Abstract
The newly developed cervical lordotic curve-controlled traction (C-LCCT) appears to be an ideal method to improve the treatment outcome in patients with cervical intervertebral disc disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the treatment outcomes of C-LCCT including the functional and morphological changes of the cervical intervertebral disc compared to traditional traction (TT) with a randomized controlled trial design. A total of 40 patients with cervical intervertebral disc disease at the C5/6 level confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging were recruited and assigned to either the C-LCCT group or the TT group. The comprehensive health status changes of the patients were recorded using pain and functional scores (Visual Analogue Scale, Oswestry Disability Index) and morphological changes (cervical lordosis, cervical central canal area) before and after the traction treatment. Both groups showed a significant improvement in pain scores after traction (p < 0.05). The functional score and morphological changes improved significantly after treatment in the C-LCCT group. However, there was no significant improvement in the TT group (p < 0.05). The C-LCCT showed significant pain, functional, and morphological improvement compared to TT. C-LCCT could be effective in improving the treatment outcomes of the traction technique in patients with cervical intervertebral disc disease.
Highlights
Cervical traction has often been used as a conservative method to treat patients with neck pain in clinical settings [1]
The purpose of our study was to compare the clinical and morphological changes after application of cervical lordotic curve-controlled traction (C-LCCT) and TT in patients diagnosed with cervical intervertebral disc disease
The severity of the cervical disc disease was measured prior to inclusion based on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Cobb angle on a lateral view of cervical spine using X-ray and central canal area using cervical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Summary
Cervical traction has often been used as a conservative method to treat patients with neck pain in clinical settings [1]. A variety of theories in previous reports have suggested the positive effects of the traction technique [2,3,4,5]. It increases circulation in the cervical blood vessels by stretching the paraspinal muscles and ligaments and facilitates muscle relaxation. It decreases nerve root compression by distracting the vertebrae and expanding the intervertebral foramen [6,7]. Public Health 2019, 16, 2162; doi:10.3390/ijerph16122162 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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