Mechanical traction uses an intermittent or sustained pull to relieve pressure on the joints of the neck or lower back. Traction can also be effective for relief of nerve pain radiating to the arm or leg. Often, herniated discs respond favourably to traction.
Mechanical Traction
Feel like you need to just get the pressure off?
What is Mechanical Traction?
What is the treatment like?
Traction can be applied to the neck or the back. You will be positioned comfortably, typically on your back, but occasionally on your stomach. The machine uses comfortable harnesses to apply gentle and sometimes progressive stretch to the neck or back. The treatment lasts, on average, 15 to 30 minutes. During this time, most clients feet the gradual relaxation of tight muscle groups and compressed joints and gradual relief.
There should be no pain with traction. If we find we can not achieve a comfortable, pain-free effect with the machine, we may choose to switch to a manual, hands-on traction.
What conditions can traction help?
Traction is used on a number of common conditions including:
- Stiff neck and back joints
- Osteoarthritis of the neck and back
- Spinal disc pain
- Pinched nerve pain (sciatica, arm pain, some forms of extremity numbness and tingling)
