Traction after a fusion

[Hayden123]

has any PT ever done traction following a cervical fusion? I have a patient that his MD wants cervical traction secondary to patient has degenerative changes on the jt above the fusion with a spur that comes down and hits the plate if neck flexion....Pt had the fusion only 1 year ago...MD said xrayed and well healed...i called to ask about the traction and the contraindication after a fusion and assistant said MD wanted traction.....What to do? I am worried about this situation... MD wants traction but I was taught contraindicated. Any suggestions?

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[physiobob]

I suppose in theory as long as the traction pull is less that something that would break a fusion then it would be fine. In general you are looking to unweight the neck rather than stretch it. Perhaps look on the web for research on those forces. Pneumex do a lot of unweighted cervical traction in sitting so there might be some info on their website.

Perhaps test their resilience to it by doing manual traction in supine first and or an over the door type traction setup. All that said is traction the treatment of choice for their signs and symptoms?