What Are the Benefits of Inversion Tables?

If you suffer from back pain and back problems, you’ve likely tried more than one method of eliminating your pain, from taking medications to visiting the chiropractor. But you may not have yet tried an inversion table; in fact, you may assume from the name alone that it’s some sort of medieval torture device. However, an inversion table may just provide the relief you’ve been looking for without the side effects of medications and the expense of chiropractic visits.

Definition

• An inversion table is an upright table of sorts, usually mounted on a steel or other durable metal frame, into which you strap yourself securely. As the name suggests, the table inverts itself, and your body along with it, so you can put yourself at any angle, up to a full upside-down 180-degree angle.

Function

• If you’ve struggled with back pain for a prolonged period of time, you’ve probably noticed that left untreated, age only make the pain worse. That’s because gravity takes its toll on your spine the same way it does on the rest of the body. The result is the discs in your spine compact. An inversion table stretches out the spine, allowing for space between the discs. This is also called traction therapy.

Benefits

• Since inversion tables are affordable and portable today, you could simply strap yourself to your inversion table anytime the back pain starts to become unbearable again. Stretching your back by hanging upside down will likely make you feel better, at least somewhat. “In theory, inversion therapy takes gravitational pressure off the nerve roots and disks in your spine and increases the space between vertebrae,” according to an article by Dr. Randy A. Shelerud. Additionally, hanging upside down can promote better circulation, relax all the muscles in your body and reduce tension and stress.

Effectiveness

• According to Shelerud, researchers have found that using an inversion table does in fact provide temporary relief. However, inversion therapy is not considered to be an effective long-term treatment. If you understand up front that traction will not cure your back pain and that you will need to invert yourself on a regular basis to continue to get the benefits of inversion, you are less likely to be disappointed with this form of treatment.

Caveats

• Inversion tables are not for everyone. People with lower back pain may get the most benefit out of inverting themselves. However, if you have high blood pressure, heart disease or glaucoma, you should not try inversion therapy, as being in the upside-down position could pose serious health risks.