Spinal Decompression After a Car Accident: Take Pressure Off the Disc Within 14 Days

When a collision compresses the spine, the disc bulges or tears, and the material inside presses on the nerve root beside it. Decompression reverses that load. The Antalgic-Trac holds you in a harness and pulls the spine along its length in slow cycles of tension and release. The negative pressure inside the disc draws bulging material back toward the center and pulls fluid and nutrients into the disc.

Antalgic means a posture adopted to avoid pain. Patients with a disc injury lean or bend to get relief, and the Antalgic-Trac reproduces that relieving position during treatment rather than forcing the spine flat. Dr. McNamara-Krauss sets the angle, the force, and the cycle timing for each patient.

Disc injuries are common after rear-end collisions on I-95 and Federal Highway. They show up as low back pain radiating into a leg, or neck pain with symptoms into an arm. When the examination finds those signs, decompression is added to the plan. If testing shows weakness or a progressive deficit, we refer for MRI first through imaging and specialist referrals.

Decompression runs alongside the rest of the plan. Adjustments restore motion in the joints around the disc, Class IV laser on the LightForce reduces inflammation at the nerve root, and electrical stimulation calms the spasm. Under Florida PIP, treatment within 14 days keeps the full $10,000 benefit available, and a course of decompression is often the part of the plan that needs that room. This is general information, not legal advice.

You are fitted with a harness around the pelvis for lumbar treatment, or a cradle around the head and neck for cervical treatment. The doctor sets the position and the machine begins its cycles. Each cycle pulls for a set time, then eases. Most patients feel a stretch and many feel relief during the pull. A session lasts under half an hour, with a rest period before you stand.

A typical course is a series of sessions over several weeks, because the disc changes slowly and each session builds on the last. Dr. McNamara-Krauss does not set a fixed count in advance. She re-tests nerve signs and range of motion at intervals, and the number of sessions follows the response.

Decompression is a low-force treatment when the patient is screened correctly. Dr. Carol McNamara-Krauss is a Florida-licensed chiropractic physician (DC), license CH5281. She does not use decompression on a patient with a suspected spinal fracture, spinal instability, a tumor or infection of the spine, severe osteoporosis, surgical hardware in the treated segment, or during pregnancy. Those findings send the patient out for imaging or to a specialist first.

Head injuries and concussion are screened and referred, not treated here. New bowel or bladder changes, numbness in the groin, or rapidly increasing leg weakness go to an emergency department first. Broward Health North in Deerfield Beach is the nearest to this office.