What is a Y-Strap?
The “Y-Strap”, or “y-axis traction strap” to be more specific, gets its name from two characteristics that describe it:
A) Its shape when placed around the patient’s neck. The lower portion of the “y” is wrapped around the patient’s neck and back of the head. The two “arms” of the “y” lead to the handle bar after the chiropractic Y-Strap is fastened to the patient’s head.
B) The body axis (Y-Axis) along which the force is applied: The Y-Axis, also known as the vertical axis, is parallel to the spine.
How does the Y-Strap Adjustment work?
The Y-Strap adjustment stretches the spine and pulls the head into the Y-Axis of the body to achieve the desired effect. The discs in the spine are decompressed as a result of this pulling force.
The speed and force pattern of the applied force can change from a slow and smooth stretching motion to an HVLA (High Velocity, Low Amplitude) movement.
Multiple YouTube videos featuring chiropractors using the HVLA technique can be found online. As the name implies, the High Velocity Low Amplitude procedure generates a rapid vacuum within the discs of the spine, allowing vital nutrients to enter the discs.
The Y-Strap chiropractic technique is useful for relieving spinal compression and disc issues because it is performed at a straight angle with no twisting involved.
Can the Y-Strap be used safely?
Spinal traction has a long history as a popular and successful treatment option for a variety of health and wellness issues. It has been shown to have beneficial effects on physiology, anatomy, and the nervous system.
Spinal traction and stretching helps loosen tight back muscles, realigns the spine, and widens the spaces between the vertebrae (IVF).
Spinal nerves leave the spinal cord through tiny openings called intervertebral foramina (IVF) in the spine.
More and more chiropractors, osteopaths, and physiotherapists are opting to adjust patients’ spines using y-axis manipulation. There has been a lot of buzz about the Y-strap adjustment for the spine recently, thanks in large part to social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook. But how reliable is it? How secure is it, if at all?
In order to answer these concerns, let’s analyze this method in detail.
Chiropractic adjustments to the spine typically involve the use of torque, but the Y-Axis adjustment is different.
Torque is the twisting motion used in adjustment techniques, along with a specific force, to mobilize vertebrae of the spine.
Torsion techniques work by rotating specific parts of the spine (including the neck), usually in a flexed or lateralized position, to relieve pressure on one side of the spine.
The spine’s ligaments prevent the vertebrae from separating too far from one another, protecting the bones, muscles, and ligaments of the back.
Only when the procedure is performed incorrectly (not pulling straight, unaligned position to the patient) is there a chance of torque appearing within the movement and the procedure becoming unsafe.
In conclusion, the Y-strap adjustment is effective and safe only when used by a qualified chiropractor.
Want to incorporate y-strap adjustments in your regular chiropractic care? Schedule an appointment at our clinic FORM AND FUNCTION CORRECTIVE CHIROPRACTIC. We are located at Unit 907 AppleOne – Equicom Tower, Mindanao Avenue cor. Biliran St., Cebu Business Park, Cebu City
