Inversion Therapy Benefits

Inversion therapy involves using an inversion chair or device to flip your body upside down. This process extends your spine and reduces compression that can increase over the day from sitting and standing. It has various benefits to both your spine and your body core.

Back and Neck Pain

• Much of your back and neck pain derives from improper spinal alignment. Inversion reverses gravity's effect on your spine and decreases the pain that compressing your discs can cause you. There are nerve endings in your spine that pass through each disc. Compression puts pressure on these nerve endings and causes pain. Inversion elongates the spine, reducing pain. Invert yourself to 25 degrees for a few minutes a day to help reduce pain.

Repair Your Discs

• Your spinal discs are basically like your back's shock absorbers. The inner core of these discs is a jelly-like substance that gets squeezed out into adjacent tissue when you sit or stand for long periods of time. Inverting your body allows the discs to reincorporate this material, which act like nutrients to the discs. You will need to invert yourself at least 60 degrees to help your discs recover.

Functional Fitness and Muscle Training

• The simple act of inversion can lead to a mild cardiovascular workout because it stimulates your heart rate. If you are so inclined, you can add crunches and sit-ups to your inversion to have a more rigorous workout. This strengthens your core and increases your flexibility. Increasing your core strength is fundamental to any workout routine because it helps your posture and spinal alignment, as well as ensures an efficient transfer of power in the body. A strong core also takes pressure off the back when lifting any heavy objects.

Workout Recovery

• Whether you run or play sports, you are putting strain and pressure on your back with each step you take. No workout is perfectly executed and that can lead to slight misalignments in the spine. Inverting after a workout helps to realign the back before any of those "tweaks" lead to a more serious injury. This is especially important for one-sided activities that cause the body to overcompensate for focused use of one part of the body. Inversion is especially important for sports such as golf, tennis and racquetball.

Strengthen Ligaments and Overworked Muscles

• Overused muscles build up lactic acid, and the lymphatic system does not have a "pump" to remove the lactic acid, which causes muscle pain. Inversion helps circulate blood upward toward the heart, which assists in cleansing the lactic acid from your lymphatic system.

  Ligaments are the "rubber band" tissues that connect the muscle to bone. They can become inelastic and more prone to injury if they are not properly stretched. Inversion helps gently stretch the ligaments by reversing gravity's pull on them.

Relieve Stress and Reduce Depression

• Just being able to relax on an inverting chair will reduce stress, and studies have shown that just 10 seconds of inverting the body causes a 35 percent reduction of stress. More importantly, inverting reduces pain, which reduces your stress levels as well. It creates the same stretching effects as yoga does. Finally, this reduced stress assists in reducing depression. Inverting also creates endorphins, which assist in elevating a person's mood.