How do cervical traction devices work?

Cervical traction devices are designed to stretch and decompress the cervical spine, or neck, by utilizing mechanical tension. They work by creating tension by creating a pulling force that creates distraction and a gliding effect on the vertebrae. It helps relieve pain by separating the vertebrae, increasing the flexibility of tissues, and relieving pressure on the discs and nerves in the cervical spine.

There are many different types of cervical traction devices, but most consist of having a harness around the head connected to a system of ropes, pulleys, and weights to provide the pulling or distraction force. Other types will utilize air pressure, springs, or the weight of the head to attain the pulling action.

The person is placed in either a sitting position or laying on their back, depending on the mechanism. Once the patient is comfortable and the harness is attached appropriately, the device is adjusted to the appropriate amount of force depending on what the goal of treatment is. The patient is then asked to remain still or perform exercises directed by a medical professional. One type that we use in our clinic is called a Cranial Cradle. It is different than most types in that it does not use a pulling force but rather gravity and the weight of the head to simulate the pull we, as therapists, apply for distraction.

These devices can be used to treat a variety of issues, including neck pain, herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, and cervical radiculopathy. According to recent studies, the greatest benefit is for people with cervical radiculopathy who are experiencing pain in the arm or hand that has not responded to other treatments.

Are cervical traction devices safe to use?

They are safe to use at home but should always be performed under the care of a qualified healthcare professional, such as a physical therapist or doctor. Improper use or incorrect settings of the pull can lead to injury or the exacerbation of existing symptoms. Use of the Cranial Cradle is another safe option because the only requirement is that the person can tolerate lying on their back with their head supported by the device.

Who should use cervical traction devices and who shouldn't?

People with neck pain, herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, or cervical radiculopathy can benefit from using cervical traction. As mentioned above, it has the best response with people experiencing arm pain due to cervical radiculopathy.

The clinical practice guidelines for cervical traction include those who are 55 or older, have a positive shoulder abduction test (meaning they hold their arm over their head, which provides traction or relief of the nerves in the arm), have a positive median nerve tension test, have improved symptoms from a neck distraction test done by a medical practitioner, and have a positive Spurling’s test (where a patient bends their head to the side where their arm pain is and the PT or doctor gently applies a downward force that increases their symptoms).

There are people not appropriate for cervical traction. Those include people who have certain diseases or structural issues, including tumors, malignancy, infection of the spine, inflammation of the spine, or rheumatoid arthritis; vascular issues such as vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI); fractures or recent sprains or strains in the neck less than two weeks old; mechanical fusion or instrumentation in the cervical spine; osteoporosis; and pregnancy.

Why have cervical traction devices become so popular recently?

I think these devices have risen in popularity due to the increases in neck pain and postural changes caused by our increasingly sedentary lifestyle. As a society, we have transitioned more to occupations requiring sitting and using computers and cell phones for long periods. This leads to what people have affectionately termed "tech neck." When we engage in these activities and positions for long periods, our body adapts and leads to postural changes.

These include a forward head, rounded shoulders, and increased kyphosis (rounding) of the thoracic spine or upper back. This leads to tightening in the chest muscles, upper back and shoulders, back of the neck, and underneath the skull. In addition, there is lengthening and weakening of muscles in the front of the neck and stress on the joints of the neck and upper back. All these factors combined can lead to neck pain, and people are looking for options to alleviate it.

What should our readers know about cervical traction devices and how they may benefit?

People should know that this is a tool they can use to assist in alleviating their symptoms, but it is not a cure. Combining cervical traction with exercise and proper posture and ergonomics will help correct the postural changes I mentioned before. It is important to remember that our bodies are meant to move.

If you are sitting at a computer for work or for long periods, make sure to shift your position about every 20 to 30 minutes and to get up and walk around for five minutes every hour or two. Having good ergonomics in your equipment is crucial. Make sure your monitor is at head level to avoid leaning your head forward; adjust the height of your chair so your knees are slightly lower than your hips; and adjust your armrests so the elbows are at 90 degrees. In addition, try to bring your phone up to head level to avoid craning your neck and back when using it for extended periods.

Tips for using cervical traction devices: Combining exercise and proper posture for optimal relief from neck pain.

Along with the use of cervical traction and changes in work or home technology stations, retraining the muscles to help support the postural changes is crucial. Exercises that can assist include neck and upper back mobility for the joints and stretching for the tight or short muscles. These can include chin tucks, which also work on strengthening, mobility, and stretching depending on how you are doing them; cat and cow and thread the needle are good mobility exercises.

Effective stretching and strengthening exercises to improve neck and shoulder mobility and flexibility.

