Ensayo clínico controlado del efecto de la tracción en el tratamiento de la hernia de disco lumbar

Abstract

Background. Only 3% of cases of lumbar disc herniation require surgery. High incidence of pain recurrence, and prolonged recovery period with grate functional impairment have been observed. Lumbar traction has been use in rehabilitation treatment, but it´s efficacy has not been established. Objective. To establish efficacy of lumbar traction in the treatment of pain and functional impairment of patients with lumbar disc herniation. Materials and methods. Randomized clinical trial. Patients with lumbar disc herniation L4-l5 and L5-S1. Both groups underwent physical therapy with hot packs, electrotherapy and therapeutic exercise for 20 sessions. Experimental group had traction with 50% of bodyweight and control group had sham traction with 10% of bodyweight. Statistical analysis was done with central tendency, t student, Pearson’s correlation and ANCOVA. Results. 44 patients concluded treatment (26 control and 18 experimental). Both groups showed improvement after initial treatment. Only control group had a statistical significative improvement for lumbar and sciatica pain. Covariance analysis showed that significative differences were influenced by body mass index and initial pain levels (control group had a higher perception of pain initial than experimental group). Conclusion. Lumbar traction did not demonstrate to be effective for initial treatment of pain and functional impairment condition by lumbar disc herniations, and it is influenced by body mass index and initial perception of pain.