Adjustment, Traction and Decompression: Three Different Jobs

Written and clinically reviewed by Dr. Jun (Jun Chung): Doctor of Chiropractic (New Zealand College of Chiropractic), NZCC- and ACC-registered, 13+ years' clinical practice including spinal decompression. Auckland Wellness Centre, Rosedale and Milford. Last updated: August 2026 · next scheduled review: August 2027.

Quick answer: An adjustment restores movement at one restricted joint in a second. Traction holds the spine in a shaped position for ten to twenty minutes to load the curve. Decompression pulls along the axis of the spine in slow cycles for twenty to thirty minutes to take load off a disc. They target different structures, so which one you need depends on what your assessment finds, not on which machine a clinic happens to own.

These three get used almost interchangeably in clinic marketing, which is unhelpful, because they are not variations on one idea. They apply different forces, for different durations, to different structures. Knowing which is which is the difference between booking a course of something that fits your problem and booking a course of something that does not.

The short version

Adjustment: movement at one segment

An adjustment is a specific, quick, low-amplitude thrust delivered to a single spinal joint that has tested as restricted. The target is that joint, not the region and not the curve. The intent is to restore movement where movement has been lost.

It takes a second, which is why it is easy to undervalue. The work is in the assessment that decides which segment gets adjusted and in which direction, not in the thrust itself. At AWC that direction comes from the mirror image principle: you are positioned in the opposite of your own postural pattern before the adjustment is delivered, so the correction works against the direction the spine has settled into rather than reinforcing it.

What an adjustment does not do is change the shape of a curve. A joint can move freely and still sit inside a spine that has drifted. That is a different problem, and it needs a different tool.

Traction: loading the curve

Traction holds the spine in a shaped position and leaves it there. At AWC that is usually a Denneroll orthotic, a moulded block placed under a specific part of the spine so that body weight loads the curve in the opposite direction to the way it has drifted. Ten to twenty minutes, mostly at home, most days.

The target here is ligament and connective tissue rather than movement. Those tissues respond to sustained low load over time rather than to a brief force, which is why traction is measured in weeks of daily practice rather than in sessions. The block used, where it is placed and how long you lie on it come from your posture measurements and, where one has been taken, your X-ray. It is prescribed rather than handed out.

Traction is not the same as decompression, and this is where most of the confusion sits. Traction is a sustained hold. Decompression is a cycle.

Decompression: unloading a disc

Spinal decompression is motorised. The table applies a pull along the long axis of the spine, releases it, and repeats, in slow cycles across a session of twenty to thirty minutes. Modern units monitor resistance through the pull and adjust force in real time, which is the practical difference from older fixed-load traction: when the surrounding muscle starts to guard, the machine backs off rather than fighting it.

The aim is to reduce the load carried by a specific disc space. That is why decompression is the tool of choice when the assessment points at a disc, and particularly when symptoms travel into a leg or an arm rather than staying local. It is not a general-purpose back treatment.

At AWC decompression runs on a Win Trac 100 and is charged per session, $30 on an accepted ACC claim or $50 privately, with no prepaid packages. Sessions are booked in blocks and the block is reviewed before another is booked, using the same straight leg raise, neurological screen and posture capture recorded at the start.

Why running all three matters

Most Auckland clinics offer one or two of these. That is not a criticism, it is a question of equipment and training: a Denneroll prescription needs postural measurement behind it, and a decompression table is a substantial piece of equipment that only earns its place if enough of your caseload is disc-related.

The reason it matters to you is that a clinic can only recommend what it has. If the only tool is adjusting, a disc problem gets adjusted. If the only tool is a decompression table, a mobility problem gets thirty sessions on a table. Having all three in the building means the assessment gets to decide, and the honest answer is often a combination: adjusting for the segments that have stopped moving, traction for the curve underneath them, decompression on top where a disc is carrying the load.

Which combination you get, and in what order, comes out of what was measured at the first visit. The full list of what gets recorded, and in what units, is on our spinal and posture assessment page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between traction and spinal decompression? Traction is a sustained hold that loads the spine in a shaped position, usually with an orthotic like a Denneroll and usually at home. Decompression is a motorised, cyclic pull along the axis of the spine, done in clinic on a table, with the force adjusting in response to resistance. Different force, different duration, different target.

Is spinal decompression the same as a chiropractic adjustment? No. An adjustment is a brief thrust to one restricted joint and takes a second. Decompression is a twenty to thirty minute session on a table aimed at unloading a disc. They are often used in the same plan, for different reasons.

Which one do I need for a bulging disc? Where a disc is the finding and symptoms travel into a leg or arm, decompression is usually the central tool, with adjusting used on the segments above and below that are compensating. That said, disc findings on a scan and disc findings that are generating symptoms are not the same thing, which is what the assessment is for.

How many decompression sessions will I need? It is booked in blocks rather than as a fixed course, and the next block is only booked if the re-measurement supports it. We do not sell prepaid decompression packages.

Is spinal decompression covered by ACC? Where it is treating an accepted injury claim, yes, at $30 per session. Without an injury behind it, it is $50 privately. Our chiropractor lodges the ACC45 at the first visit where a claim applies, so no GP referral is needed.

Can I have all three in the same plan? Often, yes, and that is a common combination for a disc problem sitting underneath a postural pattern. What matters is that each one is there for a stated reason rather than because it was available.

This article is general information, not a diagnosis. Auckland Wellness Centre sees patients at E2/27 William Pickering Drive, Rosedale (09 600 1939) and 177B Shakespeare Road, Milford (09 281 3687). Decompression is set out in full on our spinal decompression page.