A member asked:

Is spinal traction a good method to prevent needing to have spinal surgery?

5 doctors weighed in across 2 answers

Sometimes: Traction is a method of relieving pressure off spinal nerves that are being pinched. Traction can help relieve pain radiating into the extremities. Pinched nerves often heal over a 8 to 12 week period. Traction can be used to help with pain relief during that time and help prevent surgery. However, if the symptoms continue or there is progressive neurological compromise, surgery may be needed.

Answered 9/28/2016

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Dr. Edward Hellman answered

Specializes in Orthopedic Surgery

Varies: It varies a lot. But there are definitely a subset of patients with low back pain that seem to respond well to traction. Traction can involve simple methods such as a home inversion table to mu h more involved techniques such as a computer run traction device. Thank you for the question.

Answered 9/29/2016

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