Stretching can include your chest muscles, such as the pectoralis minor and major, along with the diaphragm, and the muscles of the upper neck and shoulders, including the scalenes, upper trapezius, and levator scapulae. After performing those, you can follow them up with strengthening of the scapular muscles such as the rhomboids, middle and lower trapezius, and serratus anterior to assist in maintaining the changes produced from the mobility exercises and increasing the flexibility of the muscles through stretching.

Get your cranial cradle or pneumatic cervical traction unit for home here...

See what PubMed  has to say about home cervical traction.

Are you a local of Austin | Westlake Hills suffering from neck pain, cervical radiculopathy, degenerative disc disease, etc.?

Give us a call at 512-215-4227 to set an appointment with our physical therapist.

People are looking for home remedies for low back pain because 4 out of 5 Americans suffer from low back pain. 

My name is Dr. Danny Masters, and I am a Physical Therapist at Core Therapy and Pilates.

Today I am going to discuss and review the article put out by the Harvard Medical School and Harvard Health Publishing on Home Remedies for low back pain . This is not a prescription or substitute for medical diagnosis.

How prevalent is low back pain in America?

As discussed in the article, 80% or 4/5 Americans will experience low back pain at some point throughout their life. This can occur more predominantly as we age due to changes in our bones and joints

What are the most common causes of low back pain?

This can be due to degeneration of the discs, which help support and provide cushion for the vertebrae, or they can protrude and compress nerves running from the spinal column causing pain down the Leg. When this affects the sciatic nerve, it may causes symptoms in your buttocks and leg called Sciatica.

As mentioned by the article, the more common reason for back pain is a sprain, which affects the joints, or a strain, which affects the muscles. This can be caused by overuse, increased activity you are not used to doing, excessive lifting or an accident.

Normally, the best solution is to wait and see if the pain subsides on its own, but if it lasts more than three to four days then it is time to seek professional treatment from a physical therapist.

Start with these home remedies for low back pain.

Per the article, here are some simple home remedies you can use to help alleviate the pain. Once again, if these are not effective or with certain diagnoses, expert help may be needed.

Ice and heat: 

Ice is effective in the first 48 hours to help reduce pain and decrease inflammation. Then, after 48 hours, heat can be used to increase blood flow to the area and relax the muscles. This is only effective in the first week of the injury.

Limit Bed rest: 

As discussed, this was a popular treatment for a long time, but has since been shown by research to not be effective and can increase the time it takes to heal. The recommendation is to relatively rest, meaning to remain active and continue to move without increasing pain. Using bed rest can be helpful for severe back pain, particularly with sitting or standing, but limit it to only a few hours per day.

Physical Activity: 

Exercise is great for treating injuries and helping to prevent injuries in the future and improve your ability to function in everyday life. Who can seek a health professional, such as a PT, who can develop a specific treatment protocol and program to address your specific needs to further improve your aerobic capacity, strength and endurance of your muscles, and increase your flexibility.

Complimentary therapies to help low back pain.

The Article also mentions other complementary therapies that can assist as well:

Acupuncture: which uses a thin needle to at precise locations in the body to improve energy flow in the body or another technique done by PT called dry needling which can assist in relaxing the muscles with use of a needle in precise points in the muscle.

Spinal manipulation or mobilizations, which can be done by PTs or chiropractors to assist in improve spinal alignment and joint movement or mobility.

Therapeutic massage by a PT or massage therapist to relaxing aching and tight muscles

And movement therapies such as yoga, tai chi, or what we perform at CORE with Pilates to help strengthen and stretch your back and core muscles.

Per the article, the evidence on these remedies is mixed, but usually the best outcome is to use a combination of this home treatments and to seek professional help if the symptoms are unchanged or continue to persist.

How to book a physical therapy evaluation in Westlake Hills, Austin, Texas.

Call 512.215.4227 to schedule a physical therapy appointment with one of our back pain physical therapy specialist at CORE Therapy & Pilates in Westlake Hills | Austin, Texas.

Check out this blog on cleaning the house without back pain.

Learn more about low back pain HERE.

Caleb here is having, he just recently had some pain in his arm and is not sure what's going on?

What we're going to do right now since it's an acute injury is we're going to help with decreasing the inflammation. 

So what I'm going to do first is elevate the limb here so I'm going to put it like this and then just relax your arm here.

Good, now... So first I'm going to put some of this oil, and cream on here just going to do a lighter coat here now. How's this feel? Okay? It's mainly on the inside, like right here, okay... top, right there.

Got it, okay. Okay, so with his arm elevated like this, the muscles will be on slack, which means that it's relaxed. There are a couple different techniques using this cup. So I'm going to squeeze it first and then press it to get the pressure and then I'm just gonna slide back and forth. This is to work on getting that inflammation to calm down.

