FAQs · Texas Spine Clinic
The questions people ask before they come in.Answered here.
Will it work for me? Is it safe? What will it cost, and how long will it take? Start with the question that's on your mind. Each answer links to the page with the full story.
Will it work for me?
Results, candidacy and how you'll know
Does spinal decompression really work?
We've used the DRX9000 for 21 years, with more than 2,000 patients. Three things decide your result:
- The machine. The DRX9000 is an FDA-cleared, computer-controlled spinal decompression system. It targets the specific disc level and adjusts its pull continuously.
- The people running it. We set every protocol by hand — the angle, the force curve, the disc level — and adjust it as you respond. And we only treat strong candidates, screened the way a spine surgeon screens a patient.
- You. Show up for every appointment, and do your exercises and stretches the way we prescribe them. Your commitment is what makes the result last.
Our own doctor went first. In 2025 Dr. Barton treated his own 15 mm disc extrusion on the DRX9000. His exam, his treatment and his before-and-after MRIs are on video.
Isn't this just traction, or an inversion table?
Same family, different animal. Traction and inversion tables pull your whole spine bluntly, and your muscles guard against the pull. The DRX9000 targets the specific disc level, measures and adjusts its pull continuously, and works below the threshold that triggers muscle guarding.
And decompression is one part of your program. Core strengthening and therapy run alongside it from the first week, so your spine is stronger when the program ends.
Am I a candidate for decompression?
Your exam and your MRI decide, not a phone call. Our patients are people with a disc problem whose pain hasn't gotten better with the easy stuff: herniated and bulging discs, sciatica, degenerative disc disease, mild-to-moderate stenosis, and disc-driven back and neck pain. That includes people a surgeon has already recommended for surgery.
We don't put you on the DRX9000 if you have:
- A fusion, hardware or an artificial disc at the level we'd be treating
- Severe osteoporosis
- Severe bony spinal stenosis
- An unstable spondylolisthesis: a slip that moves more than 5 mm on flexion and extension X-rays
A past discectomy or laminectomy without hardware doesn't rule you out; we treat those patients all the time. Mid-back pain is a job for chiropractic care instead, because the rib cage keeps the thoracic spine from stretching.
Why would you turn someone away?
Because we screen the way a spine surgeon screens, and only treat people whose exam and imaging say they'll do well. About one in five people who ask us about decompression are told no. Dr. Barton puts it this way: “I can't tell you how many patients I've turned away from this treatment that were begging for me to take their money.”
That standard is why our patients get the results they do. If decompression isn't right for you, we tell you what is.
Why didn't my doctor mention this?
Mostly because of how care gets paid for. Spinal decompression isn't a covered benefit on any insurance plan, so a visit built around what insurance covers rarely gets to it. It also takes equipment, and a trained team, that most offices don't have. Nobody did anything wrong. The option just wasn't on the menu where you were.
What is scrambler therapy, and is it just a TENS unit?
Scrambler therapy treats nerve pain: CRPS, chemo-induced neuropathy, diabetic and peripheral neuropathy, shingles pain and phantom limb pain. Small electrodes on healthy skin send a non-painful message up the same nerves your pain has been using, retraining the signal instead of masking it. No drugs, no needles, FDA-cleared.
A TENS unit is designed to relieve pain while it's running. Scrambler therapy is given as a course, aiming at relief that outlasts the session, and its signal comes from the device's own program. Dr. Barton trained in Rome with Dr. Giuseppe Marineo, who invented it, and the program is medically supervised by Lisa D. Persyn, M.D.
How will I know it's working?
Whatever treatment you're having, we measure the same things:
- Your pain is less severe, and it comes less often.
- You can do more each day. If you could stand for 10 minutes when care started and now you're up to 30, that's real, measurable progress.
- Your questionnaire scores improve. You fill out the same standard questionnaires at your first exam and at each follow-up exam.
- We can see it. From one exam to the next, we watch how you walk, how you sit and how you carry yourself.
For decompression, we check formally at around your eighth to tenth session. And we listen at every visit. What you tell us steers your care.
