Spinal decompression is a non-surgical, computer-controlled traction treatment intended to create negative pressure within a disc, reducing load on the disc and the nerves around it. It is for people with neck or back pain from a herniated or bulging disc, spinal stenosis, sciatica, degenerative disc disease or a pinched nerve — often after rest, injections or physical therapy have not settled it. Whether it's appropriate for you depends on what your examination and imaging actually show.
Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Therapy is central to Dr. Richter's program for patients diagnosed with the conditions below. Many come to us after trying injections, PT, or other chiropractic care without the relief they hoped for. Whether decompression fits your case depends on your examination and imaging.
Each of these helps some people, and some belong in your care. But they work on different parts of the problem — and if one of them had resolved your disc pain, you probably would not be reading this page.
Medication can make daily life manageable while you sort out what's wrong, and for some people that's exactly the right role for it. What it doesn't do is change the mechanics of the disc. Many patients tell us the pain is waiting for them when the prescription runs out.
Injections reduce inflammation around an irritated nerve, and plenty of people get real relief from them. For some, that relief holds. For others it fades, and they come to us wanting an approach aimed at the disc itself rather than another round.
Surgery is genuinely the right answer for some disc patients, and when we think you need a surgical consult we will say so directly. It's also a significant, difficult-to-reverse step — which is why most people want to know they've exhausted conservative options first.
PT builds the strength and stability that protect a spine long-term, and it's valuable work. It uses a different mechanism than decompression, which applies controlled traction to the disc space specifically. In disc cases the two are usually complementary rather than competing.
For a recent, mild strain, time and sensible activity are often enough. When disc pain has been going for months, waiting tends to be the thing patients say they'd do differently — not because waiting caused harm, but because they lost months they didn't need to lose.
Adjustment addresses joint motion and alignment, and it does that well. It isn't the same mechanism as traction applied to the disc space. For disc cases specifically, our doctors generally combine decompression, adjustment, laser, and rehab rather than relying on any single one.
Dr. Richter's spinal decompression program is a structured, multi-week protocol that combines computer-controlled decompression with adjustments, Class IV laser, and rehabilitation. It is built around what your examination and imaging show — and it is often a fit for patients who have already worked through other conservative options without getting where they wanted to be.
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Several therapies used together, each doing a different job. Which of them apply to you is decided by your examination — not everyone receives all of them.
Precisely controlled traction applied to create negative pressure within the disc space, with the aim of reducing load on the disc and the nerve structures around it.
Your doctor identifies and addresses the specific spinal levels involved, supporting the effectiveness of decompression therapy.
The office has two Class IV therapeutic lasers, including a 40-watt LightForce deep tissue unit. Laser is applied over the involved segment and surrounding soft tissue as part of the program.
Core strengthening protocols to support the disc post-treatment as you return to activity.
Both Storz Medical shockwave types are available here: radial (RSWT), which disperses energy over a broader, shallower area, and focused (F-SW), which concentrates energy at a selected depth. Acoustic wave therapy is used on the chronic soft tissue surrounding an involved spinal segment.
Extracorporeal Magnetotransduction Therapy — a high-energy pulsed electromagnetic field device used for musculoskeletal conditions. Contact-free, and often applied in the same visit as shockwave.
Your in-office care alone cannot deliver the consistent daily reinforcement your spine needs. Custom home stretches, mobility work, and core stabilization are how we protect your disc the other 5-6 days each week — and how we prevent regression.
No surprises. Here's exactly how it works from your first call to your recovery.
Many disc patients have already tried injections, PT, or other chiropractors without lasting relief. The $59 New Patient Exam removes the financial hurdle — anyone can afford to find out exactly what's happening to their disc and whether decompression is appropriate for their case.
Visit 1 · ~30-35 minFull spinal examination with your doctor — including X-rays if clinically indicated, neurological testing for sciatica or radiculopathy, range of motion analysis, and orthopedic evaluation. We identify herniated discs, bulging discs, degenerative levels, spinal stenosis, and facet involvement. Not every disc patient is a candidate for decompression, and the Day 1 exam tells us which group you're in.
Visit 1 · Same dayIf you have already had an MRI, CT, or X-rays taken elsewhere, bring the written radiology report to your first visit. Your doctor reviews it alongside the examination findings, so nothing already known about your spine gets overlooked. Worth knowing: an image shows structure, not pain. Findings turn up on scans in people with no symptoms at all, and severe pain sometimes comes with unremarkable images — which is why the report is read against what the examination finds rather than on its own. Radiology reports are written for clinicians, so you will also get a plain-language explanation of what it actually says. Whether new imaging is needed is decided case by case.
Visit 1 · Bring your reportYour doctor explains what the examination showed so far, what still needs review, and what to expect at your Diagnosis & Treatment Plan visit. If we have printed information relevant to your case, it goes home with you.
Visit 1On Visit 2, your doctor reviews your imaging and exam findings — including which discs are herniated, bulged, or degenerated and whether you have spinal stenosis or sciatica — and then lays the program out in full: which therapies are indicated, how many visits it will take, how long it will take, and the exact cost. You will hear one of three things: (a) you're a strong candidate and here's your Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Therapy program, (b) we believe you'd be better served elsewhere and here's where to go, or (c) further conservative care is unlikely to help. We tell you the truth — even when it costs us a patient.
Visit 2 · Included in $59If you're a fit and decide to move forward, your first decompression session begins on Visit 2 — combining computer-driven decompression, spinal adjustments, laser, and rehab. Sessions are sequenced to decompress the involved segment and then build stability around it. Your new patient exam covers both of your first two visits; the decompression program itself is billed separately, at the cost quoted to you on Visit 2.
