Unfortunately, a vast majority of men and women will at some point in their life experience debilitating back pain. There are several potential situations that can lead to back pain, including the following:
-Weak core muscles, which leaves you susceptible to back injuries
-Gravity that compressed discs, which forces much-needed moisture from them, which can cause misalignment of your spine and make it harder for your discs to absorb needed nutrients
-Other injuries such as car accidents, sporting injuries, etc.
The question that most people ask me is: Can inversion therapy done via an inversion table get rid of my back pain. Fortunately for many people who suffer from back pain, that answer is quite possibly a resounding ‘Yes!’. The fact is, inversion Therapy can be very effective at reducing back pain caused by each of the situations above.
How Inversion Therapy Reduces Back Pain
Inversion table therapy reduces back pain by treating the root of the problem. In each of he cases mentioned above, inverting as little as 10 degrees for just a few minutes each day can help you tremendously in relieving your back pain by:
1) Rehydrating Disks in your back
2) Reducing nerve pressure
3) Realigning your Spine
4) Relaxing Tense Muscles
Rehyrdate Disks In Your Back
Over time, gravity compresses your spine, causing your disks to ‘scrunch’ together. By leaving less room in between your disks, two negative effects occur: 1) Moisture is pushed out of your disks, leaving them dry; and 2) it’s much more difficult to get the needed nutrients your back needs. Simply put, your back is being squeezed dry.
However, through reverse loading (fancy word for putting reverse pressure on your spine, i.e. elongating your spine instead of scrunching it), inversion therapy helps to increase the space between your disks – helping them to hydrate properly and reverse some of the negative affects caused by gravity.
Reduce Nerve Pressure
Your spinal cord nerve roots exit your spine between the vertebrae, in the area between your discs. Due to the compressive force of gravity, this spacing can decrease over time - meaning that exit passageway for your nerve is smaller. This can lead to a ‘pinched nerve’, and one of the most effective ways to prevent/decrease this pain is through inversion.
Realign Your Spine
Over time, things tend to happen that cause our spine to become misaligned. In addition to spinal and back injuries, repetitive or rotational physical actions such as playing golf or tennis, or even carrying a baby or the groceries with your same arm over and over again can cause your muscles and body to become uneven. Through inversion therapy you can reduce the pressure that builds up on the spine, allowing it to properly realign.
Relax Your Muscles
Muscle tightness and stress can cause all kinds of problems for your back. Fortunately, inverting even slightly has been shown in studies to reduce EMG activity, which measures tension in your muscles, quickly and effectively. In addition, inversion techniques improve the flow of lymphatic fluid throughout your body. The lymphatic system is in charge of flushing out waste in your body, but the system has no pump. By inverting you stimulate that flow and can increase the effectiveness of the system.
If you feel that inversion table therapy can help reduce your back pain, I would encourage you to read our reviews of the different models available on the market, starting with our best rated inversion table for 2011: the Teeter EP-950 Inversion Therapy Table, or the Teeter EP-560 Inversion Table.
