![]() ![]() A well-applied traction will achieve these objectives and hence reduce the risk of developing complications. Splints and slings should be suspended without interference, ropes must slide freely through each pulley, line and magnitude of pull must be in line, precise weight must be applied and should be hanging free. The traction and counter-traction forces must be in opposite directions. An effective traction will provide a pulling force on the body by ensuring a good grip on the injured limb that is adequate and secure. Tractions' main goals are to control pain from muscle spasm, reduce fractures maintaining anatomical reduction, and to prevent and correct deformity. The aim of this article is to discuss the principles and provide instruction to the practitioner on how to apply common/various forms of traction appropriately. However, as advances in surgical techniques, safety of surgery, high nursing requirements and the increasing economic pressures to reduce the length of hospital stay, the application of traction has been utilised less over time and consequently, the once-familiar skill of application of traction and its patient care has declined rapidly, becoming a dying art. Transcripts from ‘the father of medicine’, Hippocrates discuss about forces of extension and counter-extension, surmounting to traction. The use of traction dates back as far as 3000 years in ancient Egypt. Traction is one of the oldest principal tenets of treatment in orthopaedics. ![]()
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