Get Back to Pain-Free

Spinal Decompression of Oklahoma offers an alternative to back surgery.

Christine Jinx is a satisfied patient of Spinal Decompression of Oklahoma.

For years, Christine Jinx of Pryor suffered from back pain. “It started when I worked in retail a while back,” she recounts. “I had to do a lot of loading and unloading, which caused a possible bulging disc.” But Christine did not let pain stop her from reaching her goal. She became a certified medical assistant and certified nurse aid, which enabled her to care for elderly patients in assisted living, a job which she truly enjoys.

This type of job, however, entails work that can exacerbate a back problem. As Christine bent and lifted while caring for and moving patients, she found her pain worsening. She relates that it became hard to get out of bed or even to bend and tie her shoe. At times, when she stooped over to turn patients in bed or help them to get up, her back would “catch” or freeze into position.

After several of these episodes, Christine realized the problem was not going to go away on its own and decided to do something about it. At first, she visited an orthopedic doctor who prescribed a treatment with steroids, but it made Christine so ill that she couldn’t continue in this avenue of treatment. The doctor gave her some stretches to do, but advised her that surgery was probably inevitable.

Christine truly wanted to avoid surgery, and so considered other options. “I had read ­articles about spinal decompression therapy,” she says. “The topic kept coming back up, so I ­decided to go ahead and try it.”

Right from the start, Christine loved her experience with Spinal Decompression of Oklahoma. “Dr. Fortner is so sweet and knowledgeable,” she recalls. “He was very thorough and tried to pinpoint exactly what I needed to do on the machines. Throughout, he listened to my concerns and made the needed adjustments.”

As a working mother, Christine found the treatment series worked well with her busy schedule. “I cannot slow down,” she says. “But these treatments did not put me out of commission.” She reports that Spinal Decompression of Oklahoma made scheduling allowances when needed, like when she had to take a week off because her son had a car accident. The treatments cost no downtime at work – she only had to take things a little slower than usual.

Christine finished her treatments in November of 2011 and reports that she has done remarkably well since that time. “I had just a bit of soreness at first, but have had no pain, and I will get even better the further out I get,” she says. “I can bend, which is so important in the field I’m in, and have no catches in my back in mid-lift.”

For Christine, the most important result of these treatments has been the avoidance of surgery. “Because of the work I’m in, I could easily reinjure myself,” she notes. “With surgery, scar tissue would make it extremely difficult to go through another surgery; however, I could easily go through the spinal decompression treatments again.” In addition, degenerative disc disease runs in Christine’s family, and she is starting to experience some of the symptoms of the osteoarthritis her mother endures. “This gives me treatment options for these as well,” she says. “I would do it again if I ever had to.”

For more information, contact

Spinal Decompression of Oklahoma

(918) 341-1250