Home cervical traction: evaluation of alternate equipment.

Overhead intermittent cervical traction is often utilized to control the symptoms of cervical radiculopathy associated with osteoarthritis. The long-term home use of presently available counterweight systems has often presented problems including: (1) lack of patient compliance, (2) difficulty with application by elderly or debilitated patients, (3) tensing of both the cervical paraspinalis and upper extremity muscles while maneuvering the counterweights, and (4) discomfort while using the device. A prototype home pneumatic traction device was developed, which has many of the advantages of the expensive hydraulic units in common use in physical therapy departments.