Traction is a therapeutic technique employed to stabilize injuries to the musculoskeletal system, most notably the neck and spine. It helps to stabilize disc injuries and allow the spine to heal without having to support itself. There are both manual and mechanical mobilization techniques to address the cervical spine.
Traction in General
The main purpose of traction is to apply force and "distract" or separate segments of the cervical and lumbar (lower back) spine. The use of traction has waned in recent years because much of the work that traction accomplishes occurs when the patient is supine and gravity tends to undo the separation that traction created. Nevertheless, there is both manual and mechanical traction that can be applied to the cervical spine, which is the portion of the spine that starts at the bottom of the head and stops at the point where the neck meets the shoulders.
Manual Cervical Traction
Cervical traction helps people who have problems with their discs in the cervical spine. Manual traction should precede any mechanical traction. The patient lies on a flat padded table while the physician applies force to the lower neck. It is a massaging technique that relieves pressure on the spinal nerves. You can focus this technique on the lower neck by flexing the neck by 30 degrees. Physicians will use this type of manual traction if it results in pain relief. Despite the relief that it may provide, however, manual traction does not actually change the structure of the spine. It can limit muscle spasms and tension.
Mechanical Cervical Traction
Typically, the physician will use a halter or a Saunder's traction device to employ traction forces. This too is done on a padded table, but there is a device in which the physician straps the patient's head. There are pads on either side of the head that apply pressure to the cervical spine. Physicians will only apply pressure for 30 seconds at a time. You should not apply more than 15 to 20 pounds of pressure.
Warnings
Traction can lead to serious injury if there is too much pressure applied to the cervical spine. You can suffer permanent injury to the muscles or to the discs that are being separated. It can also cause damage to neck ligaments. People with arthritis should not use traction because it only aggravates joint pain.
Tags: cervical spine, Cervical Traction, applied cervical, applied cervical spine, apply pressure