Traction Forces
Another means of differentiating whether the source of
pain originates in a disc or from some other source is that
TRACTION can transiently relieve disc pain.
In muscle tears, "sprains," or inflammatory arthritis
of a joint, the isolated act of traction, in and of itself,
will induce pain. TRACTION in the presence of a disc herniation
will noticeably reduce the most severe component of the
pain--the hydraulic or mechanical pressure induced component
caused by the herniating or prolapsing material pushing
against the ligamentous peripheral annulus, the capsule,
or the posterior longitudinal ligament.
 In
keeping with the balloon analogy used before to describe
compressive forces, one needs to understand an equally important
decompressive force that can act upon a disc. That force
is mediated through TRACTION. One can imagine what would
happen to a liquid filled balloon that has been glued to
the vertebral bodies similar to the manner in which the
disc is anatomically secured in the natural condition. When
the vertebral bones are separated along the vertical axis
(or in other words, pulled apart along their longitudinal
axis, superiorly and inferiorly), as would occur when a
person hangs or is put in traction, the contents and periphery
of the balloon would move centrally due to the negative
pressure generated and the tension placed on the balloon's
walls. Likewise, in the natural mechanics of the disc, when
TRACTION is applied the disc contents are both drawn by
central negative pressure from the relative vacuum created
as well as pushed centrally by tension-generated inward
directed pressure as the peripheral ligamentous structures
are stretched and tightened.
A dilemma arises, however, in that,
before one can solve the mechanical problem of disc pain,
a means must be found to convincingly and precisely identify
and define the pain as originating from a mechanical problem
then devise a means to insure that the mechanical component
of the pain is truly no longer acting. The following Chapter
on DIAGNOSING DISC DISEASE
deals with how that is accomplished.
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Further Reading:
Spinal Anatomy
Directional Terminology
Structural Anatomy
Functional Anatomy
Pathological Anatomy
Disc Hydraulics / Mechanics
Compression Forces
Correlation
of Mechanical Anatomy with Disc Pain
Traction Forces
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