Newsletter 
SEARCH ARTICLES
NEWSLETTER
The culinary challenge issued to Jeannie Mack by her daughter most weekends is something straight out of a Food Network cooking show.
“She’ll mention a country, and my challenge is to create dishes that represent that country,” Jeannie explains. “Just the other day she said she was in the mood for Chinese, so I made homemade Chinese barbecue pork and lo mein noodles — all from scratch.
“The day before, Israel was the country, so I made hummus, baba ganoush and mejadra, and it was so much fun. Cooking is my passion. I absolutely love it and love the challenge of creating dishes from around the world.”
Jeannie, a 55-year-old hairdresser who has seen the mullet come, go and return again across her 30-plus years of styling hair, was forced to all but abandon her passion and even cut back hours at work recently. Severe back pain was the reason.
“As a cosmetologist, you’re on your feet all day and often you’re working in very odd positions,” Jeannie explains. “Eventually, that takes a toll on your back. It did with me at least. So, a few years ago, my back got out of whack a little bit.
“Then, in December 2021, I was in a car accident. I was going through an intersection, and somebody was trying to beat a light, made a left-hand turn and T-boned me. That put me over the edge as far as my back was concerned.”
Jeannie suffered no broken bones in the collision, although an MRI revealed she had herniated, bulging and slipped discs throughout her spine as well as spinal stenosis.
Stenosis, a narrowing of the canal and openings in the spine that compresses the nerve roots exiting the spaces between the vertebrae, can be triggered by age-related wear and tear or damage to the discs in the spine. It typically results in pain, weakness, and numbness or tingling in the neck, back and legs.
Jeannie’s discomfort was relegated almost exclusively to her neck and back, and “it took quite a toll,” affecting almost every aspect of her life. She even had trouble sleeping most nights.
“It was just awful,” Jeannie expounds. “I definitely couldn’t stand and cut hair for eight hours a day, so I had to go to part-time at work. But it also hurt to sit down or bend over to pick something up. It’s like I couldn’t get away from it no matter what I did.
“Something as simple as sweeping a floor was difficult. I literally had to take breaks while doing that because the pain was so bad that sometimes I was in tears from it. And no, I couldn’t stand and cook the way I like either, so it was very frustrating.”
The pain and discomfort continued for nearly a year before she finally sought medical help. During a brief internet search, she found DeLand Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression, the practice of Jeremy M. Gordon, DC.
“I knew I had to do something because I’m 55 years old, and I feel like I’m a young 55,” Jeannie notes. “I’m usually very active, but I couldn’t do anything anymore. I said to myself, I’m not going to stop doing everything and get old now, so I made an appointment.”.
Treatment That Works
Jeannie first visited DeLand Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression in November. At that time, John Damrath, DC, one of four chiropractic physicians on staff at DeLand Chiropractic, conducted a thorough examination that confirmed the spinal damage seen in the MRI.
Dr. Damrath recommended Jeannie undergo spinal decompression, a drug-free, nonsurgical therapy that can 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 treatments are administered with a table 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,” says Dr. Gordon, CEO and owner of DeLand Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression. “That’s why we utilize the DRX9000 decompression system. It’s unequaled in design and clinical results.”
A typical session begins with the patient getting comfortable on the table. The DRX9000 then creates a gentle decompressive force on the damaged discs. This reduces pressure on the discs, which helps retract disc material. This retraction reduces the size and severity of the bulging or protruding disc, rehydrates the discs and alleviates the pain.
The DRX9000 addresses 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 the patient 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 explains. “If we see that improvement, we continue with the remaining 14 treatments.”
DeLand Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression has charted the results of patients receiving this therapy for more than a decade and determined that its 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 typically followed by cold therapy and/or electrical muscle stimulation to restore proper muscle tone, decrease inflammation and maximize the effects of the treatment.
Just Do It
As she sat and listened to Dr. Damrath explain how spinal decompression alleviates pain, Jeannie got the feeling this was precisely the kind of therapy she’d been needing for several years.
“Even before the car accident, I was always kind of saying to myself, I wish somebody had something like they had back in the medieval days when they laid you down on a table and tied ropes to your arms and legs and just stretched you out,” she says.
“In a much gentler way, obviously, that’s what this spinal decompression treatment does. It’s like a modern version of that, so I was ready right away to give it a try. I was literally tearing up from pain during the consultation, so I told Dr. Damrath, Let’s do it.”
Jeannie’s therapy targeted her lower back and cervical spine. She was also given a series of stretches and exercises to do at home.
“The spinal decompression treatment itself is very relaxing,” Jeannie explains. “You can feel something is happening but there’s no pain, so I got to a point really soon where I was actually looking forward to my sessions.
“I also started to feel a difference rather quickly, especially in my neck. It took a little longer for my back to feel better, and it’s still not 100 percent, but I’m at least 80 percent better and that’s something I didn’t think was possible.”
Jeannie has moved onto the maintenance phase of her protocol, which consists largely of stretches and exercises at home. She says she’s confident those stretches and exercises will help her resume the active lifestyle she prefers.
“I got back on a horse the other day, and I was afraid I might never be able to do that again,” she enthuses. “And when I was cooking dinner the other day, I didn’t even realize it until afterward, but I stood there all day without pain and enjoyed every minute of it.
“It’s been a long time since I was able to do that, so this spinal decompression treatment has really worked well for me. I would highly recommend it, and I highly recommend Dr. Damrath and the staff at DeLand Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression.
“They’re great people and they all work so well together – and I am not one to give glowing reviews. If this treatment didn’t work or the staff and doctors were lousy, you’d know about it. But that wasn’t the case at all. Dr. Damrath and his staff did a great job, and I am very pleased with the results.”
Spinal Decompression: A Noninvasive Alternative to Surgery for Back Pain
When seven horses at Churchill Downs died in the days leading up to the 149th Kentucky Derby this year, Deltona veterinarian Dr. Lane Torres was saddened but not surprised. More…
Carolyn Finch Finds Relief from Chronic Back Pain with Spinal Decompression Therapy
You won’t find too many people who list their job as their favorite hobby, but Carolyn Finch does. Though she officially retired at the age of 62, Carolyn continues to…
DRX9000 Decompression Delivers Back Relief
A flair for style and interior design came in quite handy when real estate agent Katherine Gonzalez found herself struggling to sell some of the properties she’d listed during a…
A Nonsurgical Approach To Resolving Back Pain
In 2008, after bank losses on subprime mortgages battered the US economy and forced foreclosures on millions of homes, real estate agent Al Keller saw an opportunity. Not to cash…
Transformative Weight Loss with Ideal Protein at DeLand Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression
The vast majority of Patricia Chism’s work days are spent sitting behind a desk, so when the day ends or the weekend comes, this 59-year-old billing specialist does her best…
Ideal Protein: Not Just A Weight-Loss Plan
For as long as Glenn Martin can remember, he has had a passion for fishing. And for years, fishing in Alaska was an item near the top of his bucket…
