In a single-blind investigation in which the therapeutic assessment was concealed comprizing 21 patients with osteoarthrosis in the hip joint, the results of treatment with 250 plus 500 mg naproxen daily for two weeks and traction administered ten times in the course of two weeks employing the Chattanooga TX 7 apparatus with the Masolet plint 1392 T were compared. The variables employed were the intermalleolar distances on abduction of the hip joints, the amount of pain experienced on Huskisson's scale and the time required for walking a fixed distance. The effects were assessed after two weeks, after one further month and after two months. The assessments were made longitudinally, ie, between the original value and the three control investigations and between the two treatments at identical intervals. Immediately after conclusion of treatment, traction therapy had a significant effect on the level of pain as compared with the original situation. One month later however, this effect had ceased. No significant difference between the two forms of treatment could be demonstrated. The relatively limited number of patients involved a certain risk for type II errors. At present, traction therapy cannot be recommended either as a form of treatment or as the basis of pathogenic studies. In the present investigation, naproxen therapy was employed primarily as a reference for traction therapy. Nevertheless, the results of this section of the investigation also contribute to the main conclusion of the investigation. Despite the limited number of patients, it is striking that treatment with non-steroid antirheumatic agent did not produce symptomatic improvement which could be registered at the conclusion of the 14-day period of treatment.

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