A Study on the Effectiveness of Manual Mulligan Traction Compared to Intermittent Electrical Traction in Patients with Cervical Spondylosis

Abstract

Cervical traction is a variety of practicing methods depending on the pathology being treated. The established effectiveness in cervical spondylosis of these different methods makes it a useful tool for physiotherapy practitioners. However, its role in cervical spondylosis is uncertain. Comparing manual Mulligan traction and intermittent electrical traction would provide information of great importance to the scientific community on the use of cervical traction in patients with cervical spondylosis. The purpose of the present study is to find out and compare the effectiveness of manual Mulligan traction versus intermittent electrical traction on pain, range of motion (ROM) and functional disability in patients with cervical spondylosis. A total of 30 subjects with cervical spondylosis were selected and screened for inclusion and exclusion criteria. Initially, the pain intensity was evaluated using the Numerical Pain Rating scale (NPRS). The active ROM of cervical extension and cervical Lt/Rt rotation was measured with inch tape and functional disability by using the scale of the neck disability index (NDI). Participants were then allocated into two A&B groups. Group A (N=15) was given manual Mulligan traction with interferential therapy (IFT) and isometric neck exercise, and group B (N=15) was given intermittent electrical traction with IFT and isometric neck exercise. Group A showed significant improvements in NPRS (Z=9.77, P=0.002), NDI (t=2.76, P=0.010), ROM of cervical extension (t=7.26, P=0.026) and cervical left rotation (t=2.31, P=0.029) when compared to group B, but the level of improvement in cervical right rotation was insignificant (t=1.89, P=0.07). Hence it is concluded that manual Mulligan traction and intermittent electrical traction are effective in reducing pain, improving cervical ROM and functional performance in cervical spondylosis. However the subject who received the manual Mulligan traction with IFT and isometric neck exercise showed better improvement in reducing pain, improving cervical ROM and functional performance than subject who received the intermittent electrical traction.