metanalysis of studies shows positive effects of cervical traction.
Phys Ther. 2018 Jan 5. doi: 10.1093/physth/pzy001. [Epub ahead of print]
Cervical Radiculopathy: Effectiveness of Adding Traction to Physical Therapy. A
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Pillastrini P
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29315428
Data Synthesis:
“Five studies met the inclusion criteria. Mechanical traction had a significant effect on pain at short- and intermediate-terms (g = -0.85; 95% CI = -1.63 to -.06 and g = -1.17; 95% CI = -2.25 to -0.10, respectively) and significant effects on disability at intermediate term (g = -1.05;95%CI = -1.81 to -0.28). Manual traction had significant effects on pain at short- term (g = – 0.85; 95% CI = -1.39 to -0.30)”