Cervical Distraction Test | Cervical Radiculopathy

The Cervical Distraction Test  also called Traction/Distraction test is a symptom-relief test to assess for cervical radicular syndrome/cervical radiculopathy. It has been described to have a sensitivity of 44% and a high specificity ranging between 90 to 97% in the review of Rubenstein et al. (2007). It therefore, has a moderate clinical value to confirm the hypothesis of cervical radicular syndrome. This test can only be performed if the patient experiences symptoms of shooting pain or paresthesia down the arm at the moment, because this test ceases to reduce these symptoms.

To perform the test have your patient in supine position and apply longitudinal traction with your fingers hooked under your patient’s occiput. This test is considered positive if your patient’s familiar arm pain is reduced.

Other common tests to assess for cervical radiculopathy are:

• Spurling’s Test
• Cluster of Wainner
• The Upper Limb Tension Test 1 / ULNT 1 / ULNT A

Rubinstein, S. M., Pool, J. J., Van Tulder, M. W., Riphagen, I. I., & De Vet, H. C. (2007). A systematic review of the diagnostic accuracy of provocative tests of the neck for diagnosing cervical radiculopathy. European spine journal, 16(3), 307-319.

Hanney, W. J., George, S. Z., Kolber, M. J., Young, I., Salamh, P. A., & Cleland, J. A. (2014). Inter-rater reliability of select physical examination procedures in patients with neck pain. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 30(5), 345-352.