Traction is a treatment that places your cervical spine in a stabilized position for a period of time to relieve pressure on your cervical nerves and immobilize your neck. Traction often is prescribed following surgery or to treat a pinched nerve without surgery. You may receive traction in the hospital or be fitted with a unit you can use at home as needed, according to MayoClinic.com.
Movement
Neck pain caused by a strain, pulled muscle or cervical spine arthritis, also called spondylosis, often is treated with traction. Therapy performed while in the stabilizing equipment includes stretching your neck gently with the use of weights and pulleys while you lie back in a supine position. Your neck is placed in a brace and pulleys are attached to the brace. A therapist attaches light weights on the ends of the pulleys and pulls to elongate your neck and relieve the pressure. In some cases, according to MayoClinic.com, the pulling in the traction device provides immediate relief of neck pain. In addition to relieving pressure on the nerves, traction also relieves muscle spasms.
Process
Devices used in the hospital typically include the supine mechanical motorized cervical traction that places anywhere from 20 to 50 ponds of weight on the pulling action. The device must be monitored to make sure it doesn't pull your vertebrae too far apart. Traction must be constant, with no jerking or bouncing and persist for at least two minutes to be effective. Traction can last for as long as 30 minutes and be performed several times a day, if necessary.
Benefits
Benefits of supine cervical traction typically are short-term and designed to relieve intense pain so that you can move on to neck-strengthening exercises that will ensure long-term recovery. Traction may be particularly useful if the cervical damage causes you to have referred leg pain. According to Triad Healthcare, as soon as you feel pain relief using the weights and pulleys of the traction device, you should move to more intense rehabilitation through physical therapy.
Long-term Solution
Not everyone benefits from cervical traction to treat neck pain. According to Triad Healthcare, little evidence exists to prove supine cervical traction is helpful for long-term acute neck pain. It seems to be most helpful to quickly ease the pressure off a pinched nerve. Surgery to remove or replace a damaged disc often relieves the pain and does not require follow-up treatments with traction.
