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Non-surgical spinal decompression · Bethesda, MD

Back, neck or leg pain that has not gone away after therapy, medication or injections?

Most care treats the pain. Very little treats the disc. Dr. Rebecca Lee evaluates whether non-surgical spinal decompression can help your disc. We only accept cases we are confident we can help.
Apply for an evaluation
How the evaluation works
Dr. Rebecca Lee, D.C.
Doctorate, Life University
In practice since 2013

From patients

★★★★★
Rated on Google
Read all reviews
★★★★★
“Dr. Lee is by far the best practitioner in the field of medicine I have encountered.”
I did the research before making an appointment with Dr. Rebecca Lee for spinal decompression.

A. Cunningham

Google review

Non-surgical decompression
★★★★★
“I am back running and playing basketball after 7 years.”
With a lot of patience and knowledge, Dr. Lee brought me back to a full sport life.

Moti K.

Google review

Back to sport
★★★★★
“Since I started seeing her for my lower back pain I have reduced back pain. Improved on my mobility and posture.”
She practices with care and compassion, listens to patients’ concerns.

Nebiat F.

Google review

Low back pain
More patient stories

Why the pain keeps coming back

Everything you tried treated the pain. Nothing treated the disc.

You rested. You did physical therapy. You tried adjustments, medication, maybe an injection. Each one calmed the pain for a while. Then it came back.

A damaged disc has very little blood supply, so it changes slowly. One treatment does not change it. That is why the pain keeps coming back.

Whether non-surgical decompression can work for you depends on your disc, your symptoms and what Dr. Lee finds when she evaluates you. That is what the evaluation is for: a clear answer on whether non-surgical decompression makes sense for you, and what to do if it does not.

How non-surgical decompression compares with other care
★★★★★
“Dr. Lee’s treatment is the first treatment that has actually helped.”
I have lived with intense chronic pain in my thoracic spine for more than a decade. I have a long ways to go still, but already feel relief from her treatment.

Prime Spine patient

Google review

Chronic pain

How non-surgical decompression works

Gentle, computer-controlled treatment for the disc itself.

You lie on a padded table, fully clothed. The table gently stretches and releases the spine in slow cycles. There is no twisting and no cracking. No needles, no drugs, no surgery.
More about non-surgical spinal decompression

1

Evaluation with Dr. Lee

Your history, a full physical exam with a muscle and nerve function assessment, and your MRI or X-rays. You find out whether you are a candidate.

2

A plan built for your spine

Your program is built around everything Dr. Lee finds in her evaluation, and around your goals.

3

Care, with progress checked

Dr. Lee re-examines you at set points and adjusts the plan.

How it compares

Why the pain comes back, and what is different here.

Rest and medication

Quiets the pain signal

Rest lets a flare-up settle, and medication dulls the pain while it is in your system.

Neither one takes the pressure off the disc, so the pain returns once you are back to your normal day.

  • Short-term relief. The disc is unchanged

Physical therapy

Strengthens the muscles around the spine

Good therapy builds support and gets you moving again, and it helps many people.

It works on the muscles around the disc, not the disc itself. When a nerve is irritated, the exercises can be hard to do.

  • Helpful support. The disc is unchanged

Adjustments on their own

Helps stiff joints move

An adjustment loosens the joints of the spine and can ease the pain for a while.

On its own, it does not take the pressure off a bulging or herniated disc, which is why Dr. Lee does not rely on adjustments alone.
  • Relief for a while. The disc is unchanged

Injections

Calms the inflamed nerve

A steroid injection near the nerve can quiet a bad flare-up of nerve pain.

The disc pressing on the nerve stays the same, and there is a limit to how many injections you can have.

  • Temporary. The disc is unchanged

Non-surgical spinal decompression

Takes the pressure off the disc itself

The one option on this list that works on the disc itself, instead of around it.
  • Aimed at the cause, so relief can last
  • No needles, no drugs, no surgery
  • Fully clothed, on a padded table
  • Dr. Lee evaluates every case herself
  • Program built from Dr. Lee’s full evaluation
  • Progress re-examined by Dr. Lee
Most people arrive having tried two or three of these. If you have been told the next step is surgery, the evaluation shows whether the disc is still treatable without it.
The full comparison

A patient story

Told nothing else could be done. Then non-surgical decompression.