So what it's doing is putting pressure on the skin and it's getting the fluid as you can see the skin pops up here in the cup. It is helping remove that inflammation in the area. There's another technique where you do some pumps. So I pump on and then I pump off, pump on, and pump off.

So what this is doing is it's using your venous system, which is your veins, which is to get the blood flowing. The venous system takes all the blood and inflammation and starts pumping it back towards your heart. Basically decreasing that pooling of blood which is swelling and inflammation... good... good...

Does it hurt Caleb? A little bit... but it looks good and feels good... So this treatment takes between two and five minutes and there shouldn't be any bruising. You won't have any of those cupping marks that you might have seen during the Olympics like on Michael Phelps or the other swimmers when the session is over.

When the treatment's over you do what's called aftercare. So you do some rubbing to help clear out the blood and the inflammation and get all those histamines out. Now Caleb, go ahead and sit up here for me.

You're going to do just wrist movements here so also getting those muscles to help get those veins pumping all the blood out of the affected area

Go ahead and do 5 - 10 reps...

Call 512-215-4227 to book a cupping therapy session.

Read more about Cupping.

What is Cupping? 

Cupping is the use of these cups that can be made about of different materials. So, there’s rubber, there’s plastic and there’s also glass. And, so what they are utilized for is to help with restrictions in your tissues.

It can work on your fascial which tissues that runs in between structures such as your muscles. It can help lengthen your muscles and it can also help with bringing blood flow to the area. So, things that it’s good for treating.

If you have some places that is inflamed or swollen, or you have what’s called lymphedema. Cupping can be good to help decrease that inflammation, that swelling, that lymphedema in that limb.

What’s it’s also good for is promoting healing process. 

If you have tissues that is slowly healing, you can… It’ll bring blood to the area. Now, having blood come to the area is important because one, it brings oxygen and nutrients but then, it also helps clear out all the debris, all the histamines that kind a caused chronic inflammation.

It can be good for things that are like slow healing. But it’s also… It can also work mechanically in tissues. So that means that it can change the length of the fascia, it can change…

It can help with stiffness in tissues and it can also help with tightness and stiffness and lengthening shorten muscles. So, it can be good for… Let’s say, a lot of people have really tight calves or really tight hamstrings. So, you can use this set-up with lengthening them.

But it also can do a neuro… But it has a neurological component too. So, people that have chronic pain, it can help desensitize your system to that pain.

What it does is you can start putting the cups in an area that’s not painful and really get your body used to feeling different sensations. Because with a lot of people with over high levels of chronic pain, their nervous system are really heightened.

What this does is to kind a helps calm your nervous system down.

But it can also work on… It can also with people that have just kind a chronic low-level pain. Like, a lot of low back pain. So, you can provide a kind a stimulus that’s painful and that will help bring your naturally occurring opioids and enkephalins to the system to help relieved that pain.

So, these are just some of the reasons to use cupping and it can be a good add on treatment to the things that you’re already doing in PT.

Call 512.215.4227 to get started with our physical therapist at CORE Therapy & Pilates in Westlake Hills / Austin, Texas.

What is Physical Therapy and what's the difference between PT and other healthcare providers?

As Dr. Andy discussed with PT we do a thorough evaluation to figure out different deficits in your movement and your strength and flexibility. 

From that, we then do individualized treatment programs and a specific plan of care in order to address those deficits... if it is in strength, if it is in flexibility, or any of the other kinds of things like that and then what we really do is we focus on function. 

Improving how you do things in daily life, getting you back to doing the things that you love, like exercising, playing sports, playing with your kids, all of that. So it's really all about getting you out of pain, improving all of your deficits, and then improving your ability to live.  

Call 512-215-4227 to book your physical therapy evaluation with our team...

I have scoliosis. Should I do stretches? Watch this video to find out more. Can you do me a favor and subscribe to our channel by clicking the button you see below to get notified when all of our content comes out?

We provide content on health and wellness, physical therapy, pilates, and Gyrotonic exercises. So why should you do stretches for scoliosis? By the end of this video, you will find out the reasons why it's important to do stretches to help with your scoliosis.

My name is Dr. Danny Masters and I'm a Physical Therapist. I can't wait to help you learn why it's important to do stretches with scoliosis.

What is Scoliosis?  

First off, what is scoliosis? Scoliosis is a curvature in your spine that happens in the lower back, the upper back or it can occur in both. So what it means is that there's a curve in the frontal plane. What that means is when you look at someone's back when they're either bending over or you can look at an x-ray, you'll see a curve in either the two locations that I talked about... so the low back, the middle of the back or it could be in both. 

