By the Phoenix Rehab physiotherapy team.Last updated 3 October 2026.
Spinal decompression traction uses a computer-controlled machine to apply a measured, steady pull to the neck or the lower back while you lie on a treatment table. The pull is set by your physiotherapist and builds up gradually. At Phoenix it is available at our Serangoon clinic, as an add-on to physiotherapy, at $50 per use.
What it is used for
Traction is used for some neck and lower back problems, including some where a nerve is involved, such as pain spreading into an arm from the neck. It is always used together with hands-on treatment and exercise, never as the whole plan.
The research is mixed. For neck pain with arm symptoms, some studies show a short-term benefit when traction is added to exercise. For lower back pain, the evidence that traction adds much is weak. That is why we use it selectively, for the people whose assessment suggests it may help, rather than for every back or neck.
You are assessed first
Traction is only set up after your physiotherapist has assessed you. That first appointment decides three things: whether traction suits your problem at all, how much force to use, and for how long. If it does not suit you, we say so and do not use it.
What it feels like
You lie on your back, fully clothed, with a harness around your pelvis or a support under your head, depending on the area. The machine builds the pull up slowly and releases it the same way. Most people find it a firm, steady stretch rather than painful. There is a stop button in your hand the whole time, and the machine stops the moment you press it.
Tell your physiotherapist straight away if your symptoms spread further down the arm or leg, or if you feel numbness or tingling during treatment.
When traction is not suitable
Your physiotherapist checks for these before using it:
- A recent fracture or a known weakness in the bones of the spine, including osteoporosis
- Cancer or infection in the spine
- Instability of the spine, including after some neck injuries
- Pregnancy, for lower back traction
- Some spinal surgery, until your surgeon clears it
When to see a doctor first
Neck or back pain with weakness in an arm or leg, numbness around the groin or buttocks, or new problems controlling your bladder or bowel needs urgent medical attention. For loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness around the groin, go to the emergency department now. Pain after a fall or an accident needs a doctor before physiotherapy.
How many appointments
Traction is not a long course on its own. It is added for a few appointments while hands-on treatment and exercise do the main work, and your physiotherapist checks each time whether it is helping. If it is not, we stop.
Traction is $50 per use at Serangoon, added to a physiotherapy appointment. Your first appointment is an Assessment & Treatment: one 45-minute appointment, $230, nett, no GST. More about neck pain and every treatment we use.
Where are you with this right now?
1. It is settling on its own
Most injuries and most flare-ups settle over weeks with sensible load management and a return to normal movement. Improvement is judged over a month, not over a day, and good days and bad days inside that are usual. If you are doing more this month than last, and sleeping better, it is behaving the way it should. You do not need us for this, and we would rather say so.
2. It has stopped improving
You have adapted without noticing. The other side takes the load, you plan movements you used to make without thinking, and you have quietly dropped things you used to do.
Pain is the first thing to leave. Movement and strength are the last things trained back, and most people stop before that part is done. That is the gap worth measuring, and it is not measured by how you feel on the day.
The Stalled Recovery Review is three appointments over three weeks with the same therapist, because what a joint does under load cannot be read in one visit. The first finds what is limiting it. The next two measure how it responds. $690, nett, no GST, which is three appointments at $230.
3. You have had surgery, or you have a date
Recovery after an operation has a shape, and knowing which stage you are in tells you whether you are on it. See the recovery programs, hand and physiotherapy, or the four stages and what each one works on if you are not sure which applies to you.
All of it runs on the same four stages. The Phoenix Recovery Protocol explains what each stage works on and what you have to meet to move up. No referral needed to start.
Next step
Find out which stage you are in
Pain is the first thing to leave. Movement and strength are the last things trained back, and most people stop before that part is done. One Assessment and Treatment is a single 45-minute appointment at $230, nett, no GST. Your therapist finds what is actually limiting you, treats it in the same appointment, and you leave with your current stage and a written plan.
Prefer to phone? Each of our five clinics has its own number on the clinics page. No referral needed to book.
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