You’re going about your day, and you lean over to take the trash bag out of the bin…only to moan in discomfort due to the ache in your lower back.  Millions of Americans complain of back pain due to sports injuries and the strains of daily life.  Simply sitting at a desk all day at work, or bending over to lift a bag of groceries, can put you at risk for back injuries.

    Back pain is one of the top reasons people visit their doctors and miss days at work.  Many people are seeking non-invasive forms of relief for back pain that do not require medication.  Inversion therapy is a way of stretching the spine that can provide relief for back pain.  It can be dated back to as early as 400 BC when the “father of medicine,” Hippocrates, suspended a patient suffering from back pain on ropes and pulleys to relieve his symptoms. 

    Sound scary?  Luckily, citizens of modern times can benefit from inversion therapy right in their own living rooms.  

What is Inversion Therapy?

    Inversion therapy uses gravity to provide relief for your back pain.  It consists of lying on a “table” that tilts your body so that your feet are higher than your head, putting you at a recommended 15-degree angle or more.   This allows the disks and nerve roots in your spine to naturally decompress.

    People with varying causes of lower back pain, such as sciatica or a pinched nerve, may benefit from inversion therapy.  Stress and poor posture can also contribute to back pain, making virtually everyone susceptible to it.
 
    ABC’s Good Morning America recently featured Gary Calabrese, Director of Sports Health Rehabilitation for the Cleveland Clinic, who demonstrated inversion therapy on weather anchor, Sam Champion.  Calabrese reported that lying on an inversion table allows the muscles and ligaments in the spine to stretch.  The muscles relax as they are elongated, and this stretch can relieve the discomfort caused by the wear and tear of daily activity on your back.

    Tom Maroney, CEO of Banner Therapy Products, a company specializing in rehabilitative products, said, “By relieving pressure on the discs and nerve roots, inversion therapy allows discs to recover lost moisture and to return to their original shape.  This decreases the pressure they can exert on nerves, therefore minimizing back pain.”

 Is an Inversion Table Right for You?

    Inversion tables are a convenient, non-invasive way to alleviate your lower back pain without having to leave your house.  Often two or three short sessions, per day, will help minimize symptoms. 

    Inversion tables range in price from $299 to $1,400.  Banner Therapy sells several versions suited to fit a variety of needs.  They offer inversion tables for all budgets. Some easily fold for storage in a corner or closet.  Others are perfect for “at-home” use because they require no adjustment for height and weight.  Some are also motorized and capable of providing a full inversion.

    There are several different models of inversion tables to choose from, depending on your individual preferences.  Looking for an alternative way to soothe your back pain?  You just may turn things around by trying inversion!