The Effects of Traction on Patients with Cervical Radiculopathy:A Meta-Analytic Review

Objective: Evaluate the efficacy of cervical traction, used alone or as an adjunct, on pain, disability, and range of motion (ROM) in adults with clinically confirmed cervical radiculopathy. Method: Systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, and Web of Science for randomized controlled trials published from 2000 to 2024. Eleven trials were included. Two reviewers extracted study and traction parameters, assessment timepoints, and outcomes, and assessed risk of bias using RoB 2. Pain was scaled to 0-10 and Neck Disability Index (NDI) to 0-100. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed when at least two comparable contrasts were available. Results: Traction generally outperformed control or non-traction interventions, notably mechanical, intermittent, supine, or combined with neural mobilization or exercise. Short-term pain (three trials) pooled mean difference(MD) -2.69 (95 % CI -4.28 to -1.10); long-term (one trial) -1.80 (95 % CI-2.79 to -.81). Disability short-term (three trials) MD -19.37 (95 % CI -26.09 to -12.64; I²=49.9 %); long-term (one trial) -13.30 (95 % CI -21.00 to -5.60). ROM was not pooled due to heterogeneous reporting. Conclusion: Cervical traction yields clinically meaningful short-term reductions in pain and disability and shows indications of sustained benefit, supporting its selective adjunctive use with active rehabilitation.