At its simplest form, strappado torture consisted of the victims hands being tied behind their backs while they were suspended in the air using a pulley (via Medieval Chronicles). In the second variation, the method is nearly the same, except that a series of drops are added (via Medieval Warfare). This intensifies both the pain and the injuries. In the last variation, called squassation, weights are added to the victim’s ankles. It caused pain in the arms and possibly damaged the legs and hips as well.

Regardless of the variant used, the results and intolerable pain are the same (via History Collection). The shoulders and arms would usually dislocate. With weights added, the legs could also dislocate. Although the method does not cause external injuries, it would damage nerves and ligaments. The torture would not last more than an hour, as the victim could die (via Science Source). If death was not the end goal, then irreparable damage, including paralysis or loss of sensation in the arms, could occur.

The strappado method is also known as reserve hanging. It is said to have been used on Niccolò Machiavelli and Girolamo Savonarola. According to the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum, it was also used in concentration camps to punish prisoners in World War II.