That traction is at best considered sham or a scam- which means it did diddly squat. Traction was no more effective than taking a sugar pill (placebo). A variety of traction devices were analyzed and the conclusion was the same- traction devices are nothing more than a scam. Irrespective of whether the individual underwent continuous traction or intermittent traction, no one benefitted from this type of therapy In fact many individuals developed more complications from traction and some even required emergent surgery.
The authors concluded that traction alone as a treatment for low back pain is as good as garbage.
So if you have back pain, save your hard earned money on these sham devices and keep away from scamming health care professionals who are more interested in your money than your back.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD003010. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003010.pub4
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Does traction therapy help back pain? Part 1
Low-back pain (LBP) affects millions of individuals in North America and is a major health problem. The medical costs of low back pain are enormous resulting in absenteeism, disability and poor quality life style. No one satisfactory treatment for low back pain exists and almost every week a new therapy is developed. In the last 2 decades, traction has been advocated as a panacea for back pain. There are several type of devices ranging from mechanical and manual traction.
Today, many physicians have fancy traction devices in their clinics which they hype up as a cure for sciatica and other types of back pain. It is recommended that one enroll in traction treatment sessions 1-2 times a week for 12-16 weeks and voila, you will be cured. One should not forget that traction treatments do not come cheap. All the data on traction treatment and its benefits come directly from the mouth of people who make these machines or physicians who promote these devices.
So do they work?
Researchers looked at randomized controlled studies to determine if traction really worked. More than 2200 patients who received 1045 sessions of traction were evaluated from several clinical trials.
And what did the researchers find?
Today, many physicians have fancy traction devices in their clinics which they hype up as a cure for sciatica and other types of back pain. It is recommended that one enroll in traction treatment sessions 1-2 times a week for 12-16 weeks and voila, you will be cured. One should not forget that traction treatments do not come cheap. All the data on traction treatment and its benefits come directly from the mouth of people who make these machines or physicians who promote these devices.
So do they work?
Researchers looked at randomized controlled studies to determine if traction really worked. More than 2200 patients who received 1045 sessions of traction were evaluated from several clinical trials.
And what did the researchers find?
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