What if it doesn't work for me?
You'll know early, and so will we. If you aren't responding at a re-exam, we say so and we change course: a different treatment here, or a referral to the right specialist with your findings and imaging. We don't keep you on a treatment that isn't helping you.
Is it safe?
Comfort, surgery, medication and injections
Does decompression hurt?
Most patients find sessions comfortable, and many fall asleep on the table. The force builds gradually and is set to your body weight. For the neck, we start at 5% of your body weight and add about 1% a visit toward a 10% ceiling. For the low back, the load builds over the course of your care, never in one day. Some soreness can happen in the early weeks; tell us, and we adjust.
Does scrambler therapy hurt?
No. A session feels like a comfortable tingle. If anything increases your pain, we stop and change the electrode placement. The goal of every session is your pain at zero while the device is running.
Will I have to be adjusted?
No. An adjustment is never required for anything we do here. We have plenty of other ways to treat you — decompression, laser, ultrasound, muscle stimulation, heat, ice and guided exercise among them. When we do adjust, it's only with your consent, and we adjust a neck only when the neck is what hurts.
I've already had back surgery. Can you still help?
- Discectomy or laminectomy, no hardware: yes, you can be a decompression candidate. We treat these patients all the time.
- Fusion, hardware or an artificial disc: we never decompress the operated level. The level above or below may be treatable; your exam and imaging decide.
- Timing: usually two to three months after surgery, depending on what was done.
- Scrambler therapy: rods, screws, plates and cages don't rule it out. An implanted electronic device (a spinal cord stimulator, pacemaker or defibrillator) does.
Do you prescribe pain medication?
We don't prescribe narcotics. When it will help you heal faster, our nurse practitioner or one of our two pain management doctors may prescribe an anti-inflammatory or a short course of steroids alongside your care, and sometimes muscle relaxers.
Do you do injections?
Yes, here in the building. Interventional pain procedures are performed by Praful C. Singh, M.D., and Lisa D. Persyn, M.D. Most of our patients never need one. Your exam and imaging decide whether your case calls for it.
What if I end up needing surgery?
We don't perform surgery. If your case needs a surgeon's opinion, we refer you to a spine surgeon or an orthopedic surgeon, depending on what's injured and how severe it is, and your findings and imaging go with you. Nothing we do here takes surgery off the table later.
When should I go to the emergency room instead?
New loss of bladder or bowel control, rapidly worsening weakness in a leg, or numbness in the groin, the inner thighs or the area you sit on means an emergency room today, not an appointment. The same goes for a head injury or severe pain after a car accident. These are rare, and they can't wait.
Cost & insurance
What you'll invest, and what insurance covers
What does the first visit cost?
It depends on what you're coming in for:
- Back or neck pain: the $49 DRX9000 consultation covers your exam, X-rays if you need them, a review of your imaging, and your first treatment when the exam and imaging confirm you're a candidate. Book it online.
- Nerve pain: a $19 scrambler therapy consultation. Your $99 first session is credited to your course. Book it online.
- Car accident injuries: nothing out of pocket at your first visit. We bill the coverage responsible. Book it online.
- Chiropractic care: we bill Medicare and most insurance plans. Call (210) 741-9166 and we'll go over your benefits, or book online.
Does insurance cover spinal decompression?
The decompression program isn't a covered benefit on any plan. If you carry a commercial health plan, we can usually generate an insurance credit through it, which we apply against your cost. How big that credit is depends on your specific benefits. So expect an out-of-pocket investment, and you'll have your exact number in writing, at your imaging review, before you commit.
Covered doesn't mean free, either. Before you compare options, ask what each one would cost you after the deductible, the coinsurance and the facility fee.
Do you take Medicare?
Yes. We bill Medicare for chiropractic care. Medicare doesn't cover the decompression program, but if you also carry a secondary major health plan, we can apply an insurance credit from it toward your program.
Does insurance cover scrambler therapy?
No. Insurers don't classify scrambler therapy as a covered benefit, so it's an out-of-pocket investment. Start with the $19 consultation. Your $99 first session tells you early whether you respond, and it's credited to your course if you continue. You'll know your full investment for the course before you commit.
