title: Orthopaedic traction device--an analysis of forces.
abstract: By using hanging weights as loads in traction treatment, one has to consider the transient forces created in the traction cord when the weights are displaced. These forces are transmitted to the patient who experiences them, at least in some circumstances, as pain or discomfort. In this paper we describe experiments by which these forces are measured. The traditional traction device, using hanging weights, is compared with two other devices. The study shows that by using these new traction devices--one with a clock spring, the other with a vacuum cylinder--as load generators, the transient forces are reduced to a great extent.
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D055585:Physical Phenomena; D010825:Physics; D014143:Traction / Q000295:instrumentation*