NCT00942227

The Value of Traction in Treatment of Lumbar Radiculopathy

The Value of Traction in Treatment of Lumbar Radiculopathy.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 3
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 120 (actual)
• Sponsor: Intermountain Health Care, Inc. · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of adding mechanical traction to standard physical therapy treatments for patients with low back pain.

Detailed description

Despite the opinions of clinical experts that patients who might benefit from traction may represent distinct sub-groups of patients, most studies have not attempted to narrow their inclusion criteria beyond loose definitions of 'acute' or 'chronic' symptoms. While these studies seem to indicate that traction interventions will be of little benefit when administered to large groups of patients without a prior attempt to select which patients are most likely to benefit, they are not sufficient to preclude the possibility that a subgroup of patients may benefit substantially from the intervention. Recent preliminary studies suggest a there exists a subgroup of patients with LBP that is likely to benefit from traction. The two primary aims of this study are: 1. Determine the validity of the previously-identified prediction criteria to identify patients highly likely to benefit from the addition of traction to a standard physical therapy intervention. 2. Compare the overall effectiveness of addition of a traction component to a standard physical therapy intervention.

Conditions

• Sciatica
• Radiculopathy
• Spinal Diseases
• Musculoskeletal Diseases
• Neuromuscular Diseases
• Intervertebral Disk Displacement

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Physical therapy rehabilitation	Extension oriented exercises. Subjects will be instructed in a progression of extension oriented exercises for the lumbar spine
OTHER	Physical therapy rehabilitation	Mechanical lumbar traction will be applied with subjects in prone utilizing 40-60% of subject's body weight to create a distraction force in the lumbar spine. Following traction, subjects will be instructed in a progression of extension oriented exercises and manual therapy to increase extension as described for the comparator group.

Timeline

• Start date: 2009-07-01
• Primary completion: 2012-12-01
• Completion: 2012-12-01
• First posted: 2009-07-20
• Last updated: 2013-01-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States