Neck Pain Participant’s Perception of Traction Forces During Chiropractic Manual Cervical Distraction Available to Purchase

In this exploratory study, we measured applied traction forces during a chiropractic manual cervical distraction procedure for each of three “treatment” perceptions; (i) beginning to feel a stretch, (ii) stretch feels like it could be a treatment, and (iii) stretch definitely feels like a treatment. A single trained clinician performed manual cervical distraction procedures on 10 neck pain participants using a commercially available table that was embedded with force and motion sensors. Participants were prone on the table while manual distraction was applied with gradually increasing force. When the specified perception was experienced, the study participant depressed a hand switch. Data was summarized with descriptive statistics and plotted for graphical analysis. Point estimates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the distractive force associated with each of the 3 treatment perceptions. Mean traction forces with 95% confidence intervals, corresponding to each of the 3 perception levels were: i) beginning to feel a stretch 18.6 N (11.9–25.2 N), ii) stretch feels like it could be a treatment 25.5 N (18.3–32.6 N), and iii) stretch definitely feels like a treatment 36.2 N (26.2–46.1 N).