Home traction

[Mouse]

Dr. Dan, back in '82 when I hurt my back (L3-4) one of the treatments was a water-filled bag attached to the bottom of the bed.

The amount of water was determined by your weight. A harness went around your hips to avoid staining your joints. This harness was attached to the water bag with 2 lines, left and right. Your butt was on a sheet of heavy plastic to avoid your ass sticking to the bottom sheet. In this way the tension was directed to your spine while you are sleeping (hopefully).

Any questions?

[Dr.Dan]

Hmmm... I've asked if such a thing exsists... and all I keep hearing is 'No'

I know my dad had something simular back in the late 70's, so I know they were around, but it looks like they (doctors) don't want people using these things anymore :(

[Mouse]

It looks like parts from INVACARE (http://www.invacare.ca/cgi-bin/imcanada/inv_catalog/prod_cat.jsp?s=0&oidOfCategory=-536879077) could allow you to build one, but you are correct about the prescription aspect of the situation.

[mitch]

My Grandmother had one of those things (she brought it from England when she came for a visit)
Hers was for a pinched nerve in the neck..
She had to sit in a chair .. I had some kind of harness that fitted over the neck/jaw area
The bag filled with water (or partially filled) was hooked over the other side of the door..
Always made me laugh... (reminded me of the hang man game)

[Lesley]

I'd try a chiropractor - a lot safer than a homemade traction device. If the device was set up and adjusted by a professional that would be fine but a do it yourself model could seriously screw up your back if everything wasn't just right

[Ken_ver_1_5]

the relief one of these devices can bring can be wonderful.
with that said I would not recommend anyone using such a
home made medical device. going to a chiropractor is not
without risk of though recognized by the medical profession
it should be used as a last resort as people have been
injured with this practis......

not much can be done once you are injured so take care
of your back. most injury is preventable.

[Lesley]

I hear this a lot but I take anything the medical profession spouts about chiropractic with a large grain of salt. Yes there have been injuries and a few fatalities worldwide but people die in hospital under medical supervision every single day. Doctors make mistakes in surgery, they misdiagnose illnesses from minor problems to cancers on a regular basis. Since I started seeing a Chiro I've heard of one death that may be attributed to a neck adjustment, the only thing that clouds the water is that the patient had high blood pressure and didn't inform her practitioner. In that time how many thousands of people have died in hospital from misdiagnoses, infections and errors? Chiropractic is not the cure all for all that ails you as some chiros would have their patients believe but letting a good chiropractor treat your back will do a lot more good in the long term than repeatedly prescribing muscle relaxants, pain killers and the like. Those too carry with them potentially deadly Sid effects. A chiropractor should never be a last resort any more than a trip to a doctor should be. Osteopaths do a lot of the same things a chiro does and are not scorned by the medical profession because MDs don't see Osteopaths as a threat to their business. A lot of MDs see Chiropractors as a direct threat to their livelihood because a lot of things they treat with an office visit and prescription a chiro can treat, especially back injuries and chronic pain.

Did you know that the US military has for several years employed chiropractors to help with the medical care of their troops? They realized that not every treatment requires a pill or surgery. Sometimes putting the spine back into alignment can make all the difference where back pain and related issues are concerned. For a lot of people a simple correction to the spine can take care of the problem, maybe not forever but when you're in pain you don't always care about forever, you care about relief right now.

I first went to a chiro on a whim, full of doubt but after a couple of weeks I was able to drop one of a group of medications I took for arthritis. A med that very commonly caused liver and kidney problems in patients. A month later I dropped another med, one that can with long term use cause blindness. I only take one drug now, rather benign in comparison to the ones I took when I started out. What the chiro did was correct problems in my spine that allowed my own immune system to better deal with the disease. Not a cure but a hell of an improvement.

I sent my ex in a few months later. He too has arthritis. He had alternating numbness and extreme pain in his left wrist. One treatment made a difference. He went for six months. Now two years later the pain hasn't come back. Again, not a cure but an improvement that didn't require adding another pill to his list of meds or surgery.

Now stepping off my soapbox


going to a chiropractor is not
without risk of though recognized by the medical profession
it should be used as a last resort as people have been
injured with this practis......

not much can be done once you are injured so take care
of your back. most injury is preventable.