional traction, IDD Therapy combines mechanical decompression with exercise to form a program of spinal rehabilitation which significantly improves pain and function in lumbar and cervical patients.
Applying computer-controlled pulling forces at precisely measured angles, clinicians are able to distract and mobilize and thus decompress targeted spinal segments with greater precision and adequate force than previously possible with traction. With referrals from GPs, pain consultants and surgeons, UK clinicians report 70–90% success rates in selected patients – many of whom have exhausted manual and invasive procedures. This article examines some of the physiological mechanisms which may contribute to the clinical outcomes in IDD Therapy patients.