Update: Happy Head no longer offers chiropractic adjustments or spinal decompression therapy. This page previously advertised both at our Sports Arena studio, with prices and a booking link. That service has ended and the booking link no longer works. What we do offer is massage — the current list, with current prices, is on our services page.
We have kept this page up because the question underneath it is still a fair one: if your back hurts, what is spinal decompression, what does a chiropractor actually do, and where does a massage fit around either of them? Here is an honest answer, without a service to sell you at the end of it.
What spinal decompression therapy is
Spinal decompression is a motorised traction treatment. You lie on a table that slowly stretches the spine, with the aim of easing pressure on the discs and nerve roots between the vertebrae. It is marketed heavily for herniated discs, sciatica and degenerative disc disease.
Worth knowing before you pay for a course of it: the evidence base for motorised decompression specifically is thin, and it is not the same thing as the spinal manipulation a chiropractor performs by hand. Clinics often present the two as one package. They are different treatments with different amounts of research behind them, and you are entitled to ask which one you are being sold.
What a chiropractor actually does, and what the evidence says
Spinal manipulation, in the NCCIH’s description, is a controlled thrust applied to a joint of the spine, moving it further than it would move on its own. Most manipulations are done by chiropractors, though osteopathic physicians and physical therapists use the technique too.
On whether it works, NCCIH is measured rather than enthusiastic:
- Acute low-back pain: a 2017 analysis of 15 studies with 1,699 participants gave moderate-quality evidence of a modest improvement in pain — about the size of the benefit from an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory.
- Chronic low-back pain: a 2019 review of 47 studies with 9,211 participants found the short-term relief was similar to other recommended treatments such as exercise, not better than them.
- Clinical guidance: the American College of Physicians lists spinal manipulation as one option among several for low-back pain, while noting the strength of the evidence favouring it is low.
- Everything else: a 2021 review found only six good-quality studies of spinal manipulation for non-musculoskeletal conditions. None showed a clear benefit.
That last point is the one worth carrying around. Adjustment marketed as a treatment for blood pressure, allergies, immunity or general wellness is going well beyond what has been shown.
Is it safe?
NCCIH reports that mild-to-moderate side effects — more soreness, stiffness or a headache — are common after manipulation and usually pass within 24 hours. Serious side effects are very rare. Neck manipulation specifically has been linked to small tears in the artery walls of the neck, which can lead to a stroke; these are rare, experts disagree about whether manipulation causes them, and NCCIH’s position is simply that patients should be told the risk exists. If you have an underlying health condition, say so before anyone touches your spine.
Where massage fits
Honestly: alongside, not instead, and with a smaller claim than you will usually hear.
You will find plenty of pages — including, until today, this one — asserting that a massage makes an adjustment “hold” longer by retraining the muscles around a vertebra. That is a marketing idea, not a finding. What NCCIH will credit massage with is short-term improvement in pain for low-back, neck and shoulder complaints. Short-term relief of pain, stress and muscle tension is the ceiling.
Which is still useful. If you are seeing a chiropractor for a stiff, painful back, the surrounding muscles are usually guarding and sore, and an hour of hands-on work on that tissue is a reasonable, pleasant thing to do for it. Just book it as comfort, not as a treatment that makes the other treatment work. A deep tissue session is the usual choice; if you are not sure, Swedish is the gentler starting point.
If you came here looking for a chiropractor
We can’t book you one. NCCIH’s own checklist is a good place to start: ask about their education and licensure, tell them your full health history including any medications, ask whether they have experience with your specific problem, and ask up front how many sessions they expect and what it will cost you out of pocket.
And the part no clinic leads with — if your back pain is severe, getting worse, following an injury, or coming with numbness, weakness or changes in bladder or bowel control, that is a doctor today, not a course of treatments.
What we can help with
Massage, at seven studios across San Diego, starting at $69 an hour, with no membership attached. If that is what you were after, book a session or find your nearest studio. If you want to read about what massage realistically does, we went through it in the benefits of massage therapy.
