Stretching Rack
Once upon a time the name ‘stretching rack’ sent shock waves in to nerves as it symbolized torture and death. This deadly device was once used to extract confession from so-called criminals, witches, and king’s enemies in the medieval era in Europe. These people were made to undergo gruesome torture and immense pain in stretching racks.
Medieval stretching rack was a wooden bench with rollers fitted in both ends. Ropes were coiled on either side of the wooden wheels which had pulleys. The prisoner undergoing the punishment was put in the centre of the plank with bare body and his hands and legs were bounded with ropes from the wheels on either side. The executor rotates the wheels slowly using pulleys stretching both the ends.
The prisoner feels immense pain and starts making awful noise. If the prisoner refuses to give the desired results then the stretching continues until his limbs get torn and bones are broken. Continuous stretching results in dislocation of joints, torn tendons and ligaments, and broken bones. Then he is moved from the stretching rack and is kept alive for days without any food and treatment until he confesses or gives information they want to extract. Some people confess, while many die unable to withstand this gruesome torture. As a result of hue and cry from the common public, this device was banned..
In ancient times stretching rack were known as Hypocratic bench and was used as a medical device to fix the bones. This device was invented by Hippocrates, a Greek medical genius. Hypocratic bench is the role model for modern tractions devices used in orthopedics with computers.
The patient would lie on the Hypocratic bench that has an adjustable angle. Ropes tied on the affected limbs are pulled using winches. This results in correcting the curvature in the spine or separating the overlapping fractures.
VAX-D or Vertebral Axial Decompression is the modern version of stretching rack. This computer controlled stretching device is used in the treatment of herniated discs, sciatica, and other degenerative disk disorders by applying certain amount of pressure on spinal columns to provide decompression of the lumber spine.
Originally stretching rakes were invented with the sole aim of helping the mankind. Then some cruel people converted them into a killer device. Again the same device has taken a rebirth as a high-tech medical device saving millions of people from the back pain. This clearly shows that man can use anything for both constructive as well as destructive purposes according to his wishes and convenience.