I was in a car accident. Will I pay anything?
Nothing out of pocket at your first visit. We bill the coverage responsible: your PIP, the at-fault driver's insurance, or your attorney's letter of protection. Silvia, our practice manager, sorts out which one applies to you.
Can I spread out the investment?
Yes. CareCredit, Affirm and in-office payment plans are all available. For the decompression program, paying at the time of service earns a discount. Care is prorated, so every dollar you invest goes to care you actually receive; if you paid ahead and stop early, the unused portion comes back to you.
Do you verify my benefits?
Yes, at no charge. We check your benefits for you, apply any insurance credit, and tell you your investment before you commit to anything.
How long it takes
Visits, programs and your schedule
How long is the first visit?
Plan on about 90 minutes: roughly 30 for your history and exam (a little more if we take X-rays), then about 45 in treatment. A chiropractic first visit runs 45 to 60 minutes, and a scrambler therapy consultation about 60.
Decompression starts with two visits. At the first, you're examined and you feel your first treatment on the DRX9000; if you don't have an MRI, we send you for one. At the second, we put your MRI on the screen, go through the pictures with you, and give you your plan and your investment in writing. Your care continues that same day.
How long will my treatment take?
- DRX9000 spinal decompression: 20 to 25 sessions over 6 to 8 weeks, about 25 to 30 minutes on the table each time, with core strengthening and therapy alongside from the first week.
- Scrambler therapy: a course of ten sessions on consecutive weekdays over two weeks. Some people need fewer; some come back later for a short round of boosters.
- Chiropractic care: usually 6 to 12 visits, depending on the problem. Sometimes just one.
- Car accident injuries: it depends on the extent of your injury. Your progress is measured at each exam, and you're released when your exam shows you've recovered or reached maximum medical improvement.
Can I keep working during treatment?
Yes. There's no downtime and no recovery period, and most patients schedule sessions around work. Established decompression patients can book from 7:30 a.m.
Will I have to keep coming back forever?
No. Every program has an end date, and the exercises you learn become habits you keep on your own. After that, an occasional visit helps protect the result you worked for, the way a dentist recommends cleanings:
- Decompression: a maintenance treatment from time to time takes pressure off your spine.
- Scrambler therapy: some patients come back now and then for a short tune-up.
- Chiropractic care: an adjustment from time to time helps keep your joints moving well.
Can I be seen today?
Yes. New patients can be seen the same day, Monday through Thursday. Call (210) 741-9166 or book online.
Getting started
Referrals, MRIs, and what to bring
Do I need a referral?
No. No referral is needed for your initial visit. If your care later requires one, we’ll get it for you.
Do I need an MRI before I come in?
No. If you have one, bring it. For decompression we need to see the disc, so an MRI is required (or a CT if you can't have an MRI); an X-ray alone isn't enough. If you don't have one, we send you for it after your first visit. For accident injuries, we order and arrange the MRI when your exam calls for it or your symptoms indicate it.
What should I bring?
- Your insurance card and a photo ID
- A list of your medications
- Any recent X-rays, MRI or CT, if you have them
For scrambler therapy, keep taking your medications and bring the full list. Some nerve-pain medications can interfere with the treatment, and we'll work with the doctor who prescribed them. Never stop one on your own.
Is this a chiropractic clinic or a medical clinic?
Both. Chiropractors, two board-certified pain management physicians and our nurse practitioner work here as a team. Most care is chiropractic and decompression; the medical side is here in the same building when your care calls for it.
Where are you, and where do I park?
3212 Napier Park, San Antonio, TX 78231. Look for the 3212 sign at the street and park right out front; our entrance is the double door under the stone gable. Get directions.
When are you open?
Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays are reserved for scrambler therapy sessions, by appointment, for scrambler patients. We're closed Saturday and Sunday.
Still have a question? Call (210) 741-9166, or email Vanessa, who leads our scheduling, at Vanessa@TexasSpineClinic.com.
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Want to read up first? Decompression · Scrambler therapy · Car accident program
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