Now along with having a curvature in the spine, there's also a rotational component. So that means that it's turned to one side or the other along with the curve.

Why is this important? 

So it's important because with these changes you're not having the proper alignment not only in your back but also in your pelvis so and that can lead to changes in muscle length and can lead to pain. 

On the side where the curve happens, so on this side or what we call the convex side, so the muscles on that side of the spine become overly lengthened which can lead to decreased strength, and then you can also get your pelvis raised on that side and you can also have your ribs jutted outward like this.

Now on the other side of the curve, so on the inside of the curve or what we call the concave side, the muscles can become shortened which can also lead to decreased strength but you can also have a lowering of the hip and the pelvis and then your ribs are rotated inward.

So these are all important because when all of these muscles when all of these changes happen, like they shorten or lengthen muscles, the changing in strength, the changing in the position of your pelvis and your hips, your spine and your ribs... this can lead to a lot of problems including breathing issues, pain, difficulties with walking because your body has to compensate for these things which can lead to overuse.

Why is it important to do stretching with these? 

So on that concave side that we talked about where the muscles are shortened, it's important to do those stretches. One to help get the muscles in the proper position but from doing those stretches then you can help realign everything.

So that'll help realign your pelvis, it'll help with getting the proper length in both sides of the muscles, getting the rib cage more in the proper position so that you can assist with breathing, with getting your muscles in a better position to be strengthened and helping to decrease your pain.

Now, after doing all of these stretches... so like I said it can help with pain, it can help with your breathing, and it can help with getting your body in a proper position so that when you're doing everyday activities like walking or things that you need to do like putting away groceries and lifting and all of that kind of stuff your muscles and your body are in a proper alignment so that you can do it without causing yourself pain.

So comment below and let me know how this video helped you. 

So you can click on our website to check out other scoliosis blogs  by our other physical therapists and by our trainers. Okay, thank you for watching. I hope this helped you a whole lot. Now, do you live in the Austin area?

Let's get you in for an evaluation, okay! You can go ahead and call 512-215-4227 to learn more...

I'm having back pain and I want to get back to playing pickleball. What are my treatment options? Watch this video to find out more.

Can you do me a favor and subscribe to our channel by clicking the button below and be notified when all of our new content comes out. We provide information on health and wellness, physical therapy, Pilates and Gyrotonic exercises.

What treatment is available after a pickleball injury?

So, from our previous video done by Dr. Andy, he talked about different ways that your back may be hurting after a pickleball injury. We're gonna explore in this video different treatment options that are available.

My name is Dr. Daniel Masters, I'm a physical therapist and I've helped many patients with low back pain getting back to doing the things that they love to do, including playing pickleball.

What are some treatment options available for treating your low back pain due to pickleball?

There are many different treatment options available, but in your depending on what stage of recovery you're in.

Acute Stage

In that first stage, or what we call the acute stage, that's very early on, you're in a lot of pain, and your back is pretty inflamed. The treatment for that is kind of is relatively resting, so not lying in bed, but doing motions that don't aggravate your back, helping with the inflammation to calm it down. So, using ice and then you can also use medications such as ibuprofen, to help with pain, and then also that inflammation as well.

Sub Acute Stage

Now once that initial stage has calmed down and your pain is starting to reduce, and you're able to move a lot better, this is called the more sub-acute stage.

This is where we try to focus on improving your how your back is moving, and your strengths. So, these can include things like performing camo exercises for mobility, and then different strengthening exercises for your core. Your inner core and then also your hips to help support your back.

Last Stage

Now lastly, after you've built up, your back pain is improved, your back is moving better your strength has improved in this kind of last stage of the recovery. Then you focus more on your mechanics and getting back to your daily activities. Related to pickleball.

A physical therapist will be able to analyze your swing, your different movements, to make sure that you're performing the proper technique, and then also addressing any restrictions that you may have, which may be causing you to overuse your back.

These can include if your hips aren't moving well if your ankles aren't moving well, a PT will be able to design a specific treatment program for you so that you can get back on the court with a lot less pain.

Comment below and let us know how this video helped you. And you can go ahead and check out our blogs on Pickleball at our website: https://therapyandpilates.com/category/pickleball/

Thank you for watching. Do you live in the Austin area? Are you having problems with low back pain or an injury from pickleball? Feel free to come in and visit us. You can call us at 512-215-4227 to learn more and to set up an initial evaluation.

I'm having dizziness in vertigo! What are my treatment options? Watch this video to find out. Can you do me a favor and subscribe to our channel by clicking the button below. We provide content on health and wellness, physical therapy, pilates, and Gyrotonic exercises. 

What treatment options are available for vertigo and dizziness? 

In my last video, I went over the differences between dizziness and vertigo. By the end of this, you will have a better understanding of the treatment options for both dizziness and vertigo.

I am Dr. Danny Masters, I'm a Physical Therapist and I can't wait to help you get over your vertigo and dizziness.

So what are some common treatment options for dizziness? 

Depending on the type or cause of your dizziness, there are several different treatment options. Some common treatment options that doctors may use are changing medications or using different medications, depending on having dizziness as a side effect from other current medications but then they also may prescribe different medications to help kind of improve to help improve the symptoms that you're having. 

While some of the treatment options that a PT will do, including me, will be retraining your body to adjust to positional changes or changes in blood flow or blood pressure along with increasing your strength and working on balance exercises as well.

What are some common treatments for vertigo?

This also depends on what is causing your vertigo. It could be from your vestibular system, which is in your inner ear, that helps with balance or it also could be caused by your central nervous system. Some common treatments that your doctor may use include medic, use of medications, flushing your inner ear, or in some cases even surgery.

While PTs will use different exercises to retrain your vestibular system or central nervous system including your head and eye movements. Exercises for gaze stability, habituation, which means retraining your body to adjust to different positions or motions and then also utilizing different balance exercises. 

PTs are also trained to perform certain maneuvers to help with BPPV which is a type of vertigo caused by benign proximal positional vertigo which is your vertigo is caused by different positions of your head and so then those are followed up by home exercises to continue to manage your symptoms after the maneuver is performed.

Go ahead and comment below and let me know how this video helped you and then you can also click on our website to view the other blogs on vertigo at www.therapyandpilates.com/category/vertigo . 

Thank you for watching. So do you live in the Austin area and are having issues with either dizziness or vertigo? Feel free to go ahead and give us a call at 512-215-4227 to learn more. Thank you and have a good one

Dizziness! Vertigo! What is the actual difference?

Are you experiencing one or the other or just simply not sure what it is? Go ahead and watch this video and you'll be able to figure out the difference between these two terms, dizziness and vertigo.

If you're watching this video and you're having any issues with feeling light-headed or dizzy or kind of off balance, this is the video for you because you're going to figure out what the actual difference is between dizziness and vertigo. 

Have you been told that you have vertigo or dizziness or you're just having problems feeling light-headed or off-balance go ahead and watch this video and I'm going to explain the differences between the two. 

My name is Dr. Danny Masters, I'm a Physical Therapist and I've helped treat many people with symptoms of dizziness and vertigo. 

So what exactly is dizziness? 

Dizziness is kind of an umbrella term that has been used frequently but things get mixed up together. It's been used to describe symptoms of vertigo and other feelings but in fact, dizziness is actually the light-headed feeling like you're about to faint or you feel you're going to pass out. Or it's seen in balance where you feel unsteady on your feet, maybe a little topsy turvy.

So there are a couple different examples of this that can happen. You change positions quickly. You can have changes of blood flow to your brain or changes in your blood pressure.

It can also be caused by side effects from different kinds of medications or you can have issues with your cardiovascular system or with your central nervous system. 

What is vertigo? 

So a lot of times people use vertigo and dizziness interchangeably but the big, main difference is with vertigo there's actually a true spinning feeling. A spinning feeling means that it can be one of two things.

One is you feel like the room or the environment is spinning. It's like you're standing up and you're looking at the ground and it's spinning and that is actually called Oscillopsia. Then there's another form where the room and the environment is stationary. It's not really moving but you feel like the room is moving. 

What are the common causes? 

Some common causes of that can be issues with your vestibular system which is the system in your inner ear that helps your balance and allows your body to know where it is in the environment. It can also be caused by some other central nervous system issues as well.

This is why it's important to get properly assessed by a trained healthcare provider, including a physical therapist, to diagnose what the issue is, dizziness or vertigo. Then be able to have the appropriate treatment plan in place.

Knowing these differences is really important. Get properly assessed by a healthcare professional to appropriately diagnose what the issue is and then go ahead and set up a specific treatment plan to target your specific symptoms and the underlying causes of either dizziness or vertigo.

If this really helped you and you gained some new knowledge of the difference between dizziness and vertigo, go ahead and comment below! Then you can go see our blog page at our website… https://therapyandpilates.com/category/vertigo/

Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video and got some good information about the differences between dizziness and vertigo.

Be on the lookout for our next video in the series but if you live in the Austin area, feel free to come in and get evaluated so we can help treat you sooner.

Call 512-215-4227 to tell us your story about dizziness or vertigo.