Inversion therapy can be a cost effective way to manage your back pain at home. But there are some precautions you need to take and some things you need to watch out for.
Inversion therapy can help relieve low back pain by applying traction to the lumbar spine. When applied correctly this gentle stretching can relieve pressure on arthritic facet joints, draw more fluid into desiccated discs, and help reverse bulging discs.
How much stretching is the right amount for you?
The answer to this question is just as subjective and hard to know as "How much pain do you have?" The correct amount of traction for any particular person is however much helps. With inversion therapy more is not necessarily better, and it is easy to get too much.
As with any new treatment program you should always check with your doctor before starting any new therapy. People with glaucoma or other diseases that affect pressure within the eye should avoid inversion therapy. Pregnant women and anyone with uncontrolled hypertension should definitely discuss the risks with their doctor before proceeding.
If you have severe arthritis in your back you will find that there is a fine line between relieving the pain by taking the pressure off of the joints and increasing the pain by stretching the joints too far.
You should not go completely upside down!!
The key with inversion therapy is to start off easy, and progress it slowly. Most inversion tables have a safety belt that limits how far you can go. You can set this angle before you even get on the machine. In the beginning a shallow angle of 15-20°is a good place to start.
As you gain experience and become more comfortable with inversion you can slowly increase the angle. You should try each setting for a few days before an advancing. Consider how it feels while you're doing it, as well as how your back feels a few hours later. You will be the first to know when you start getting too much.
Another variable to consider is how much time you spend inverted and how many times per day you use your inversion table. Increasing the number of minutes per day at a lesser angle can be a more gentle way to relieve your pain.
Studies have shown that inversion therapy can create a negative pressure inside of the disc. This causes the disc to draw in more water and stay just a little taller even after you get off of the machine. But the movement of fluids into the disc takes time; probably days of consistent use before you began to notice a benefit from that particular change.
If you are living with back pain from arthritic joints or degenerative discs, inversion therapy with an inversion table in your home can be a cost effective tool that you can use every day to help manage your pain. You can learn more at How Do Inversion Tables Work.