HMN 2026: What is the promise of non-surgical treatment for slipped disks

When the soft, cushion-like disks in the spine become injured or start to bulge, the effects can be debilitating.

Cervical disks help stabilize the neck and allow for smooth movement. But when damaged, they can cause numbness, tingling, loss of grip strength, and sharp pain that travels down into the arm, hand and fingers.

Medication and physical therapy can help provide some relief, and if symptoms do not improve, surgery is often considered the next step. But for patients with neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), invasive surgery can carry additional risk, including potential neurological injury.

USF Health researchers are working to address this gap by highlighting a promising nonsurgical alternative for treating cervical disk herniation, commonly referred to as a slipped disk.

In a recent case study published in the Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dr. Nathan Schilaty, associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, Brain and Spine and Medical Engineering at the Morsani College of Medicine and College of Engineering, demonstrated the successful use of a noninvasive approach.

“Patients can suddenly find themselves asking, ‘Will I be able to live my life the way I did before?'” Schilaty said. “Having a conservative and reliable treatment option that avoids surgery is incredibly valuable.”

Using the specialized computer-controlled device DRX9000C, researchers treated a 35-year-old woman with MS and severe cervical disk injury who was experiencing debilitating pain, weakness, sensory loss and disability. Unlike traditional traction methods, this device works by gently stretching the neck to relieve pressure on damaged disks using a process called targeted traction. The programmed, cyclical pulling motions adjust force in real time, helping clinicians target specific areas of the spine and tailor treatment to the patient.

Instead of surgery, she underwent 20 sessions over a 15-week period, helping her fully return to daily activities and reporting no pain after just five treatments.

“In roughly 20 to 25 percent of patients, surgery often doesn’t help pain—it makes it worse. Our lab focuses on studying alternative options,” said Jacob Connolly, an MD/Ph.D. candidate in the Morsani College of Medicine working alongside Schilaty in the Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Research. “The patient’s MRI scans showed the disk herniation shrinking and nerve compression decreasing over time, dropping her disability score to zero.”

Beyond relieving pain, the treatment also led to measurable structural improvements. Imaging showed the size of the herniation decreased by more than 30 percent, while spinal canal space increased by more than 80 percent following treatment.

Most significantly, at her one-year follow-up exam, the patient remained pain-free and fully functional, with no worsening or flare-ups of her MS symptoms.

“The goal is to broaden care options, ensuring patients receive individualized treatment and only move to surgery when it’s truly necessary,” Connolly added. “By gently decompressing the spine, this approach may allow the disk to return to its proper position and relieve pressure on the nerves.”

The FDA has cleared the device for use, and it is becoming increasingly available across the United States and in more than 50 countries.

Schilaty is hopeful about the impact it could have for other patients with disk herniation who may not be ideal candidates for surgery or who want to avoid the invasiveness of spinal interventions.

“Patients aren’t focused on the metrics we measure. They’re wondering if they’ll get their lives back,” Schilaty said. “When we can restore quality of life with a conservative, nonsurgical approach, that’s an incredibly meaningful step forward. This is just one of the tools in the toolbox that we’re using, but we hope that it’s utilized more often.”

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