Changes in Blood Pressure and Related Autonomic Function During Cervical Traction in Healthy Women

Abstract

Cervical traction is a physical therapy procedure frequently used to treat cervical disk lesions, cervical spondylosis, and cervical facet joint lesions. We have observed rare cases of side effects in elderly patients, but not in women younger than 30 years.In this pilot study, 96 young women were randomly divided into 3 groups to study the effect of cervical traction with different traction weights on blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, and correlated autonomic adjustment. Cervical traction weight used was 10% of the patient's body weight in group A (n=32), 20% in group B (n=32), and 30% in group C (n=32). Assessments of blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, percentage of high- and low-frequency signals, and low-frequency/high-frequency ratio were performed before, during, and 20 minutes after traction. We found that systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate variability elevated during cervical traction and returned nearly to original levels immediately after traction in group C, but not in groups A or B. There were no significant changes in heart rate, percentage of high- or low-frequency signals, and low-frequency/high-frequency ratio in all 3 groups during or after cervical traction.Cervical traction with a traction weight approximately 10% to 20% of body weight can be safely provided without significant compromise of cardiovascular function. However, heavy traction weight (30% of body weight) should be avoided, especially for a patient with cardiovascular disease.

“EFFECT OF CERVICAL TRACTION IN THE NECK NEUTRAL, FLEXION AND EXTENSION ON AUTONOMIC FUNCTION: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY”

“…Similar number of participants were included in a pilot study in which 96 young women were voluntarily involved and had shown effect of cervical traction with different weights on the blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability and correlated autonomic adjustment. 10 In another pilot study, 100 healthy young people were included to investigate the responses in cardiovascular functions during cervical traction. 16 However, in our study, BMI was also assessed and was found 23.2 ± 4.1m/kg 2 for group A, 23.1 ± 3.4m/kg 2 in group B and 22.1 ± 4.5m/kg 2 group C. The BMI from the present study was higher compared to another study in which BMI was found for group A was 20.0±2.7, group B 19.5±2.1 and Group C 19.8±3.0.…”

Assessment of the Cervical Spine Range of Motion After the Use of the Saunders Traction Device in Different Positioning of the Upper Extremities

“…The patients who are subjected to the therapy are frequently asked to relax, which often leads to their falling asleep [11,23]. It is difficult here to agree with the methodology recommending performing the traction in a sitting position, in which the very act of maintaining the body's upright position requires appropriate muscle tone [12,18,19]. The position suggested in the research performed was inspired, among others, by the fact that while resting, a lot of people adopt the position in which the hands are placed under the head.…”

“…Among the procedures used in the therapy of spinal pain syndromes, one of the most frequently recommended is cervical traction [11]. Thanks to a deloading of the spine, and as a consequence, the relaxing of the tensed paravertebral structures, the decompression of the irritated nerve roots as well as improvement in the circulation within the vertebral artery, and as a consequence, increased statokinetic efficiency, occur [12,13]. The methods of performing the traction are varied (Peake 2005, Myśliwiec 2010).…”

“…Diversity may be also noticed in reference to the suggested force of the traction [6,15,18] as well as the patient's position. Some researchers indicate the possibility to perform the traction in a sitting position [12,18,19], whereas others claim that cervical traction should be always performed in the supine position [6,11,14,15].…”

Intradiscal Pressure Changes during Manual Cervical Distraction: A Cadaveric Study

“…Raney et al [53] used traction forces of 23.2lbs (103 N), Young et al [46] used 35lbs (156 N), Fater and Kernozek [38] used 13.6 Kg (133 N), Tsai et al [54] used 10%–30% of body weight (47 N–141 N), and Forbush et al [45] used traction forces of 9–13 kg (88 N–128 N). Young et al used 5lbs (22 N) as a sham traction force for their control group [46].…”