Back Inversion Tables: Back Pain Relief

Inversion therapy is nothing new. Hippocrates has been using ropes and pulleys for his own inversion therapy 2500 years ago. In 400 B.C., patients were suspended in air to help ease back pain and other symptoms. Gravity helps in stretching the joints and the vertebrae to stretch, decompress and relieve pain. It was in 1960s, when inversion therapy and the use of inversion tables became widely accepted in the United States when Robert Martin created the Gravity Guidance System which was meant to relieve back pains and improve a person's posture.

How effective are inversion tables for easing back pains? Inversion tables stretch the back. This would increase the space between the vertebrae. With increased spaces, the pressure exerted on the intervertebral discs and nerve roots are lessened. This would lessen the back pain experienced. If the back pain is a result of poor posture, then inversion tables could also ease that. Back pain because of poor posture is often a result of shortened muscles. The inversion table could help in elongating these muscles.

A person does not necessarily have to be completely hanging upside down. An inversion table could be tilted in different angles. There are many people who would prefer to be in a partial inversion position. It is important to be in the position where you are most relaxed and comfortable. If hanging completely upside down would just make you feel uneasy, then don't. The user would just end up tensed and thus, the therapy would not work. There are experts saying that being in a 20 to 30 degree angle is enough to stretch the spine thus, easing pain in the back.

Also you do not have to spend a long time on the inversion table to get results. The amount of time you would be spending on it is largely dependent on the angle. A small angle could be maintained for a long period. There are some users who would need a couple of minutes on a smaller angle before they adjust themselves in the desired position.

For those who are starting to learn inverting to address their back problems, begin with a 15 degree angle for just one or two minutes. You could do this twice a day. This would help a person get used to being inverted. Once the user is comfortable enough, the degrees could be increased to 20 to 30 degrees, and the frequency of the session. If you are comfortable enough, then you could try 50 degrees for 5 to 15 minutes.