The therapeutic use of manual or mechanical tension created by a pulling force to produce a combination of distraction and gliding to relieve pain and increase tissue flexibility. Indications for traction therapy include, but are not limited to, decreased sensation that temporarily improves with manual traction, increased muscle tone that is reduced with manual traction, extremity pain or tingling that is temporarily relieved with manual traction, spinal nerve root impediment due to bulging, herniated or protruding disc, and muscle spasms that are causing nerve root impingement and general hypomobility of lumbar or cervical spine regions. Electric traction units exert a pulling force through a rope with various halters and straps. Paraffin is a means of delivering heat, especially to areas that are difficult to heat with anything but a liquid medium, i.e. hands and feet. Paraffin bath can be used for subacute, chronic traumatic, and inflammatory conditions.
All jewelry is removed prior to treatment.
The area to be treated is washed and examined for temperature sensation and skin integrity then the patient dips the extremity into the paraffin. During the treatment, layers of paraffin build up on the area being treated and the paraffin is allowed to harden. At the conclusion of the treatment, the paraffin is pealed off and the therapist may do massage or have the patient do stretching exercises to the area that was treated. The sound waves when applied to human tissue are absorbed by the various tissues with the production of heat. Ultrasound does penetrate heat into human tissues deeper that any other heat modality, 4-6 cm.