Inversion therapy has been used to relieve back pain as early as 400 BC when Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, strung up a patient on a ladder with ropes and pulleys and allowed gravity to do its work.
Today, inversion is widely recognized as a restorative fitness tool to help decompress and mobilize joints to prevent injuries. Doctors, physical therapists, sports trainers and the US Army recognize inversion as a safe and effective form of therapy for the spine and weight-bearing joints.
BENEFITS OF INVERSION TRACTION
Decompress
Inversion helps your body recover from the compressive effects of gravity and daily activities. Inverting yourself as little as 25° for even a few minutes can help relax tense muscles and speed the flow of lymphatic fluids which flush out the body's wastes and carry them to the blood stream. The faster this waste is cleared and fresh supplies of oxygen are introduced, the faster stiffness and pain in the muscles can disappear.
Improve circulation
Inversion improves circulation and accelerates the cleansing of blood and lymph fluids. Inversion helps increase oxygen flow to the brain and relieves varicose veins, enables the body to stretch and re-align and it strengthens ligaments.
Relieve back pain
Inversion elongates the spine increasing the space between the vertebrae, which relieves the pressure on discs, ligaments and nerve roots. Inverting to 60° reduces the disc pressure to zero. Inverting is the most effective posture that allows your discs to recover from the constant pressure placed on them during your daily activities. Spinal EMG activity (a measure of muscle tension) has been measured to decrease 35% within ten seconds of inverting.
SAFETY WITH INVERSION TRACTION
It is far safer, and for most people more therapeutic, to use an inversion table that allows smooth oscillation between 40° and 60° with an intermittent traction effect. If you prefer a continuous traction pull, use a partially inverted posture (body hanging at an angle).
We do not recommend full, static inversion! Avoid hanging completely upside down without moving for more than one minute. Be sure to keep your body in motion when in inverted postures and build up to full inversion gradually over a period of weeks.
Prolonged full-body inversion can cause transient increases in blood pressure and bleeding in the small blood vessels of the eyes (subconjunctival and retinal hemorrhage). Although there have been no cases reported in the medical literature, it is also possible that a preexisting weakness in a brain artery (aneurism) could be ruptured, leading to brain damage or death.