hello I've seen a lot of mixed opinions on the forum on whether or not its beneficial to do traction in the active or inflammatory phase. I just recently got symptoms and no curvature as of yet but i have penile pain and am looking to do something about this and i dont want to just wait until the inflammation is over and i'm honestly scared to do VED lol lmk what yall think traction in the acute phase? yes? no? maybe? lol
It's most effective early on. It helps me even immediately following an injury, provided that injury is not a major tear or something.
I am also in the acute phase, and a bit worried by reports of people who say their symptoms have actually gotten worse while using TT.
But there is a 2013 study on TT with 55 patients in the acute phase that showed promising results and reported little adverse effects (see attachment).
Important to note here is that patients were instructed to remove the device at least 30 minutes every 2 hours to prevent glans ischemia, and there was a gradual build up of duration and device size. So there are things you can do "wrong" with TT - it is obviously more complicated than taking a pill - which may help explain the negative reports.
Also Dr. Levine explains that TT is likely much more effective than VED: https://vimeo.com/70388748
For me the conclusion is that I should definitely try TT. I'm just not sure which device would be best yet. The 2013 study used the Andropeyronie, but it seems there are more comfortable options nowadays like the Phalosan Forte... however the latter has not yet been included in a Peyronies Disease study.
There is one study where one guy had 60 degree curvature and his curvature was reduced by 20 degrees in six months with phallosan. https://www.phallosan.com/fileadmin/doc/PHALLOSAN-clinical-study-en.pdf
All traction devices work, what matters is that you buy a device that allows you to wear it comfortably hours every day and with good tension, about 900-1200 grams. It can be quite costly and difficult to find a device that works for you. There are some who are not able to get any device to work.
Traction in the acute phase is the most effective. It's important to start ASAP.
VED is in *addition* to traction therapy. Traction does little to nothing for girth and dents so you need to do both.
I got hurt with traction in the early acute phase, but mainly because i did manual traction and did it very hard for a long time. That's why i recommend starting with the penimaster pro and/or RestoreX because they have good programs and you can control the tension.
You can see the creator of RestoreX recommend traction ASAP: https://youtu.be/82g7ViTj94U?t=2535
Waiting to get past the acute phase makes no sense to me, you're just making things harder for yourself. Better to get over the learning curve and get started ASAP IMO.