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Inverter Health Risks

Inverters, also known as inversion tables, are devices designed to allow you to relieve intervertebral disk compression, particularly in the lower back, by tipping upside down to stretch the spine with the aim of reducing or eliminating back pain. To achieve this, patients are strapped securely to the table and may "invert" at different angles, from as little as 8 inches to entirely vertical.

  1. Heart Disease

    • Once you have been inverted for just a couple of minutes, your heart rate begins to slow down while your blood pressure elevates. Due to these side effects, people diagnosed with heart disease should avoid inverter therapy.

    Glaucoma

    • Glaucoma is a sight-dimming disease of the eye due to increased ocular pressure. The closer the inversion level gets to full vertical head-down position, the greater the buildup of pressure behind the eye. This can be very painful and disconcerting for inverted patients.

    Spinal Injury

    • While inverters are designed to relieve back pain, inversion therapy can actually exacerbate any preexisting trauma or injury if not approved and supervised by a licensed physician.

    Hypertension

    • The body's systems and functions are not immune to the forces of gravity. By forcing the heart to pump harder to distribute oxygen-rich blood to the body's extremities due to an inverter treatment, people can develop or suffer the effects of preexisting high blood pressure.

    Retinal Detachment

    • In rare instances, inversion therapy can cause the optic nerve to detach from the retina. If the retina doesn't reattach itself over time, surgery is the only option to repair this damage.

    Pregnancy

    • Despite the temptation to use an inverter to relieve back pain often associated with pregnancy, physicians caution that pregnant women should never use an inversion table.

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