I went in too fast on manual traction...

[TheWillToBeef]

I did something very stupid last week. I had heard NeoV's account of manual traction helping him (yes yes I know it's imprecise and potentially dangerous), so I tried it myself. I did 5 days of it, 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night. Very gentle, not really a stretch, more like holding it straight in the palm of my hand.

I took some Viagra this past Monday night. I awoke on Tuesday morning with half of an erection. I don't mean a semi-erection, I mean that the half of my penis closer to the base was erect, and the half closer to the glans was flaccid. I was eventually able to force a "full" erection by doing a kegel (not good I know), but then for the rest of the day my penis was aching. The blood-filled "bubbles" over my dents have reappeared for the first time since April, as have the dermatological symptoms (bruising, discoloration, etc.)

I know that it was stupid to go too much too fast into manual traction (without a device even), and I shouldn't have done it. All I'm hoping for now is that I've just temporarily aggravated my plaques/tears, and not started an entirely new stage of plaque formation. I think part of the issue is that my plaques are closer to my glans, which I've heard is not a good indicator for traction.

Current strategy: let the damn thing rest. The issue is that I'm terrified, and it's extremely difficult to focus on anything else without closure on this issue.

People who have experienced similar things from manual traction: did your incident have permanent effects, or did it go away after weeks/months?

[Mikel7]

Sorry to hear about your negative experience with hand traction. A setback is just that. Whether it will cause permanent damage is negotiable and waiting it out is your best option. I would use some heat therapy and continue with the tadalafil or Cialis to keep inflammation down. Hopefully this is just minor and will not start something new. Let things rest and never do manual traction as you are not the first and won't be the last who gets damage from this unmeasured practice.  

[TheWillToBeef]

Well said Mike. Had another weird "half erection" last night, hope this isn't permanent. Ah well, I'll just keep up the heat therapy + my supplements, let it rest, and see how this develops after a few weeks. No erection-testing at all.

[Sonic]

This happened to me as well and from my experience it was only a good thing it happened soon so I didn't carry on doing this BS. Now you now manual traction is never a good idea for us guys prone to this disease. Some claim it helped them very much and I know NEO said it basically cured him but that does not mean it suits everyone and Neo even repeatedly said do it at your own risk.

I do not think you have done enough damage to have caused anything serious. But only you can answer that.

[TheWillToBeef]

This happened to me as well and from my experience it was only a good thing it happened soon so I didn't carry on doing this BS. Now you now manual traction is never a good idea for us guys prone to this disease. Some claim it helped them very much and I know NEO said it basically cured him but that does not mean it suits everyone and Neo even repeatedly said do it at your own risk.

I do not think you have done enough damage to have caused anything serious. But only you can answer that.

Have you ever recovered from your traction-induced injury? If so, how long did it take?

[Sonic]

Have you ever recovered from your traction-induced injury? If so, how long did it take?

Honestly I don't know. Started with some aches/soreness, it went away maybe 3-4 days after I quit doing it. After I noticed some hourglassing below the glans when semi erect but this may have been there before I honestly don't know.

All I know is that I'll never do it again.

[Mikel7]

Remember peyronies disease is a mysterious beast at best and we cannot predict just how our bodies will respond to it. My best methodology on approaching this was to try and reduce any internal inflammation. This for me was through diet and exercise and traction and VED and heat therapy. Also cutting way way back on sex which can be difficult to do for many men with a healthy sex drive. In time things quieted down and started healing.
 

[TheWillToBeef]

Yep, I'm trying to do the "reducing internal inflammation" bit: heat pack, eating veggies/fruits/nuts with minimal dairy or meat, daily bath, supplements, etc. But what really gets me concerned about permanent damage is the Frankenstein-like half-erections I've woken up to the past two nights. Not only did the shape feel weird (was too afraid to actually look at it), but the glans felt numb too (it's not numb during the day, so maybe this is just some weird thing with sleep-related neurology?). I hope these Nightmare-TEs will stop doing that at some point. I'm meeting with the urologist on Thursday, I'll be sure to tell her about this.

I'm also trying not to think about it in general (I believe that a decent part of "let it rest" is mental in addition to physical), which is difficult when the Nightmare-TEs keep reminding me of it. I'm doing a show on Saturday with my community theater group that should hopefully take my mind off of my penis for a night. Honestly, if all goes according to plan, you'll probably see less of me over the next week or so, since this forum obviously makes me think about it! But seriously, thank you both for the consolation.

[TheWillToBeef]

Following up a month later:

Had a few mornings last week where I woke up with a full erection that looked identical to how it did before I attempted the traction. Numbness has also subsided, and normal sensation has returned. If anything, my overall erection quality is even better than it was before, I presume because I've been letting it rest for so long.

Hip-focused PT has also been helpful over the past month, especially with reducing my non-penile symptoms. I'm meeting with a pelvic floor specialist next month.

Barring any hidden damages that are taking over a month to make themselves known, I'll chalk this up as "no permanent harm done." Considering myself lucky, but still, I've learned my lesson. Definitely won't try manual traction again!

[Sonic]

Good news!