Comparative effectiveness of transverse oscillatory pressure and cervical traction in the management of cervical radiculopathy: A randomized controlled study.
Adesola Ojo Ojoawo, Ayodele Damilare Olabode
PMID 30930587WHAT IT FOUND
Transverse oscillatory pressure reduced pain faster than cervical traction or exercise alone, with significant gains by week three.
All groups improved by week six, but the manual therapy technique showed the largest early effect on pain intensity and disability.
Key findings
01Transverse oscillatory pressure significantly reduced pain intensity by week three, whereas neither cervical traction nor the control group showed a significant change from baseline at that time point.
02By week six, the transverse oscillatory pressure group had the lowest mean pain scores of all three groups, indicating it relieved pain quicker and more effectively than cervical traction or exercise alone.
03All three groups, including the exercise-only control, showed significant improvements in both pain intensity and neck disability from pre-treatment through week six.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Therapists were not blinded to the treatment allocation, and assessors were not independent, which may have introduced bias in the subjective outcome measures. The study used continuous over-the-door traction; previous reviews suggest intermittent traction may be more effective, so the traction results may not reflect optimal traction protocols. There was no long-term follow-up beyond six weeks, so it is unclear if the faster pain relief from transverse oscillatory pressure persisted or if traction caught up later. Cervical range of motion and muscle strength were not assessed, limiting the understanding of functional recovery beyond pain and self-reported disability.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest, and the study received no external funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of significant pain reduction in the traction group at week three as evidence that traction is ineffective overall. Traction did produce significant improvements by week six, and the study used continuous traction, which may be less effective than the intermittent traction often used in clinical practice.