Non-Surgical Spinal Treatment
Spinal
Decompression
Shift Spinal Health · Adelaide
For patients with disc injuries who've tried other approaches, or who've been told surgery is the next step. Non-surgical spinal decompression on the MT Core Smart Decompression system.
What Is It
A precise, biofeedback-guided approach to non-surgical spine care.
The MT Core Smart Decompression is a three-dimensional table that applies controlled, cyclical tension to the spine. Rather than one fixed pull, it moves through measured phases of tension and release focused on a specific spinal level, with sensors reading how your body responds and adjusting as it goes.
Standard traction applies a single generalised pull. The MT Core adjusts its tension to how your muscles respond, targeting the level involved in your presentation.
The Technology
What sets the MT Core apart.
The MT Core uses biofeedback sensors to read how your muscles respond, adjusting its tension cycles so the paraspinal muscles relax before each decompressive phase. That responsiveness is what makes it clinically distinctive.
If you've had decompression elsewhere and didn't get the result you hoped for, it's worth a conversation about whether the MT Core's approach suits your presentation.
Biofeedback-Guided Tension
Each cycle of tension and release adjusts to how your muscles resist, working at the specific spinal level involved rather than applying one generalised pull.
Commonly Used For
Disc herniation · Disc bulge · Degenerative disc disease · Sciatica · Spinal stenosis · Cervical disc injuries
The Process
What happens during a session.
Each decompression session follows a structured protocol. Here is what to expect on the table.
Assessment & Setup
Your clinician reviews your current presentation and positions you on the MT Core bed. Treatment settings are matched to your disc level, injury type, and session number.
Decompression Phase
The MT Core applies a series of controlled tension cycles, each followed by a relaxation period. Sessions run 20 to 25 minutes, and most patients describe the sensation as a mild, comfortable stretch.
During the Cycle
Sensors read how your paraspinal muscles respond and ease the tension when they resist, so each decompressive phase works with your body rather than against it.
Reassessment
Your clinician tracks how your symptoms and movement change over the course of care and adjusts the decompression settings to match how you are responding.
Who It Helps
Conditions decompression is used for.
Spinal decompression is most commonly used for disc-related conditions involving nerve compression, referred pain, or reduced spinal function.
Lumbar Disc Herniation
Disc material pressing on lumbar nerve roots, causing lower back pain, sciatica, and leg symptoms.
Disc Bulge
Disc wall weakening that creates pressure on adjacent nerves, often causing chronic lower back or neck pain.
Sciatica
Nerve pain radiating from the lower back into the buttock, leg, or foot, often related to disc compression at L4/L5 or L5/S1.
Degenerative Disc Disease
Age or injury-related disc thinning that causes stiffness, pain, and reduced spinal function over time.
Cervical Disc Injuries
Neck disc injuries causing pain, numbness, or weakness radiating into the shoulders, arms, or hands.
Spinal Stenosis
Narrowing of the spinal canal that compresses nerves, causing pain, heaviness, or weakness with prolonged standing or walking.
Before You Decide on Surgery
Some patients are told surgery is their only option. It isn't always.
Spinal surgery carries real risks and recovery timelines, and for many disc injuries, current guidelines support trying conservative options first. Whether decompression is appropriate depends on your specific case.
- Some disc herniations and bulges improve with conservative care, including mechanical decompression
- For suitable cases, it is a non-surgical option worth considering before surgery
- It is non-invasive, with none of the downtime that follows spinal surgery
- Decompression can also be used to support recovery after spinal surgery, where appropriate
If you have an MRI showing a disc injury and you've been told surgery is the next step, it's worth getting a second clinical opinion first. We'll give you an honest assessment of whether decompression is appropriate for your case, and tell you if it isn't.
Questions
Frequently asked.
Standard traction applies one generalised pull with no real-time adjustment. The MT Core uses biofeedback sensors that respond to muscle resistance as it works, targeting the specific spinal level involved with a precision manual therapy can't match.
You'll feel it working, and that's the point. Most patients describe a firm, purposeful stretch through the spine rather than pain, enough that you can tell the table is doing its job. It's also self-limiting: the sensors read your muscles as it works, so if they start to guard or spasm it eases the tension off straight away, and it never pulls past what your tissue can tolerate. Your clinician sets the level to feel effective but comfortable and fine-tunes it over your first few sessions. Some patients with acute disc injuries notice temporary changes in symptoms early on, which we monitor and adjust as we go.
An MRI isn't required to begin, but it's recommended for patients with disc injuries. Imaging helps confirm the diagnosis, identify the disc level involved, and check that decompression is appropriate for your case. If you don't have one, we can guide you on how to obtain one.
There isn't a fixed course booked in advance. Most people start at 2 to 3 visits a week, and your clinician adjusts the frequency as you respond. Recovery is rarely linear and varies from person to person, so think in terms of a few months rather than a set end date. You can stop at any time.
Often, yes, decompression is used as part of post-surgical recovery for some patients, particularly after a discectomy or laminectomy where residual symptoms remain. Your initial consultation will assess your surgical history and determine whether and how decompression can be safely applied.
Get Started
Find out if decompression is right for you.
Book an initial consultation and get a clear clinical picture of your disc injury, what's driving your symptoms, and whether spinal decompression is appropriate for your case.