Is Spinal traction effective?

Asked by: Amy Ward

Based on current evidence, traction as a single treatment is not effective for patients with low-back pain, with or without sciatica. There are very few high-quality studies in this field.

How long does it take for spinal traction to work?

Around 40% of patients will have significant relief within 2–3 weeks. The remaining 20% will get significant relief between 4–6 weeks. Less than 20% will experience no relief or minimal relief.

What is the success rate of spinal decompression?

What is the success rate of spinal decompression? Most research has shown spinal decompression to be successful in 71% to 89% of patients. More than 10 different research studies have been conducted with all of them showing good results for patients treated with spinal decompression.

Is it good to decompress your spine?

Be it a herniated disc or a disc injury due to any degenerative disease, spinal decompression is beneficial for all these problems. This is because it increases the blood circulation to the spine and helps the dislocated spines to regain back their original position.

Can spinal traction hurt you?

Spinal traction does not have many associated side effects. But adverse effects can occur—and may include injury to tissue, nausea, fainting, or headache.

Is traction good for herniated disc?

Patients with greater herniations tended to respond better to traction. In conclusion, lumbar traction is both effective in improving symptoms and clinical findings in patients with lumbar disc herniation and also in decreasing the size of the herniated disc material as measured by CT.

Can you decompress your spine at home?

One advanced treatment choice, spinal decompression, has been shown to provide many benefits for patients suffering from lower back pain. Unfortunately, the majority of us do not have a spinal decompression table at home as they are incredibly expensive and require healthcare providers to operate.

What is the difference between spinal decompression and traction?

Traction is defined as the act of pulling or a state of being pulled. Decompression, on the other hand, is defined as the act of relieving pressure.

Can spinal decompression cause damage?

Occasionally, spinal decompression surgery can result in tissue damage. Excessive bleeding is a risk of surgery as well as the risk of clots forming and migrating causing a deep vein thrombosis.

Does spinal decompression work long-term?

Reviews of recent popular medical literature revealed that the clinical results of Spinal Decompression Therapy have been effective in over 75% of the people receiving this treatment and most patients find long-term relief and effective management of their pain upon completion of the entire program of treatments.

What are the side effects of traction?

Experts think that traction expands the space between the vertebrae, increases the movement of the joints and stretches the muscles and ligaments around the vertebrae. Side effects are generally few, but can include headache, nausea, fainting and injury to tissue.

Does traction help joints?

Traction therapy is currently being used to treat spine dysfunction and has been shown to relieve joint compression and relax muscle. A recent study demonstrated that mechanical joint traction of the knee through the use of an external fixing device on patients with degenerative arthritis showed promising results.

Is traction good for sciatica?

Based on current evidence, traction as a single treatment is not effective for patients with low-back pain, with or without sciatica.

Can traction help pinched nerve?

A 2014 study found that mechanical traction was effective in treating people with pinched nerves and neck pain. Mechanical traction was more effective than exercising alone or exercising in addition to using over-door traction.

How often should you do lumbar traction?

For conditions requiring separation of the intervertebral spaces for a therapeutic effect, a relatively high force (40-50% of the body weight) and low treatment times (8-12 minutes) are recommended. The general rule is: The higher the force, the lower the treatment time. We rarely use traction for more than 20 minutes.

Will traction help pinched nerve in lower back?

Lumbar (low back) traction helps to separate the spaces between your vertebrae, the bones that make up your spine. In theory, slightly separating these bones can help take the pressure off pinched nerves (such as the sciatic nerve) to decrease your pain and improve your mobility.

How do you decompress your spine?

Back into the middle back and then into the lower. Back only go to your comfort. Level you want to do nice slow controlled breathing while doing this and hold up to 30 seconds.