Hanging exercise to alleviate symptoms of herniated disc

[BenjaminFeldman]

Hi,

one of the exercises recommended when suffering from a herniated disc seems to hanging down from a chin up
bar, the armpits resting in lifting belts. Is the rationale behind the belts merely to prolong the hanging time or
is there another reason?

[Mugaaz]

Hi,

one of the exercises recommended when suffering from a herniated disc seems to hanging down from a chin up
bar, the armpits resting in lifting belts. Is the rationale behind the belts merely to prolong the hanging time or
is there another reason?

Prolong hanging time. For cervical traction unit, once you get about 15-20 pounds in there, adding more doesn't help. Staying in the traction unit longer did. It's going to be pretty difficult to hang that long from a bar, even with belts in the armpits. Something is still better than nothing though.

[BenjaminFeldman]

Never heard of a cervical traction unit before. Interesting device. When you say that the duration is more important than the load, do short breaks matter? For example, if I were hanging down from the
bar for five seconds with five seconds breaks for a total duration of 10 minutes, would this have a similar beneficial effect as hanging down for 5 minutes without a break?

[Mugaaz]

I don't know, and I really doubt anyone else does either. The traction units don't always work for everyone. The first time I hurt my neck, the traction unit had an immediate effect and I could feel immediate relief and change in symptoms. The second time, it didn't do anything. Just hang from the bar for as long as you can tolerate. If you don't feel a difference after a few days, then it probably won't help your situation.