Synonyms
Intermittent; progressive adjustive; manual or continuous traction; Autotraction; Gravity-Assisted Traction; self traction; unloading
Definition
Traction is a treatment for spinal pain. It involves applying a pulling force to the lower limbs or to the head, in order to separate the vertebrae of the spine and / or to stretch the surrounding muscles and ligaments. The traction force may be delivered manually, or via weights, pulleys or mechanical devices as a continuous, sustained, intermittent or intermittent pulsed force.
Characteristics
Mechanism
No mechanism has been established whereby traction might relieve pain. Nevertheless, proponents of traction believe that it works, and have speculated on its mechanism of effect (Krause et al. 2000).
There is clear evidence that spinal traction does separate vertebral bodies. However, in the lumbar spine much of the separation observed arises from flattening of the lumbar lordosis (Twomey 1985). In the cervical spine, 30 pounds of...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aker PD, Gross AR, Goldsmith CH et al. (1996) Conservative management of mechanical neck pain: systematic overview and meta-analysis. BMJ 313:1291–1296
Beurskens AJ, de Vet HC, Koke AJ et al. (1997) Efficacy of traction for non-specific low back pain: 12-week and 6-month results of a randomized clinical trial. Spine 22:2756–2762
Bogduk N, McGuirk B (2006) Medical Management of Acute and Chronic Neck Pain. An Evidence-Based Approach. Elsevier, Amsterdam (in press)
British Association of Physical Medicine (1966) Pain in the neck and arm: a multicentre trial of the effects of physiotherapy. BMJ 1:253–258
Colachis SC, Strohm BR (1969) Effects of intermittent traction on separation of lumbar vertebrae. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 44:251–258
Coxhead CE, Inskip H, Meade TW et al. (1981) Multicentre trial of physiotherapy in the management of sciatic symptoms. Lancet 1:1065–1068
Goldie I, Landquist A (1970) Evaluation of the effects of different forms of physiotherapy in cervical pain. Scand J Rehab Med 2–3:117–121
Harms-Ringdahl K, Nachemson A (2000) Acute and subacute neck pain: nonsurgical treatment. In: Nachemson A, Jonsson E (eds) Neck and Back Pain: The Scientific Evidence of Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, pp 327–338
Harte AA, Baxter GD, Gracey JH (2203) The efficacy of traction for back pain: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 84:1542–1553
Klaber Moffett JA, Hughes GI, Griffiths P (1990) An investigation of the effects of cervical traction. Part 1: clinical effectiveness. Clin Rehab 4:205-211
Krause M, Refshauge KM, Dessen M et al. (2000) Lumbar spine traction: evaluation of effects and recommended application for treatment. Manual Therapy 5:72–81
Matthews JA (1968).Dynamic discography: a study of lumbar traction. Ann Phys Med 9:275–279
Matthews JA, Hickling J (1975) Lumbar traction: a double-blind controlled study for sciatica. Rheumatol Rehabil 14:222–225
Pal B, Mangion P, Hossain MA et al. (1986) A controlled trial of continuous lumbar traction in the treatment of back pain and sciatica. Brit J Rheumatol 25:181–183
Twomey LT (1985) Sustained lumbar traction. An experimental study of long spine segments. Spine 10:146–149
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this entry
Cite this entry
Mercer, S. (2007). Traction. In: Schmidt, R., Willis, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pain. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_4541
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_4541
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-43957-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29805-2
eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine