Traction Chair Therapy · St. Louis · Regen.MD physiotherapy
Traction Chair Therapy:
a gentle stretch for a guarded spine
The traction chair is a reclining seat running a preset series of slow, gentle spinal stretches that run while you lean back and rest. It relieves pressure on the spine and coaxes muscles that have guarded since your injury into letting go.
This one runs only on a physician’s written order, at the intensity that order specifies.
What is traction chair?
A reclining seat running a preset series that lengthens your spine, then eases off, again and again while you lean back.
What it does for you
Gentle stretching, repeated, takes pressure off the spine and settles muscles that have spent weeks bracing.
Its role around regenerative treatment
A spine that is less guarded moves better and accepts strength work sooner. That strength is the foundation any spine procedure is built on.
The sensation, moment to moment
An unhurried lengthening and letting go along the spine. It opens at the gentlest level, steps up gradually, and never goes past what your physician ordered. Expect a technician check at minute two and another at the midpoint.
When this treatment is off the table
- A fracture your physician has not yet cleared
- Osteoporosis
- Rheumatoid arthritis affecting the neck
- Numbness or weakness that is worsening
- Pregnancy
- Spine surgery in the recent past
Your technician reads the safety questions aloud at every visit, and any change in your answers goes to the physician before a treatment starts. You may call a stop whenever you like.
Time involved
Budget about 15 minutes. The order sets the clock, not the machine.
What to remember
- Gentlest level first; small steps up.
- Pulling sensation yes, pain no.
- New numbness or tingling? Say so on the spot.
Show us you have it: Before you go, say the exact words you would use to halt the chair. If a point is fuzzy, say so and we walk through it again with you.
Related reading: PRP for degenerative disc and facet pain.
The rest of the treatment menu
- Cervical decompression table
- Clinical laser
- Hot or cold packs
- Shockwave for tendons
- TENS in the clinic
- Vibration platform
Where this fits: the Regen.MD physiotherapy program, physician-directed rehab paired with our regenerative care. A physician must be in the building and reachable within moments before any treatment begins.