Traction as a Back Pain Remedy

There are many forms of back pain treatments, from acupuncture to chiropractic manipulations to therapeutic massage therapy. Traction as a back pain remedy has mixed results among patients and providers but has been shown to be somewhat helpful and effective for short-term pain relief from some joint-related neck and back pain issues including pinched nerves.

Other medically accepted uses of traction include soft tissue and joint mobilization and to help reduce the severity of herniated discs. Traction can be done manually or mechanically. The treatment can be performed as sustained traction, with the force of the pull being held for an extended duration or as intermittent traction, with the force applied in an on and off manner. Sustained traction is generally performed mechanically for, ideally, no more than twenty to thirty minutes. Intermittent traction can be done mechanically or manually by a rehab provider.

The term traction simply means to separate the vertebrae to temporarily create more space for the spinal nerves or to relieve pressure on the intervertebral discs or spinal joints. As there is much speculation as to the amount of actual physical improvement that traction can produce, it is best to receive traction in conjunction with additional forms of corrective care such as chiropractic manipulations, stabilization exercises and therapeutic modalities including heat/cold therapy, physical therapy, electrical stimulation, ultrasound and massage therapy.

The most common form of traction is treatment for the cervical spine. It is commonly used to help treat cervical instability and is effective in helping to realign cervical dislocations. It is more difficult to confirm if low back pain is affected by sessions of traction as it is very difficult to effectively apply enough force to separate the lumbar vertebrae. The amount of pull needed to begin the separation is half of a patients particular body weight. A form of lumbar traction that can be done easily is with an inversion table. A patient will be strapped into leg clasps and the table with bed turned in order for the patient to hang upside down for a specific amount of time. However, hanging upside down can cause headaches in some patients and may cause alterations in blood pressure.

References Cited in this Article

www.spineuniverse.com

www.purehealthmd.com