Inversion Therapy - Realigning the Spine

spinal stenosis

Inversion therapy? At first glance it may sound like a proposed cure for over-taxed mathematicians, but it is actually a treatment for joints and muscles touted by no less than that the enormously clever secret agent, Angus MacGyver. If the man who popularized using duct tape and Swiss Army knives as cure-alls for every conceivable household or mechanical ailment and who once hotwired a broken truck with little more than a turkey baster, a paper clip, and tweezers used inversion therapy, it must be good.

Inversion therapy works by suspending a person head down at an angle. The ankles are first clamped to an inversion table, allowing the body to rest at an inverted angle. This decompresses everything below the ankles and allows every joint to benefit from an equal and opposite action from that in an upright position.

This is especially beneficial for those suffering from back pain. Inversion therapy releases pressure on the discs, ligaments, and nerve roots of the spinal column, allowing them to return to their natural shape. This is great for treating sore muscles, shoulder tension, and joint pain.

Because only the movement of your feet is prevented, the rest of the body is free to move. There are several exercises which can be done in an inverted position which will increase your body's flexibility. As the muscles are already pre-stretched from being upside down, exercising in an inverted position will allow for stretching of muscles that will result in greater flexibility.

While not a cure for serious back ailments, inversion therapy offers great relief from occasional stiffness, soreness, back and joint pain. In addition, proponents of inversion state that it aids in improving posture by aligning the spine and increasing blood flow by acting on the circulatory system in an opposite manner than when the body is standing.