Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2007 Nov 29:8:118.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-8-118.

The effectiveness of motorised lumbar traction in the management of LBP with lumbo sacral nerve root involvement: a feasibility study

Annette A Harte  1 , George D Baxter, Jacqueline H Gracey
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The effectiveness of motorised lumbar traction in the management of LBP with lumbo sacral nerve root involvement: a feasibility study

Annette A Harte et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Traction is commonly used for the treatment of low back pain (LBP), predominately with nerve root involvement; however its benefits remain to be established. The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to compare the difference between two treatment protocols (manual therapy, exercise and advice, with or without traction) in the management of acute/sub acute LBP with 'nerve root' involvement.

Methods: 30 LBP patients with nerve root pain were recruited and randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Primary outcome measures were the: McGill pain questionnaire, Roland Morris disability questionnaire, and the SF36 Questionnaire; recorded at baseline, discharge, 3 and 6 months post-discharge.

Results: 27 patients completed treatment with a loss of another four patients at follow up. Intention to treat analysis demonstrated an improvement in all outcomes at follow up points but there appeared to be little difference between the groups.

Conclusion: This study has shown that a trial recruiting patients with 'nerve root' problems is feasible. Further research based upon a fully powered trial is required to ascertain if the addition of traction has any benefit in the management of these patients.

Registration number: ISRCTN78417198.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Clinical trial procedure.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Consort flow diagram.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Median score for RMDQ at follow up points.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Median score for MPQ – PRI at follow up points.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Median score for SF36 physical component score at follow up points.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Median score for SF36 mental component score at follow up points.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. van Tulder MW, Becker A, Bekkering T, Breen A, Carter T, del Real MT, Hutchinson A, Koes B, Kryger-Baggesen P, Laerum E, Malmivaara A, Nachemson A, Niehus W, Roux E, Rozenberg S. European guidelines for the management of acute nonspecific low back pain in primary care. European Commission, Research Directorate General. COST B13 Working group; 2004. http://www.backpaineurope.org - PMC - PubMed
    1. Clarke JA, van Tulder MW, Bloomberg SEI, de Vet HCW, van der Heijden GJMG, Bronfort G. Traction for low back pain with or without sciatica. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2005:CD003010. doi: 10.1002/1461858.cd003010.PUB3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Harte AA, Gracey JH, Baxter GD. Current use of lumbar traction in the management of low back pain: Results of a survey of physiotherapists in the United Kingdom. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005;86:1164–1169. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2004.11.040. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bell RG, Rothman RH. The conservative treatment of sciatica. Spine. 1984;9:54–56. doi: 10.1097/00007632-198401000-00012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Waddell G. The back pain revolution. Edinburgh. Churchill Livingstone; 1998.

Publication types

Associated data