“I was given lots of pain pills and muscle relaxers that was just masking the problem. I even had nerves burnt and it didn’t work. I was told nothing else could be done. I had a copy of a recent MRI. She studied it so when I came back the next day, I knew she studied it from the way she was explaining it and breaking down what was going on. After my first session, I was very sore. After my second session, I was still sore but felt different. By my 3rd session, I was moving differently, I was standing upright and for more than 10 mins. As time progressed, I’m walking and moving around so much easier.”
Google review · Lisa B.
More patient stories

The problem

Could not stand for more than 5 to 10 minutes

What she had tried

Pain pills, muscle relaxers, a nerve ablation

What changed

Standing upright, walking and moving much easier

Your doctor

Dr. Rebecca Lee does every evaluation herself.

A DMV native, in practice since 2013, focused on the disc and nerve cases that other care did not resolve. She looks at the whole picture, from your history and how your muscles and nerves are working to your MRI, tells you whether non-surgical decompression is right for your disc, and re-examines you at set points during care.
  • We only accept cases we are confident we can help.
  • She has co-managed patients with neurosurgeons, orthopedic doctors and radiologists.
  • An independent Bethesda practice, not a chain.
More about Dr. Lee

Conditions

Sound like you?

Low back pain

It keeps coming back, and sitting makes it worse.

Herniated or bulging disc

Your MRI found it. You were told to wait it out, get an injection, or think about surgery.

Sciatica

Pain or tingling that runs down one leg.

Neck pain and arm symptoms

Neck pain that reaches your shoulder, arm or hand.

Pinched nerve

Sharp, electric pain that follows a line into an arm or leg.

Spinal stenosis

Legs ache or go numb when you stand or walk, and sitting helps.

All conditions

Common questions

Before you apply

Most people find a session comfortable, and some fall asleep. The pull is gentle and builds slowly. Tell the team at any point and the table is adjusted.
It differs from person to person. Dr. Lee tells you at your evaluation what she would expect for your case and when she will re-examine you.
Insurance pays for what it has a code for: short visits, medication, injections, surgery. It was not built to pay for a full program of care aimed at the disc itself. Most plans do not cover a non-surgical decompression program. That is why Dr. Lee builds your program from her full evaluation of your case, not from what a policy will pay for. Monthly payment options are available.
Yes. Bring your records and any MRI or X-rays. What you have already had done is part of what Dr. Lee looks at when deciding whether non-surgical decompression makes sense for you now.

Getting here

In Bethesda, with free reserved parking.

4833 Rugby Avenue, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814
  • Free reserved parking for patients on levels 1 and 2 of the garage attached to the building. Look for the Prime Spine Wellness signs.
  • From the garage, walk down to the building’s front entrance
  • Minutes from Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, North Bethesda and Northwest DC
Directions and parking

Next steps

How booking works

Three steps from here.
“I have noticed a considerable increase in mobility and decrease in my chronic neck and back discomfort. I only wish I went sooner!”
★★★★★
Google review · Prime Spine patient

1

Apply online

A short form about your symptoms, how long they have lasted, and what you have tried.

2

The office reviews your application

The office looks it over and contacts you about the next step, usually to schedule your evaluation.

3

Your evaluation

In the office with Dr. Lee. Bring your MRI or X-ray, or the report if you cannot get the images.

Epidural risks and alternatives

Had an epidural? Most of Dr. Lee’s patients have.

Epidural steroid injections are not FDA approved for back pain, and the FDA requires a warning about rare but serious risks. An injection can calm the pain for a while. It does not take the pressure off the disc.
  • Not FDA approved for sciatica, stenosis or disc problems
  • Treats the pain, not the cause
  • Repeated injections carry real risks
Read about epidural risks and alternatives

More from Dr. Lee: the research · articles and resources

Next step

Start with an evaluation.

An evaluation with Dr. Lee. You find out whether non-surgical decompression is right for your disc.
Apply for an evaluation
Apply online. The office reviews your application and contacts you about the next step.

Prime Spine Wellness

(301) 272-2050

4833 Rugby Avenue, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814

EMAIL: PRIMESPINEWELLNESS@GMAIL.COM

Office Hours

MON 11 AM – 2 PM and 3 – 6:30 PM
TUES 11 AM – 2 PM and 3 – 6:30 PM
WED 11 AM – 2 PM and 3 – 6:30 PM
(Closed for lunch 2 – 3 PM)
THURS 11 AM – 4:30 PM
FRI 11 AM – 4:30 PM
SAT and SUN CLOSED
  • Free reserved parking on levels 1 and 2 of the attached garage. Look for the Prime Spine Wellness signs.
Existing patient? Call the office to move an appointment or ask a question.