A system for distracting a patient's hip joint, the system comprising: a surgical table comprising a table portion sized and configured to receive and support a patient and a pedestal foot sized to provide a stable support for the table portion, the table is configured to allow the table portion to tilt relative to the pedestal foot, such that the plane of the table portion surface forms an angle θ with respect to the pedestal foot, and such that the patient is tilted backward on the table portion relative to the patient's leg at an angle between 2 degrees and 20 degrees from horizontal, a table extension attachable to the table portion allowing for positioning of the patient on the distal end of the surgical table, a friction pad mounted to an upper surface of the table extension, such that the pad is placed between the patient and the table extension during use, wherein the friction pad has a coefficient of friction μ; a leg distraction system attachable to the surgical table for applying a distraction force to the patient's leg while the patient is positioned at least partially on the friction pad; wherein, for a given patient mass m, the tilting angle θ and the coefficient of friction μ of the friction pad are selected such that a frictional force F μ, defined by F μ =mg(cosθ)μ in combination with a gravitational force component resulting from the patient's mass, defined as F g =mg(sinθ), is sufficient to counteract a required or desired traction force F T, such that the counteracting forces F μ +F g and F T keep the patient in place while the traction force F T is great enough for distracting the patient's hip joint. a surgical table comprising a table portion sized and configured to receive and support a patient and a pedestal foot sized to provide a stable support for the table portion, the table is configured to allow the table portion to tilt relative to the pedestal foot, such that the plane of the table portion surface forms an angle θ with respect to the pedestal foot, and such that the patient is tilted backward on the table portion relative to the patient's leg at an angle between 2 degrees and 20 degrees from horizontal, a table extension attachable to the table portion allowing for positioning of the patient on the distal end of the surgical table, a friction pad mounted to an upper surface of the table extension, such that the pad is placed between the patient and the table extension during use, wherein the friction pad has a coefficient of friction μ; a leg distraction system attachable to the surgical table for applying a distraction force to the patient's leg while the patient is positioned at least partially on the friction pad; wherein, for a given patient mass m, the tilting angle θ and the coefficient of friction μ of the friction pad are selected such that a frictional force F μ, defined by F μ =mg(cosθ)μ in combination with a gravitational force component resulting from the patient's mass, defined as F g =mg(sinθ), is sufficient to counteract a required or desired traction force F T, such that the counteracting forces F μ +F g and F T keep the patient in place while the traction force F T is great enough for distracting the patient's hip joint.