I'd love to hear more about people's results with traction, especially those with a good outcome from surgery. My PT used manual traction, just using her hands with me supine (lying on my back). This doesn't involve any measurement of pounds applied, nor is there any way it could, so I'm curious about how the OP's PT is applying traction.
My experience is that after the traction, I would feel "high" for awhile like I'd taken some really nice drug: not for long though, less than an hour. My head would feel "floaty" and the dynamics of my body's motion would feel altered. The first couple of times I had it done, I slept much longer than usual the following night: 5-6 hours at a stretch, whereas I usually awaken every 2-3 hours at best.
I'm now doing home traction, with an over-the-door bag-of-water device which feels different than the manual traction. I'm using a maximum of 20 lbs for 20 mins (as specified by my doctor). It involves greater pounds of distraction pressure but feels less effective. Perhaps this is the result of being upright instead of supine? I still get the floaty head feeling but that could be rebound from releasing my head from the harness. Other effects are: better posture, less stiffness in joints, particularly in my hands (hand stiffness was one of my first symptoms and has persisted over the past 26 years), but also in my back and legs. My walking feels smoother, faster and more coordinated afterward. The chronic tightness in my sacral area is released. Overall, I feel less uncomfortable, but that's a fairly subtle change. Often there's a notable drop in my heart rate from the 80s to the 70s, but I don't have severe POTS like some (standing HR is usually in the 80's, sitting 60's, lying down 50's and regulated by clonidine, which reduces HR and BP). I don't notice any significant change in my energy level but I'm doing it before bed.
Anyone else willing to share their experiences with traction?
