A spinal traction is a form of decompression therapy that relieves pressure on the spine. It can be performed manually or mechanically. Spinal traction is used to treat herniated discs, sciatica, degenerative disc disease, pinched nerves, and many other back conditions.
There are various methods of traction therapy, but one of the most common for lower back pain or sciatica is for the patient to lie on a traction bed and have graded weights fixed onto the legs and a harness to the upper body to keep the patient in position. As the weights are applied, the spine is pulled and stretched.
The idea is that this makes the displaced spinal disc start to reposition itself. Also, it is thought that muscles in tension will benefit from the stretching and that tension will be relieved.
The traction described is typical of what physiotherapists use for lower back pain; indeed, trained therapists should only carry traction due to the risk of damage if the wrong weight or excessive pressure is allowed.
The therapist must decide the amount that the patient can support and be ready to stop the procedure quickly if it should prove to be causing discomfort or problems. There are forms of home use traction that are available for purchase and these generally employ traction using inversion.
The object here is to cause the patient to lie with the head lower than the feet or partially upside down. The patient lies on a frame that is pivoted in the middle. The patient has straps attached to their legs to keep them in place; and the frame is then gently turned so that the patient is tilted at an angle and can begin to be inverted.
Anyone undertaking this form of home traction should be very careful. If there are health problems such as blood pressure or cardiovascular matters, there could be serious difficulties. Moreover, the problems may be undiagnosed at present but become evident during inversion.
Typically, many patients present with sciatica do not enjoy any amelioration of their symptoms and sometimes say that they feel not better but rather in more pain than before treatment. Even when the problem is a displaced or herniated disc, the results are often similar.
In other words, little or no advantage and perhaps matters may be worse. Also, some patients say that although there was a temporary relief from pain, the experience was not worth the trouble soon after it returned.
The conclusion to be drawn from this is that traction remains an option and maybe felt worth attempting. The probability is that other types of treatment should certainly be tried and may have a better chance of success. New Age Physiotherapy provides Traction for Lower Back Therapy.
