Inversion Tables for Back Pain

Our hectic lifestyle is taking its toll on our body. It is no surprise then that many people nowadays complain of back pain. This is one of the most common complaints that patients present to doctors. There is always a debate going on regarding what is the best treatment option for dealing with back pain.

One such option is making use of inversion tables. This basically involves hanging upside down on a flat surface, with the feet securely supported and the spine being stretched. Given below are details regarding how to use inversion tables and their benefits.

There are different ways of using inversion tables for the purpose of relieving oneself from back pain. One form of inversion therapy involves a full body, head first suspension from a horizontal bar, in a stabilizing frame.

Another form of inversion therapy uses a similar inversion frame, however, with supports that keep the knees bent and the hips flexed. In a third form, a person is supposed to lie on an inversion table that gradually tips him into a head down position.

When starting to use inversion tables for back pain, start slowly by using slight angulation. So, begin with a fifteen degree inversion for just a minute or two. Initially, within such little time you should be able to feel an increase in the blood and lymph flow. You will also probably feel like you are stretching your muscles.

Try this out once a day for a week or two, so as to get your body familiarized with this technique. Once you find that you are comfortable at an angulation of fifteen degrees, then you can increase this angle to twenty degrees or even thirty degrees. 

You can progress the angulation till sixty degrees. It is claimed that maximum benefit can be derived by people that go in for inversion at 60 degrees for five to fifteen minutes once or twice a day.

It is claimed that inversion table is a very good and highly recommended natural technique to provide back pain relief. Inversion helps by reducing the negative effects of gravity on the body, as the feet are placed at a higher level than the head.

In simple words, the body is turned upside down and so gravity works in the opposite direction of that which the body is used to. So, instead of compressing the spine, the vertebrae are stretched, thus, relieving any pressure that a person may feel on the spinal discs. 

Other benefits of using inversion tables include an improvement in posture, reduction of headache, reducing the severity of varicose veins, and relieving a person of stress.

Inversion therapy is basically one example of the many ways in which spinal traction, that is, stretching of the spine, has been used to alleviate upper and lower back pain. However, various studies evaluating traction have found this technique be relatively ineffective for long term relief from back pain.

Nevertheless, some people find traction temporarily helpful as part of a more comprehensive treatment plan for nagging lower back pain that is caused by spinal disc compression.

One, however, needs to understand that inversion therapy does not provide long-lasting relief, nor is it a full and final cure for back pain. Furthermore, this therapy is contraindicated in certain people, like those suffering from high blood pressure, heart diseases, or eye diseases like glaucoma.

This is because during inversion, the heartbeat slows down and blood pressure rises. Inversion tables are also strictly contraindicated in pregnancy. Hence, before trying out inversion tables for back pain, make sure you talk to your doctor, so as to ensure that you make an informed decision regarding whether to go in for this therapy or not.