Three senses of "decompression." Surgery removes what's pressing on the nerve, immediately. Over months a herniated fragment often resorbs on its own — the nerve decompresses biologically, and larger extruded herniations tend to clear fastest — which conservative care supports by calming inflammation and keeping you moving. And postural or positional methods (extension, traction, flexion for stenosis) can ease pressure symptomatically in the moment. The tag groups all three; each entry says which it means.
Stages sketch a typical path, not a rule — people skip around, and any approach can help at more than one point. Escalation (stage 4) can also include steps not covered here, such as nerve-root injections.
Commercial programs are largely untested as products. A tag or a sound principle isn't proof the specific app or course delivers. Prices and details change — verify before paying.
Not medical advice, and not a substitute for assessment. New, severe, or worsening pain — or pain with numbness, weakness, fever, or bladder/bowel changes — needs a clinician first. Whether to wait, rehab, or operate depends on your specific herniation, symptoms, and history; weigh it with a spine specialist rather than deciding from a web page.
Privacy note
If you join the waitlist, your email address is stored (through the form service Formspree) for one purpose: to keep you posted on important developments — most of all, when the app is ready. It is not sold, shared, or added to any other list, and you can unsubscribe or have it deleted at any time by emailing backcompass@gmail.com. This site sets no advertising or tracking cookies. It loads fonts from Google, which means Google may receive your IP address when the page loads.