Relationship Between Therapist Body Weight and Manual Traction Force on the Cervical Spine

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a correlation exists between therapist's body weight and the amount of force they exert on the cervical spine when using a manual traction technique. Thirty-four subjects were weighed and then performed three repetitive traction maneuvers using a mannequin head attached to a tension dynamometer. The average force produced by these trials was divided by the subject's body weight to determine the ratio between these two factors, expressed as a percentage. The results indicated a positive correlation between therapist body weight and traction force which was significant at the 0.01 level. The mean traction force exerted by subjects was equivalent to approximately one-half their body weight (49%). This finding provides a more accurate means for documenting the amount of force applied to an individual's cervical spine when using manual traction techniques. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1989;10(10):408-411.