Lumbar traction: its effect on respiration

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of lumbar traction on inspiratory vital capacity (IVC), tidal volume (TV), and respiratory rate (fb). Using an 8-L recording spirometer, we measured the above values on 30 healthy volunteers during three conditions--lying supine, lying supine with a traction garment applied, and lying supine with the traction garment and a distractive force applied. The differences in IVC, TV, and fb among the three conditions were examined by using an analysis of variance for repeated measures followed by a Tukey test. Statistically significant differences were found for IVC, TV, and fb among the three conditions (p less than .001). The results indicated that IVC and TV were lowest and fb was highest when the distractive force was applied to the traction garment. We suggest that when lumbar traction is used for patients who have respiratory disease, the patients should be observed closely for signs of respiratory distress during the first few treatments.