A Few Quick Questions About Traction

[BigA]

Good evening Rip,

I ordered this traction apparatus from amazon. I searched the forums for other traction threads and I had a few quick questions that I didn't find definitive answers for.

1. What is the safe upper limit for traction in this position in a single session?

2. Is it safe to add weight in this position?

3. May you elaborate on the safety of the 90/90 position vs your recommended method of hanging from 2 belts from a pull-up bar? I ask this question because I do weighted chin-ups regularly and I find that I actually overextend my lower back sometimes when I am doing a heavy rep (I am currently doing doubles with 55 pounds at 245 BW). After searching the forums, I noticed that you recommend adding weight (using your traction method) when BW is not enough. Could overextension happen when tractioning this way (maybe accidentally tense your lower back?

I have seen that some SS coaches who work in rehab clinics use the 90/90 position (although they didn't specify whether they add weight or not). I'm not stating this to stir something up, I am just curious to see your current opinion on it since this thread was almost 3 years ago.

Thank you so much for your time Rip! I am almost over this damn back injury that I have been dealing with and barbells have been a tremendous part of the recovery. However, I just can't seem to get that magical "pop" in my back that allows me to train at 100% again.

[Mark Rippetoe]

1. I don't know. Titrate it.

2. I don't know. I used armpit straps and a dip belt, and I have no experience with this bizarre device.

3. I don't know what 90/90 means. I must not be in the club. Much more important, there may be no "magical pop" in your lower back -- some chiropractors often make this mistake, and the "pop" may not be magical at all, unless you consider a soft-tissue injury to be magical. Shitty chiropractors sell the "pop," even when that's not the best thing for your spine. I have come to believe that the less you move an injured low back, the faster it heals, especially an older back. That's why deadlifts and squats are the best therapy.

[Crom]

I have both a 45° hyperextension bench, that seems like it would be pretty similar stretch, and I also have an inversion table ("Teeter Hangups"-like, but a cheaper brand).

I can hang with full body-weight on the inversion table, and I have occasionally tried lifting a pair of 20# dumbells while hanging; and then twisting around, etc.
If you are like me, it seems like the stretch should help, but as a practical matter it has not cured my injuries, and I can't correlate to any improvement. I have tried stretches, exercise, and doing absolutely nothing for various time periods, and the back just seems to operate independently of anything I am doing.

The "pops" are sometimes startling, but they also don't really seem correlated to any actual pain relief or general improvement. The pops seem related to how successfully I can totally relax my back muscles, not how much weight I have suspended. In fact, if I just lay there and almost go to sleep, I will suddenly be awakened by a "pop" that feels like my spine just lengthened by about an eighth of an inch (an exaggeration). I actually frightens me, so I stopped doing that, since it also didn't provide any real relief.