Unilateral lumbar traction.

Unilateral lumbar traction has been theorized to be superior to bilateral lumbar traction in certain cases. Many patients who cannot tolerate bilateral lumbar traction are comfortable with this method. It enables the physical therapist to administer lumbar traction to patients with protective scoliosis who would otherwise be unable to tolerate treatment. Although the theory behind the treatment seems sound, very little unilateral lumbar traction is used clinically because of problems with patient positioning and adaptability of available equipment. This paper described a technique of effectively administering unilateral lumbar traction. The technique involves a heavy-duty lumbar traction harness, with bilateral pelvic straps, that can be used for conventional lumbar traction. It is constructed in such a way that when only one side of the pelvic harness is coupled to the traction source, a stronger force is transferred to that side of the spine. Although separation occurs on both sides of the spine, greater separation and stretching is achieved on the side of the pull.