In an article published in the journal Physical Therapy, the authors searched the medical literature trying to find out if traction helped a condition called “lumbar radiculopathy” which is like a pinched nerve in the lower back or like sciatica symptoms. They found that traction, used in conjunction with something like physical therapy was helpful for people with this condition. ~ Dr. Broussard
Effectiveness of Mechanical Traction for Lumbar Radiculopathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Carla Vanti, PT, MSc, OMPT
Physical Therapy, pzaa231, https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzaa231
Published: 31 December 2020
Abstract
Objective
Lumbar radiculopathy is a pain syndrome caused by compression/irritation of the lumbar nerve root(s). Traction is a well-known and commonly used conservative treatment for lumbar radiculopathy, although its effectiveness is disputed. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was to evaluate the effects of different types of traction added to or compared with conservative treatments on pain and disability.
Methods
Data were obtained from CENTRAL, PUBMED, CINAHL, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and PEDro from their inception to April 2020. All randomized controlled trials on adults with lumbar radiculopathy, using mechanical traction, without any restriction regarding publication time or language, were considered. Two reviewers selected the studies, evaluated the quality assessment, and extracted the results. Meta-analysis used a random-effects model. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, and 5 were meta-analyzed.
Results
Meta-analyses of results from low-quality studies indicated that supine mechanical traction added to physical therapist treatments had significant effects on pain (g = −0.58 [95% CI = −0.87 to −0.29]) and disability (g = −0.78 [95% CI = −1.45 to −0.11]). Analyses of results from high-quality studies of prone mechanical traction added to physical therapist intervention for pain and disability were not significant. These results were also evident at short-term follow-up (up to 3 months after intervention).
Conclusions
The literature suggests that, for pain and disability in lumbar radiculopathy, there is short-term effectiveness of supine mechanical traction when added to physical therapist intervention.
Impact
This systematic review may be relevant for clinical practice due to its external validity because the treatments and the outcome measures are very similar to those commonly used in a clinical context.