IDD Therapy

At the Sussex Back Pain Clinic we have been pioneering this treatment since 2010 and have since helped hundreds of patients avoid surgery, reduce or remove their reliance on painkillers and regain control of their lives.

Many of our patients’ stories have been featured in the national press and you can read these at the bottom of the page.

How IDD Therapy works

IDD Therapy is a mechanical spinal decompression treatment. It is precise and safe, using computer-controlled technology to distract (draw apart) and reduce the strain on specific spinal segments in either the lower back or neck where discs are worn, damaged or bulging.

This progressive and comprehensive treatment decreases your pain and achieves long term healing by:

Who can IDD Therapy help?

Most patients we see for IDD Therapy typically have chronic back pain, neck pain, leg pain or arm pain, usually with an underlying disc problem.  By “chronic” we mean they have been experiencing pain for more than three months.

They may be suffering from a deep ache in the back or neck, which restricts movement, caused by degenerative changes in the disc or facet joints or shooting pains down the arm or leg, caused by a disc bulge pressing on and trapping a nerve as it exits the spine.  The most common nerve pain addressed by the therapy is Sciatica (nerve pain which travels down the sciatic nerve through the buttocks and legs and sometimes into the foot causing pins and needles or numbness). Similarly, a trapped nerve in the neck will cause similar symptoms in the arm and hand.

When pain is not resolving and manual therapy is not working, IDD Therapy helps to bridge the treatment gap.  Rather than live in pain, or consider pain management, spinal injections or in extreme cases surgery, patients can undergo non-invasive, effective treatment.

Treatment is suitable for people of all ages including patients who have already undergone spinal surgery (provided there is no metal/surgical hardware in the spine).

Before and After MRI Scans

The MRI scans below show the spine of Julia, one of our patients. At 36 years old she was crippled with sciatic leg pain and underwent a course of IDD Therapy to decompress a large disc bulge at L4/5, circled in red, as seen on the left side ‘before’ scans.

The ‘after’ scans, taken 6 months later, shows the prolapse has all but disappeared. These results followed a six week course of IDD Therapy combined with rehabilitative exercise, after which, her severe sciatic leg pain had completely resolved. She has now been able to return to an active, pain-free life and is very happy again.

As with any medical procedure results will vary from person to person and cannot be guaranteed*.

An Experienced Team

When it comes to your health you want to be assured that you are in safe hands. Established in 1990, and under the care of clinic director and lead osteopath Steve Morris, the Sussex Back Pain Clinic has been leading the way in spinal care for over 25 years.

As the third clinic in the UK to provide IDD Therapy we are experts in this field and the most experienced IDD providers in the South of England by several years. We are part of a growing network of over 1000 clinics worldwide providing the therapy. All clinics use internationally-recognised research tools to monitor patient progress and outcomes.

There is no such thing as a miracle cure for back pain and no treatment can guarantee 100% success, however IDD Therapy provides a clear treatment path for patients with unresolved back and neck pain. We are dedicated to helping you if you are suffering from a disc condition in the low back or neck, ensuring you receive the best treatment, care and advice, supporting you the whole way through your recovery.

What to expect from IDD Therapy

With IDD Therapy, you will undergo a course of treatment. For some patients, symptomatic relief can come suddenly but, for most, with longer standing conditions, change occurs more progressively.  Your supervising clinician will discuss your treatment plan with you.

Pain relief and improved quality of life are the key aspects of treatment.  The principal objective of IDD Therapy is to decompress the disc and restore mobility.  By progressively improving mobility in the spinal segment over the course of treatment, the body’s natural healing mechanisms can operate more efficiently and the goal of long term pain relief rather than a short term fix can be achieved.

Injections – patients who are considering or are having spinal injections can undergo IDD Therapy.  Most spinal injections are intended to relieve pain and create a pain-free window for other treatments.  Injections on their own do not address underlying compression and immobility of spinal segments and should be given in combination with structured rehabilitation to address the causes of a condition.

What’s the next step?

If you would like to book an IDD Therapy Assessment appointment simply call our reception on 01273 201866
If you would prefer to speak to someone first about your condition please ask to speak to Melanie Evans, our IDD Coordinator, who can arrange this for you.