Low Friction Traction for Cervical Spine Dislocation: A Clinical Approach

To reduce the magnitude of the force applied to the skull for treating acute cervical spine dislocation, we developed a method of skeletal traction based on reducing friction forces under the patient's head. The objective is to lower the complications related to skull traction for cervical dislocation.
Traction force was applied to the skulls of five patients with cervical fracture dislocations. A difference in friction interface between the patient's head and shoulder girdle was created.
The traction weight required to reduce the vertebral dislocation was significantly lower than an expected minimal traction weight in the commonly used techniques (p= 0.013).
The presented method permits an effective and safe reduction of the dislocated cervical vertebra by a relatively low traction force.