Therapeutic traction: a review of neurological principles and clinical applications

A brief review of traction and its application as a therapeutic tool is outlined. The preliminary results obtained indicate that traction, as used in this study, along with isokinetic exercises and chiropractic manipulation, have a very positive effect on tension headaches originating from the posterior muscles in conjunction with pathomechanics of the cervical spine. A brief but pertinent review of the literature dealing with the anatomy and physiology of the muscle spindle, the muscles, the joints, the neural connections in the spinal cord and the central nervous system is presented, to provide the basic principles of the possible mechanisms underlying the therapeutic result obtained. This framework also provides the basis of a second paper, which will explore the neural control mechanisms that are intrinsic in the control of the head, eyes and cervical spine movement, with the view of utilizing these to facilitate manipulation of this region.