Inversion therapy

Inversion therapy involves hanging upside down or at an inverted angle to use gravity to naturally decompress the joints of the body. In particular, it is often advertised as a relief for back pain. However, it is rarely regarded as a serious treatment for back pain.

Hanging in this way, as with gravity boots or inversion tables, causes each joint in the body to be loaded in an equal and opposite manner to standing.

Proponents claim that inversion therapy is particularly beneficial for the spine in that it relieves pressure on the discs and nerve roots; this in turn allows discs to recover lost moisture and to return to their original shape, decreasing the pressure they can exert on nerves. Skeptics note that pressure is also relieved when lying down in bed.

Advertisements also claim that it stimulates circulation, improves posture, strengthens ligaments, increases oxygen flow to the brain and increases flexibility.

People who have heart disease, high blood pressure, eye diseases (such as glaucoma), or are pregnant are at higher risk for the dangers related to inversion therapy and should consult their doctors about it first, and would have to progress very slowly starting at very light levels of inversion. The first time anyone tries inversion therapy with gravity, he (or she) should be sure to have someone standing by, in case assistance is required to get out of the apparatus, or if health problems are experienced. With the use of swivel tables for inversion, this is no longer necessary as unlocking the table and putting your arms down by your sides will quickly right the invertor, though having an observer present in case of unconciousness is still a good idea.

Trivia

 * TV star Rosie O'Donnell has said that she uses inversion therapy to treat depression.
 * Used by Richard Dean Anderson's title character in the 1980s television series MacGyver.