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Traction units designed to apply forces from a motor through harnesses that are typically attached to the cervical or lumbar vertebrae. These devices usually consist of an electrical motor and a control unit used to generate and regulate respectively, the mechanical forces and a cord (e.g., braided nylon) that is clamped to the harness and transmits the force; adjustable spreader bars attached to the control unit are frequently used to vary the angle at which the cord applies the traction. Many powered units can be operated in several different modes, including short-term continuous (static) mode, intermittent mode in which intermittent action is automatically generated and relieved according to a preset maximum and minimum force and duration; and two more elaborate modes (used in conjunction with intermittent traction), one of which modes applies and relieves force in predetermined steps (i.e., progressive/regressive mode) while the other repeats the progressive/regressive mode in intermittent cycles (i.e., cycled mode). Powered traction units are used mainly to widen the intervertebral spaces, usually for treatment of prolapsed intervertebral disks, facet joint osteoarthritis and capsulitis, and disk protrusion and/or degenerative disk diseases. They are available in several configurations, one configuration permits either wall mounting for vertical cervical traction or table attachment for horizontal cervical and lumbar traction (i.e., universal models); another configuration allows use of the traction unit on a pedestal connected to a traction table (i.e., table-mounted models) for horizontal cervical and lumbar traction; a third configuration allows the unit to be placed on mobile carts and rolled to a table for horizontal traction or to a traction chair for vertical cervical traction.
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