Your Guide to Mechanical Traction with Our Santa Barbara, CA, Chiropractor

If you’ve sustained a personal injury or are living in chronic pain, you might have heard of mechanical traction. What is it and how can it help you? Our team at Advanced Chiropractic Group in Santa Barbara, CA, answers those questions and more below.

What Is Mechanical Traction?

Traction, in general, is a therapeutic chiropractic care technique that stretches the target area to treat various neuromusculoskeletal issues. Chiropractors typically use either manual or mechanical traction, depending on the patient’s needs.

Imagine that you are suffering from chronic neck pain. With manual traction, your chiropractor will hold each side of your head while you lie on the table. Gently and slowly, the chiropractor will pull and hold that stretch.

Mechanical traction utilizes tools to provide the stretch when manual traction isn’t enough. In the case of neck pain, a strap is placed around your forehead and two sections are tightened around the sides of your neck, just enough to hold it in place. Pressure is then applied through a device, which will gently stretch your neck.

It’s natural, safe, and has been used for many years. The specifics of how it works depend on the area being treated and the table or device being used.

What Are the Benefits of Mechanical Traction Therapy?

Mechanical traction provides many benefits to patients. An important one is that the patient isn’t doing anything. This is important because when a patient is active during treatment, they are still utilizing their muscles. It can be difficult to fully treat an area if there is tension from active muscle use.

With mechanical traction, the device does all the work and typically relaxes the patient. This allows for a more comprehensive treatment that helps:

• Provide a stretch that other methods might not achieve.
• Alleviate pressure on the muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, and discs.
• Relieve nerve compression.
• Pull blood, oxygen, and healing nutrients into the treatment area.
• Improve range of motion.

These are just a few benefits of this therapeutic chiropractic care method.

What Conditions Can Mechanical Traction Treat?

Anyone with musculoskeletal pain or who has sustained a personal injury can benefit from mechanical traction, but some of the most common include:

• Sciatica
• Herniated discs
• Pinched nerves
• Degenerative disc disease
• Arthritis
• Spondylolisthesis
• Scoliosis
• Sprains and strains
• Lower back pain 

Visit Your Santa Barbara, CA, Chiropractor for Relief

No matter what type of chronic pain or injury you’re suffering from, we are dedicated to providing the safest, most effective, and most natural methods to help you live pain-free in Santa Barbara, CA. Call Advanced Chiropractic Group at (805) 681-7322 to schedule your appointment today.