Back Pain? Hang Upside Down on an Inversion Table

If you’re like me and millions of seniors who suffer back pain, you may have compressed spinal discs. I had successful surgery in 2006, but now other discs are compressing. My neurosurgeon suggested exercise, heat, and hanging upside down on an inversion table for several minutes a day.

It seems to be helping. But inversion therapy is not recommended for everyone. According to the Mayo Clinic:

Inversion therapy doesn’t provide lasting relief from back pain, and it’s not safe for everyone. Inversion therapy involves hanging upside down, and the head-down position could be risky for anyone with high blood pressure, heart disease or glaucoma.

What Is Inversion Therapy?

Inversion therapy involves hanging upside down on a special inversion table to stretch the spine and relieve back pain. The theory is that by shifting the body’s gravity, pressure eases off the back while also providing traction for the spine.

For these reasons, inversion therapy may be beneficial for people with:

• Chronic lower back pain
• Poor circulation
• Sciatica
• Scoliosis

I ordered an inversion table off Amazon for just over $100.00 and am trying it even if it isn’t a permanent fix. For me, temporary relief of back pain is better than more surgery or pills. The theory of stretching the spine makes so much sense to me.

How Does Inversion Therapy Relieve Back Pain?

According to an article on Healthline:

In theory, inversion exercises should help the spine by:

• Creating more protective fluid around spinal discs
• Removing waste from the spine
• Decreasing inflammation
• Increasing blood circulation through surrounding muscles

What’s the Evidence?

Here’s what the research says about four potential benefits of inversion therapy.

1. Reduced back pain

• One study looked at 47 people with chronic low back pain. They practiced inversion therapy in three 3-minute sets at different angles. The study found that inversion therapy at 60 degrees reduced back pain after eight weeks. It also improved torso flexibility and strength.

2. Improved spinal health

• In theory, inversion therapy can improve the space between your spinal discs and relieve pressure. Activities such as sitting, running, and bending can put pressure on these discs. The pressure increases the risk for back pain, a collapsed vertebra, and other complications.
• According to the Mayo Clinic, most well-designed studies found inversion therapy ineffective. But some people report this form of stretching as a beneficial complementary treatment to back pain.

3. Increased flexibility

• Practicing inversion therapy may also translate to better flexibility. Micromovements in the spine over time may help make the body stronger. You may find it easier to bend and reach. Inversion therapy is also thought to improve posture. This might be especially helpful if you work at a desk.

4. Reduced need for surgery

• One 2014 study suggests that the zero-gravity nature of inversion can reduce compression. The authors of the study also noted that inversion may potentially prevent disability from back problems. This could also reduce the need for spinal surgery.
• A 2012 study found that people with lumbar disease reduced their need for surgery six weeks after using inversion therapy.

How to Use an Inversion Table

How do you use an inversion table to relieve back pain? Lie back and strap yourself onto it so you’re secure. Make sure your feet are securely fixed, using the ankle supports. Then you can tip over by raising your arms up, or by slowly pushing on the arm supports until your head is lower than your heart.

You can use a table under the guidance of your physical therapist or at a clinic. They can show you how to do it and keep an eye on you while you hang out. If you’re younger and don’t have any cardiovascular problems, you can use one at home, but follow these safety tips:

Safety Tips:

• Have someone watch you. Don’t hang upside down on a table without a spotter. Ask someone to watch you in case you can’t get back up.
• Don’t lean back all the way. Try to just tip back at a 30-degree angle, or as little as 10 degrees if you’re an older adult.
• Buckle up. Use the safety straps or harnesses so you don’t slip off.
• Do it in short spans. When you first do it, try it for 1 or 2 minutes once a day to see how you feel. Limit your inversion table sessions to 5 minutes twice a day.
• Tip up slowly. After you’ve done it, come back up slowly to an upright position. If you jerk up too quickly, you may trigger muscle spasms or disk pain in your back.
• Combine it. This therapy may be more effective if you also stretch and stay flexible. Ask your physical therapist or doctor to suggest stretches

Living with Back Pain

For myself, I’ve learned to live with back pain rather than take pills that make me foggy-brained. If I really need something, my doctors recommend Tylenol. When living in Mexico, I had access to stronger medications, but they can mess with your gut and stomach. And, they can be addicting, so I stay away from them.

The doctors recommend frequent sessions of only 3-5 minutes hanging upside down. The first time I used it, I went for ten minutes and could barely walk the next day! If you’ve ever overdone stretching or yoga or Pilates, you know how this can happen. The muscles, tendons, ligaments, and all the tissue surrounding a joint need to become accustomed to flexing and stretching.

This is best done with three sessions a day for only one or two minutes at first. You can also alternate days in the beginning, and gradually make it a daily habit to hang upside down. The other thing I do for back pain is strengthen my back and core muscles. As a result, I have strong abs and a flat stomach, which isn’t a bad side effect!

I doubt that inversion therapy is going to give me back the three inches I’ve lost in height in the last two years. It probably won’t straighten out the curvature in my torso as a result of the compression. But I’m hoping to at least slow down the degeneration and continue playing sports and working out. I’m supplementing with collagen, it’s impossible to tell if that helps. At least I’m fighting the War on Aging, doing what I can until science finds better solutions, better joint therapies.

A friend of mine was suffering back pain in the upper cervical vertebrae. He was able to get a transplant vertebrae from a bone bank. I’d never heard of that, but similar to a knee replacement, one can now get vertebrae. But these are not artificial, they are human. Wonder what’s next.