Healthcare professionals may get excited about the latest technologies, treatments, and breakthroughs that mean improved outcomes for their patients, but when it comes to the people being treated, it’s common to run into skepticism. Spinal decompression therapy (SDT) with a mechanized decompression table is a relatively new treatment for a variety of spinal conditions, and may set off some alarm bells with new patients who aren’t familiar with it. Here are some questions that new patients may have about SDT before they’re ready to receive the treatment.

"Is spinal decompression therapy effective for my condition?"

When a new patient walks into your practice, both parties are unfamiliar with the other, and it falls on the doctor to build trust from the first moment. So how do you go about convincing new patients that spinal decompression therapy is right for them? The answer begins with expertise and evidence.

If you’ve already been treating patients with spinal decompression therapy, reach out to them and ask for a testimonial. Then, make those testimonials easy to access for new patients: encourage reviews on social media or local internet listings, put them on your website, include them in brochures for your practice and the treatment, even put them on the walls of your waiting room. The key is to build trust in both your practice and the treatment itself so that new patients will be more likely to try something new.

If you haven’t yet begun to treat patients with your spinal decompression table, research case studies and success stories on spinal decompression therapy from other sources. Hill DT, for instance, offers case studies that give insight into the successful outcomes other doctors’ patients have achieved. Evidence of success will help make new patients more comfortable with a treatment they’re unfamiliar with.

"Is spinal decompression therapy dangerous?"

When it comes to their health, it’s understandable that people want to know any risks that come with a new treatment. Spinal decompression therapy is safe and effective for spinal conditions such as herniated disks, spinal nerve root conditions, and more, but some conditions, spinal or otherwise, make the therapy unsafe to pursue. Most suitable patients experience little or no pain during treatment, as long as the treatment and table settings have been tailored to the patient and their condition.

"How long does the treatment take?"

There are two things you should discuss when a patient asks this question: the length of each treatment session, and the duration of the treatment protocol. In most cases, length of treatment is pretty standard across patients and practices, and usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes.

Duration of the treatment protocol, however, is highly individual, and is up to your evaluation of how many treatments it will take to produce improvement. Many doctors and decompression therapy technicians prescribe anywhere from 24-30 treatments over the course of several weeks, but it will vary significantly based on your patient’s health background and condition.

"When will I see results?"

Because spinal decompression therapy is effective for long-term improvement and healing, it often doesn’t produce the immediate results that are necessary for patients who are experiencing pain from their condition when they arrive at your office. Patients who have been treated with spinal decompression therapy often report little change in their condition until after several treatments, after which they experience improvement, either suddenly or in increments. This doesn’t mean it’s not a worthwhile treatment to pursue, however; it just means that you may have to find other, complementary treatments that will give your patient both immediate relief and lasting healing.

Discover what doctors are saying about the impact of their HillDT Decompression Tables on their practices, patients, and bottom line

"How much will my treatment cost?"

Cost is another factor that is difficult to generalize, because doctors and practices around the world charge differently for their services based on location, experience, reputation, and a number of other factors. Because of the variable lengths of a treatment protocol, doctors and technicians who treat patients with spinal decompression therapy usually charge per treatment session. In a survey of doctors who use the HillDT Decompression Table, cost per session ranged from $50 to over $140.

Two of the main reasons cited by patients who chose spinal decompression therapy to treat spinal conditions are the relative low cost and low risk of the therapy as compared to surgical options. So, when you’re determining and discussing your price for non-surgical spinal decompression treatments, be sure to keep in mind the value that you’re offering to your new patients.

Any new treatment may cause some skepticism in new patients who are unfamiliar with it, but for good-fit patients and conditions, spinal decompression therapy is worth the discussion. To see for yourself how SDT has helped patients, download our case studies below.

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