Same day on Visit 2 if you choose to proceedThe goal of care is reduced sciatica, restored mobility, and a return to work and the activities you've been missing — without injections or surgery. Decompression takes time — the disc responds slowly — which is exactly why your doctor gives you the visit count, the timeline, and the cost on Visit 2 rather than after you have started.
Individualized care plan
After your evaluation, if our protocols aren't a good fit, your doctor will tell you honestly — and help point you in the right direction. That's the Richter Family Chiropractic promise.
You may be a candidate if you have:
We'll tell you honestly if we can't help with:
The only way to know definitively is a full evaluation. Your doctor will assess your condition and give you an honest answer — for just $59.
Book My New Patient Exam →No obligation · A straight answer, even if it's not us
Take the first step — a full New Patient Exam with one of our doctors for just $59. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help.
Book My New Patient Exam →Computer-driven decompression applies precisely controlled traction intended to create negative pressure within the disc space, reducing load on the disc and the nerve structures around it. It is entirely non-invasive — not a surgical procedure, no incision and no injection — and it is used in the care of herniated discs, bulging discs, spinal stenosis, sciatica, degenerative disc disease and pinched nerves.
It is traction that is computer-controlled rather than applied as steady constant pull, which is what allows the load to be varied through the session and directed at the disc space. It is also not delivered on its own here: the program combines decompression with spinal adjustments, Class IV laser and rehabilitation, because joint motion and the stability around the segment matter as well as the disc.
You stay clothed. A harness is fitted at the pelvis, you are positioned on the decompression table, and the table applies the controlled traction your doctor has set for your case. A staff member is present and monitoring. You are awake throughout and can say if anything feels wrong.
Not every disc patient is, and the first-visit examination is what tells us which group you are in. It is generally considered for herniated, bulging or protruding discs, sciatica or radiating leg pain, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, pinched nerve or radiculopathy, facet syndrome, failed back surgery syndrome, and chronic low back pain that has not responded to PT or injections. It is not appropriate where there are spinal fractures or instability, spinal tumors or infections, or severe osteoporosis.
Decompression is not appropriate where there are spinal fractures or instability, spinal tumors or infections, or severe osteoporosis. Beyond those, whether it suits your case is a clinical judgment made from the first-visit examination rather than from the diagnosis already on your paperwork, because two people with similar imaging can need different care. If decompression is not right for you, you are told so plainly once your findings have been reviewed.
The cost of spinal decompression at Richter Family Chiropractic depends on the number of sessions your case requires and whether other therapies are combined with it. Because no two cases are the same, the exact cost is given to you after your examination and imaging are reviewed — before you commit to anything. Call us at (951) 817-9815 to get started.
That depends on whether you are a good candidate. Decompression is most often considered for disc-related back or leg pain that hasn't settled with simpler care. Your examination decides whether it is a reasonable option for you, and if it isn't, you will be told. You see the full plan and its cost before you commit to anything.
Yes — many chiropractic offices offer it, and it is central to care at Richter Family Chiropractic in Corona. Dr. Matthew Richter is a Doctor of Chiropractic and Spinal Decompression Certified, and the office uses a computer-controlled TRITON table for both the lower back and the neck. Decompression is combined here with spinal adjustments, Class IV laser and rehabilitation, because joint motion and the stability around the segment matter as well as the disc.
It does not reverse arthritis, but it is used in the care of conditions that often come with it — disc degeneration, facet syndrome, and stenosis narrowing the space around a nerve. Whether it suits your spine depends on your examination and imaging. Fractures, instability and severe osteoporosis rule it out, and if decompression is not right for you, you are told so plainly once your findings have been reviewed.
It is rare, and the people at real risk are those whose bones are already weakened — by osteoporosis, long-term steroid use, a previous fracture, or cancer that has spread to bone. That is why your history and examination screen for bone health before any hands-on care, with X-rays where clinically indicated. Where bone density is a concern, forceful adjustment is not used: gentler techniques are, or you are referred. Severe osteoporosis also rules out decompression.
The number of sessions depends on your diagnosis, how long the problem has been present, and how your body responds. Your exact number, timeline, and cost are given to you after your examination and imaging are reviewed, before you commit to anything.
Bring the written radiology report to your first visit. Your doctor reviews it alongside the examination findings so nothing already known about your spine gets overlooked, and you will get a plain-language explanation of what it says, since radiology reports are written for clinicians. Worth knowing: an image shows structure, not pain — findings turn up on scans in people with no symptoms at all. Whether new imaging is needed is decided case by case.
You will be told so, plainly, once your findings have been reviewed. There are three possible answers: that you are a strong candidate and here is the program, that you would be better served elsewhere and here is where to go, or that further conservative care is unlikely to help. Surgery is genuinely the right answer for some disc patients, and when a surgical consult is what you need, your doctor says so directly.
Yes, and it is part of the program rather than an optional extra. In-office care alone cannot deliver the consistent daily reinforcement your spine needs, so you get custom home stretches, mobility work and core stabilization for the other five or six days of the week.
Coverage varies by plan, and spinal decompression is not covered by every policy — it is one of the treatments where a patient assuming it is covered, and a patient assuming it is not, are both frequently wrong about their own plan. So the useful answer is not a yes or a no, it is how to find out for your policy specifically. Richter Family Chiropractic accepts cash payment, insurance, and attorney liens on personal-injury cases, and the front desk will go over what your plan does and does not cover before you commit to anything. Two things are worth knowing while you ask. Your new patient examination and the decompression program are quoted separately, so the evaluation that establishes whether you are even a candidate is not tied to the cost of the program. And whatever your coverage turns out to be, you are given the full cost before you start anything, once your findings have been reviewed — so you are never deciding without the number in front of you. Call the office at (951) 817-9815 and ask; it is a short conversation and it costs nothing.