Various types of traction are used in the treatment of low-back pain
(LBP), often in conjunction with other treatments. This study aims to
determine the effectiveness of traction in the management of LBP. The
investigators queried several biomedical and nursing databases, references
in relevant reviews, and their personal files and selected randomized
controlled trials (RCTs) examining any type of traction for the treatment
of acute (less than four weeks duration), sub-acute (four to 12 weeks)
or chronic (more than 12 weeks) non-specific LBP with or without sciatica
and performed a qualitative analysis. Twenty-four RCTs, involving 2,177
patients (1,016 receiving traction) were included in the review. Five
trials were considered high quality.
There is strong evidence that there is no significant difference in
short- or long-term outcomes between either continuous or intermittent
traction and placebo, sham, or other treatments for patients with a
mixed duration of LBP, with or without sciatica. The researchers conclude
that the evidence suggests that traction is probably not effective.
Neither continuous nor intermittent traction by itself was more effective
in improving pain, disability, or work absence than placebo, sham, or
other treatments for low back pain patients. Although trials studying
patients with sciatica had limitations to the study method and inconsistent
results, there was moderate evidence that autotraction was more effective
than mechanical traction for global improvement in this population.
Clarke J, van Tulder M, Blomberg S, de Vet H, van der Heijden G, Bronfort
G, Clarke J Ma. Adapted from Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005 Oct 19;4:CD003010.
PMID 16235311
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16235311&query_hl=2
Credit: PubMed, developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI) at the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
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