Many people with cervical spine problems choose to buy traction devices for neck traction at home. For some kinds of cervical spine problems, although neck traction can effectively treat cervical spondylosis, there will inevitably be certain risks, especially the spinal cord and nerve roots may be damaged due to improper traction angle and strength, resulting in dizziness, headache and a variety of adverse symptoms.
So it’s recommended to do neck traction under your doctor’s guide. If you like to do neck traction at home, you need to realize the dangers of neck traction. And this article will tell you which kind of dangers you will meet and how to do neck traction at home safer.
Part 1. Is cervical traction dangerous?
The answer is yes. Neck traction does have certain risks. Although neck traction is one of the effective treatments for cervical spondylosis, it can reduce the compression force on nerves, spinal cord and blood vessels, ease neck muscle spasm and fatigue, and relieve symptoms of cervical spondylosis in a short time. However, if the traction angle and strength are inappropriate, it will produce greater adverse stimulation to the cervical spine, aggravating the original disease and even causing new damage.
Part 2. What are the dangers of neck traction?
1. Spinal Cord Injury
If the neck traction method is incorrect, and there are problems with the traction angle and strength, it may cause the normal spinal cord tissue to suffer from greater traction and leads to injury.
2. Nerve damage
Incorrect neck traction treatment will irritate the vertebral arteries in the cervical spine, resulting in symptoms of dizziness, headache and severe cervical pain. If the sympathetic nerve in the neck is damaged, the nerve root will be damaged as well, and there will be various symptoms such as sweating, night sweats and palpitation.
3. Ligament laxity
Frequent over-traction may loosen the facet joint capsule and surrounding ligaments. The stability of the cervical vertebra joint may be reduced gradually, and there may be sequelae such as cervical vertebra calcification and hyperplasia.
4. Other hazards
Some cervical pain is not suitable for traction therapy. If neck traction is performed, the intervertebral disc and lumbar spinal canal will be significantly squeezed, and in some cases, it may cause paralysis of the lower limbs, and the respiratory and circulatory systems will also be affected. There may be symptoms of dyspnea, and even life-threatening.
Part 3. Who is forbidden to do neck traction?
The following people or those who meet the following characteristics should not do cervical traction:
- Cervical spondylosis with severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
- Patients with severe degenerative changes of the cervical spine.
- Patients with severe osteoporosis and vertebral artery stenosis.
- Under the age of 18.
- Patients with cervical spine fractures and spondylolisthesis.
- Sympathetic cervical spondylosis
- Cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type
- Atlantoaxial joint dislocation
- Cervical myelopathy
- Cervical spondylolisthesis
Part 4. How to do neck traction at home safely
Among all kinds of neck traction devices, neck pillow might the most convenient and safest one. You just need to lie down and put your neck on the neck pillow to do the traction. The pillow is so compact that you can carry the pillow to continue do the neck traction daily when you go out.
The bottom line
When suffering from cervical spondylosis, patients are often eager to cure the disease, mainly due to the severe symptoms of cervical spondylosis, it will repeatedly cause discomfort such as pain in the neck. At this time, it may be recommended to use neck traction therapy, but you should also pay attention to the dangers of cervical traction.
