Traction garment

Traction has long been the treatment of choice for certain injuries to the lumbar, sacral and/or pelvic regions of the body. Traction involves applying a tensile or traction force to these areas to relieve a portion of the compressive load on the spine to alleviate pain and allow proper healing of the injuries. Traditionally, traction has been applied through stationary means, such as traction beds, that require the patient to remain immobile and unproductive for extended periods of time. There are several disadvantages to these traditional stationary traction devices. For example, during prolonged convalescence, the immobile patient is prone to atrophy of his non-injured musculature as well as to weight gain arising from his sudden immobility. Further, otherwise active people are especially susceptible to boredom that at best is merely bothersome and at worst can lead to clinical depression and/or the premature abandonment of the traction treatment. This, in turn, readily leads to reinjury and even longer convalescence. A traction belt, including a first elongated portion, a second elongated portion oriented generally parallel to the first elongated portion and connected thereto, a first plurality of biasing members operationally connected to the first elongated portion, and a second plurality of biasing members operationally connected to the second elongated portion. Each biasing member is oriented generally perpendicular to a respective elongated portion. Each biasing member is adapted to provide a biasing force through a respective elongated portion.