It’s heavy duty traction. By pulling on the lower back or neck with enough force, the vertebrae move apart a little, allowing bulged or herniated discs to go back in place.

For low back problems, you put on a belt and a vest and lie down on a split table. The vest, plus some under-arm supports hold your upper body in place. The belt is connected to a computerized pulling (traction) machine. The angle of pull varies according to the level of the disc problem. The lower half of the table floats to allow the spine to be distracted (decompressed) by the pull. The machine cycles through a pull and relax cycle about 25 times. Decompression force varies according to the person’s size, weight, and tolerance. Each treatment takes about 30 minutes.

For neck pain, the head lies in a special pillow-type device and the pull comes from the top of the table. A cold laser is also applied to the back of the neck. I’m not sure that really helps, but it is thought to.

Lower back treatments can be done five days a week. The neck can only be treated every other day or three days a week.