ATV lover’s crippling back pain quelled through spinal decompression.

With 189 miles of trails that have been designed to test every skill level, the Ocala National Forest has become one of the best sites in the state for ATV riding. Michelle Snyder hopes to discover that firsthand one day.

Michelle’s family received four-wheel-drive all-terrain vehicles for Christmas last year, and while her son and husband have been riding them in and around the forest, Michelle has yet to take a meaningful joy ride there. A back injury is the reason.

“As best I can tell, I hurt my back in early February while we were cleaning out our garage,” Michelle explains. “I wasn’t doing any heavy lifting; I was just putting light stuff up on shelves, but I was having to squeeze into some tight spaces.

“So, it might have been a result of me twisting around and moving in an awkward way, but I began to feel a little sore a few days later. It was like I had a sore muscle, and it stayed that way until Valentine’s Day.

“That night, I was lying in bed, and the next thing I knew I was stuck. I could not roll to the left or right or even get out of bed because of the pain. I had to text my husband to have him come and help me get out of bed.”

As her husband helped her out of bed, Michelle felt a surge of pain so great that she let out a scream. Michelle’s husband, thinking she might have been passing a kidney stone, decided at that moment to take her to the hospital emergency room.

At the hospital, doctors ordered a CT scan. That scan revealed the cause of Michelle’s sudden onset of back pain. It wasn’t a kidney stone; it was a collection of bulging lumbar discs and pinched nerves.

For the next two days, Michelle took it easy, hoping rest would alleviate the pain. She had no choice in the matter. Her back hurt too much to sit or stand, so she took a couple days off from work and spent the time lying in bed or on the sofa.

“I was pretty much a bum, just lying there watching TV all day,” she says. “I couldn’t even do much in terms of making dinner or anything like that, so I was pretty much stopped in my tracks. That’s when my husband suggested that I go see Dr. Gordon.”

Jeremy M. Gordon, DC, with DeLand Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression, has been in private practice since 1999. His practice is one that Michelle and her family have been frequenting for years, primarily for standard chiropractic care.

During Michelle’s visit, Dr. Gordon reviewed a written report of her CT scan, conducted a thorough examination and listened closely as Michelle explained her reluctance to undergo surgery to correct the problem. Surgery, Dr. Gordon assured her, was not necessary.

Treatment That Works

In lieu of surgery, Dr. Gordon recommended spinal decompression, a drug-free, nonsurgical therapy that can be used to treat bulging, herniated or protruding spinal discs; spinal stenosis; degenerative disc disease; neuropathy in the arms or legs; and postsurgical neck or back pain.

At DeLand Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression, spinal decompression treatments are delivered through a device called the DRX9000™, which is engineered to alleviate pain associated with sciatica, stenosis, and bulging or herniated discs.

“If you want the best results for your patients, you need the best equipment. That’s why we utilize the DRX9000 decompression system,” Dr. Gordon explains. “It’s unequaled in design and clinical results.”

A typical session begins with the patient getting comfortable on the decompression table. The DRX9000 then creates a very gentle decompressive force on the patient’s damaged discs. This reduces pressure on the discs, which helps retract some of the disc material into its natural position, alleviating the pain and rehydrating the injured disc.

“I have no pain. I feel completely back to normal again.” – Michelle

The DRX9000 can be used to treat cervical and lumbar injuries through a program typically comprised of 24 appointments across 10 weeks. Each visit lasts about an hour, with the first 10 designed to determine the patient’s likely response.

“We start by treating patients five days a week for two weeks, and our goal is to see a 50 percent improvement in function and pain in those first 10 visits,” Dr. Gordon educates. “If we see that improvement, we continue with the remaining 14 treatments.”

DeLand Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression has charted the results of patients receiving its spinal decompression therapy for more than a decade and determined that its standard course of treatment is highly effective.

“After tracking hundreds of patients, I am very proud to report that our patient satisfaction rate exceeds 80 percent,” Dr. Gordon proclaims. “That’s a much higher satisfaction rate than invasive surgery.”

Decompression is normally followed by cold therapy and/or electrical muscle stimulation to restore proper muscle tone, decrease inflammation and maximize the effects of the treatment.

“Awesome” Results

Michelle began treatments a couple of days after she was examined by Dr. Gordon. She completed that course in April. The results, she raves, have been “nothing short of awesome.”

“I have no pain,” Michelle enthuses. “I feel completely back to normal again, so the decompression treatments were great. They worked just like Dr. Gordon said they were intended to work, and I feel good.”

Good enough, in fact, to return to a CrossFit training regimen she started a month or so before her back injury. However, that regimen has been altered a bit because Michelle is still in recovery mode.

“Dr. Gordon spoke to the trainers there and explained to them what it is that he wants them to work on with me,” Michelle details. “It’s part of the physical therapy phase of the program that I started in late March.”

That program is geared toward building Michelle’s core so she can avoid setbacks. She is continuing to take things easy but intends to eventually ramp up her activity level.

“I may even go out and take one of those ATVs for a ride,” Michelle predicts. “Before I do, though, I’ll be checking with Dr. Gordon to make sure it’s OK because those rides can be pretty bumpy, and I never want to go through something like this again.

“I know that if I do, I can go to Dr. Gordon and DeLand Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression and get it taken care of. They are truly wonderful, and everyone there is so helpful and caring. I gladly recommend them to anyone.”

More Information

• DRX 9000 Spinal Decompression