[Alastair]

In the context of ADR surgery the word distraction refers to the action of mechanically increasing the distance between adjacent vertebral endplates in order to accomplish the removal of disc material and insertion of an artificial disc. The result of distraction is a stretching of tissues (muscle, ligament, nerve, blood vessel) in the vicinity. This stretching (which is beyond what is normally experienced by the body) causes what has been referred to as 'distraction pain'.