If you have a broken bone or a condition affecting your muscles, neck or spine, you may find that traction is used as part of your treatment.
Traction involves the medical team applying a pulling force to the limbs, soft tissues, pelvis or spine. It can either be used to stretch a single part of the body or to separate two individual parts of the body.
More specifically, traction can be used to:
- realign and fix any bone fractures into a permanent position (a fracture is a clean break in the bone that does not break through the skin)
- treat muscle spasms (sudden, uncontrollable muscle contractions)
- rest inflamed or infected joints
- stretch the soft tissues that surround a joint and reduce pain before surgery is carried out
- correct a muscle contracture (shortening of a muscle)
- treat deformities that are caused by conditions such as scoliosis (abnormal curvature of the spine)
- reduce joint dislocations
Types of traction
There are two main types of traction that use different methods to apply the pulling force to the body or limbs. They are:
- skin traction
- skeletal traction
These are described in more detail below.
Skin traction
Skin traction uses various pieces of equipment, such as splints, adhesive bandages and braces, to apply pressure to the affected area of the body to help support it.
A pulling force is applied to the affected area of the body through the soft tissues. The soft tissues support and connect other tissues in the body. They include:
- skin
- muscles
- tendons
- blood vessels
- fat
Skeletal traction
Skeletal traction is used when a greater force needs to be placed on the traction apparatus.
The force is applied directly to the skeleton, which means that additional weight can be placed on the apparatus without damaging the surrounding soft tissues.
Equipment that is used during skeletal traction includes:
- pins
- wires
- screws
- tongs (gripping tools)
These are surgically implanted into the affected bone.
See Traction – How it is performed for more information about skin traction and skeletal traction.
