Neck decompression is done lying on your back with your head in a soft cradle. A computer-controlled table gently pulls and relaxes your neck in cycles. The gentle pull takes pressure off the discs and nerves in your neck.
Your physician orders this treatment and sets how strong it is. You only get it if it is ordered for you.
What is neck decompression?
Neck decompression is done lying on your back with your head in a soft cradle. A computer-controlled table gently pulls and relaxes your neck in cycles.
How does it help?
The gentle pull takes pressure off the discs and nerves in your neck. It can ease neck pain and the arm pain that comes from a pinched nerve.
What does it feel like?
A slow, steady stretch, then a release, over and over. You hold a stop switch the whole time. Your technician stays in the room for the first full cycle, and you rest a minute before sitting up.
Who should not have it?
- A fracture or an unstable neck
- Rheumatoid arthritis in the neck
- Osteoporosis
- Cancer in the spine
- Dizziness or vision changes when the neck moves
- New arm weakness
Before every visit, your technician asks safety questions out loud. If anything has changed, the physician decides before the treatment starts. You can ask to stop at any time.
How long does it take?
About 15 to 20 minutes.
What to remember
- You hold the stop switch the whole time.
- Rest a minute before sitting up.
- Dizziness, new arm pain or tingling means stop.
Show us you have it: Show us how you use the stop switch. We go over it again at your next visit, and you can ask us to explain anything a second time.
Read more: neck pain before any talk of fusion.
Other treatments in the program
- Heat and cold therapy
- Vibration therapy
- Traction chair
- Laser therapy
- Shockwave therapy
- TENS (gentle electrical stimulation)
This is part of our physician-directed physiotherapy program, where a physician orders and supervises every treatment and no treatment starts unless a physician is available right away.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP. Board Certified in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine, Interventional Pain Management, Addiction Medicine, and Obesity Medicine. Last reviewed October 18, 2026.