Comparison of the Effectiveness of Traditional Motorized Traction and Non-surgical Spinal Decompression Therapy Added to Conventional Physiotherapy in Low Back Pain

Abstract

Background: There are limited number of studies comparing non-surgical spinal decompression with other treatment options such as conventional motor traction in the treatment of low back pain caused by lumbar discopathy. This retrospective study aimed to compare the effectiveness of these treatments. Methods: Retrospective data of patients who had physical therapy in our clinic with the diagnosis of lumbar dyscopathy were reviewed. Demographic datas, duration of their symptoms, physical examination findings, lumbosacral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports, method and duration of treatment and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) results were recorded. Results: A total of 160 patients met the inclusion criteria. Their mean age was 44.6±12.4 (range 21-65) years, 57.5% (n=92) was female, and 42.5% (n=68) was male. There were no differences between the conventional physiotherapy, motorized traction, and spinal decompression groups in terms of age, duration of symptoms, and the number of sessions (p>0.05). In both three groups, the mean scores of VAS and ODI were significantly decreased in the pre-and post-treatment comparisons (p<0.005). The rates of change in VAS and ODI were higher in the traction group and spinal decompression group compared to the conventional treatment (p<0.005). Conclusion: In patients with subacute and chronic lumbar dyscopathies, motorized traction and spinal decompression treatments added to conventional treatment were found to be more effective than conventional treatment alone. The results of spinal decompression and conventional motorized traction treatments appear to be similar. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier number of the study is NCT05617924. Keywords: Low back pain, intervertebral disc, traction, decompression