Medical procedures >>>> Traction therapy - what is it?

Traction therapy - what is it?

During life, the human spine withstands the most severe loads (overweight, lifting and carrying weights, energetic life, sports exercises). A person uses the capabilities of the spine, without looking back at the consequences, which provokes multiple diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

The vast majority of disorders of the musculoskeletal system are caused by compression in the spinal column - compression of the intervertebral structures. Reducing the size of the intervertebral space is practically unalterable, that is, restoring the correct distance between the vertebrae along the entire length of the spinal column is the most difficult of all the tasks for the rehabilitation of the spine.

For the possibility of non-surgical intervention in the structures of the spinal column in order to restore their correct relationship, traction therapy (traction - stretching) was developed - methods of stretching the spine using the laws of physics in natural conditions.

The traction effect on the spine is carried out using weights: artificial (hardware stretching) and natural (under the weight of your own body).

Spinal traction is effective only when it is performed strictly according to the doctor's instructions, as well as under the supervision of a doctor and devices that control the load on the spine.

In other cases, traction of the spine may not be a factor in recovery, but the cause of injury to the vertebral structures and a new round of the disease. For this reason, it is dangerous to organize self-traction of the spine at home.

For traction therapy, special tables are used with a flat surface and the ability to change the angle of inclination of the surface on which the patient is located. Fasteners keep a person motionless, and special cables (harnesses) pull the limbs or head in the right direction (if we are talking about stretching the spine in the cervical spine). There is also a traction chair for stretching the vertebrae of the cervical spine.

There are two forms of stretching the spine: in water and without water (dry stretching).

Dry stretching is preceded by vibration massage, which allows you to relax the muscle frame and thereby gain "free access" to the structures of the spine. Water plays the same role as vibration massage - it relieves tension in muscle tissue, which resists when the spinal column is stretched.

Traction therapy is safe only in cases of perfect indications for its implementation. The doctor can refuse to carry out traction therapy in cases where there is a risk of complications of the current disease, for example, with pain syndromes, with diseases of the cardiovascular system, kidneys, with circulatory disorders in the spine, with infectious diseases, with malignant tumors, during pregnancy. Traction therapy is not performed on persons over sixty years of age.