Inversion Tables - Inversion Therapy - Benefits and Back Pain Relief

If you suffer from back pain, or if you know someone who does, you might like to consider inversion therapy and investing in your own inversion table. Inversion tables are growing in popularity as a means to help relieve back pain and also to improve the overall health of your spine.

Almost 2500 years ago, in 400 B.C. Hippocrates, was using ropes and pulleys to suspend patients suffering from back pain. The treatment works by the simple effect of gravity which allows the joints and vertebrae to stretch and decompress and ease pain.

Inversion tables and inversion therapy have evolved since and became widely recognized in the USA in the 1960s thanks to the work of Robert Martin, who created the “Gravity Guidance System,” to ease back pain and correct poor posture.

Arguments about the usefulness of inversion therapy led to the conclusion that inversion caused no harm to the body and could do some good.

Inversion thus started to grow in popularity in the 1990s and now many people are convinced it is an excellent way to eliminate pain.

People who actually use inversion tables say they are ideal for people of all ages and all fitness levels, and that they represent an excellent way to ease chronic back pain and joint problems.

Inversion Tables - Benefits

Inversion tables are used to treat back pain, but are also used to alleviate other negative effects of gravity. Inversion has sometimes been called the "Quiet Side of Fitness", as it helps your body recover from the negative effects of gravity. Therapists, doctors and trainers acknowledge that inversion is an effective form of therapy for weight-bearing joints and the spine.

The US Army has started to include Inversion into its training manuals.

Many Forms of Back Pain can be relieved by inversion. How ? You may ask.

Inversion tables cannot really be considered to be exercise equipment but they offer a form of passive exercise and make use of the power of gravity to your advantage by increasing the space between the vertebrae. This relieves the pressure on the discs, ligaments and nerve in your spine and therefore reduces pain. The nerve roots leave the spine through an aperture between the vertebrae, the size of which is controlled in the main by the thickness of the intravertebral disc.

Stress and tension can lead to muscle spasms in the back, shoulders and neck, and can also cause headaches. Tense muscles reduce the oxygen supply and blood and lymph flow, causing waste chemicals to accumulate in the muscles. Inverting the body even by as little as 25 degrees for just a few minutes can help relax muscles and accelerate the flow of lymphatic fluids which flush waste products out of the body. The speed with which these waste products are removed, and oxygen is introduced, determines the speed at which
pain disappears in the muscles. Studies have shown that "electromyographic activity, an indicator of muscle pain, declined over 35% within ten seconds of assuming the inverted position".

A regular program of inversion can also help improve posture and maintain your body in balance.

Discs

Discs have three roles to fulfil :-

· Separating the vertebrae
· Providing flexibility to the backbone
· Acting as shock absorbers

Communication between the body and the brain is through nerves that traverse each vertebra. Disc separation is therefore very important.

Insufficient distance between the vertebrae can result in nerve root pressure and pain. The inner core of the discs ensures flexibility and "cushioning" in the back. When discs are compressed the vertebrae place more pressure on the nerve roots, which can lead to more pain. Increasing the space between vertebra will decrease the pressure on the discs.
Lying down helps relive the pressure on the discs but inverting is even more effective. If you consider standing as exerting a pressure of 100%, then lying down is equivalent to 25%, inverting to 60 degrees reduces the disc pressure to zero.
Inversion is an excellent way to relax. People have been practising yoga, in which inverting the body in headstands and shoulder stands is an essential aspect, for centuries practitioners. Not everybody is able to do head stands, but everybody is capable of inverting on an inversion table.

Inversion Improves Circulation and Speeds Up Cleansing of Blood and Lymph Fluids

Under normal circumstances blood is carried upwards from your legs against the force of gravity. Inversion allows blood to flow with gravity. The lymphatic system functions without a pump, it is the the alternate contraction and relaxation of muscles that forces lymphatic fluid to move "uphill" through one-way valves and capillaries to the upper chest where it is cleansed. Inverting the body facilitates this work. As the lymphatic system is cleared, the aches and pains caused by stiff muscles disappear.

Inversion Helps Increase Oxygen Flow to the Brain

The brain represents only 3 % of total body weight, but it consumes 25% of the body's oxygen. A brain that receives a better blood supply and oxygen functions better. It is also claimed by some that increasing blood circulation to the head can also improve skin colour and tone, increase alertness, and improve vision and hearing. There are even claims that hair becomes healthier, and may even grow back.

Inversion decongests the internal organs

As you age, your internal organs tend to move downward due in part to the force of gravity. Inversion can help organs resume their normal shape and location in the body.

(NOTE: People with high blood pressure should consult a doctor before starting an inversion program.)

Inversion can relieve varicose veins by helping your heart clear the blood from your feet and legs.

Benefits for Athletes

Although athletes are very active, the effect activities such as runningof , aerobics, skiing, etc... and even motorised treadmills can be detrimental over time to the spine and discs and even lead to misalignments. Inversion plus movement (e.g. bending from side to side, arching the back, and sitting up or two) can realign the spine

Finally, inversion offers a system that counter-effects the force of gravity that helps to slow compression of the body. It can be highly beneficial. Thhousands of people find that regular inversion provides relief from back pain, rejuvenates the whole body, and provides numerous other health benefits.