Does hanging upside down really relieve recurring back pain?
What if you could turn back the hands of time and restore your back to be more youthful and flexable?
A lot of people are looking for a natural option to get relief. For them medications either have not worked or have caused serious side effects and surgery is just not an option. If this sounds like a fair description of you, keep reading.
Hang upside down machines, also known as inversion tables, allow you to control the angle and comfort of inversion totally on your own. No need for assistance.
What are the Benefits of Hanging Upside Down?
There have been many claims made over the years, suggesting many different benefits. The most obvious benefit is relief of back pain from decompression of the spine. Other benefits include:
- Relief of tension from the gravity assisted stretching of muscles
- An increase in strength in the core muscles of the abdomen
- An increase in flexibility due to the return of fluids to the joints
- The stretching of muscle tissue can also help restore balance and so relieve associated pain
These are just a few of the many claimed benefits of hanging upside down. If you do more research or even try it for yourself I’m certain you will find more.
A Little Inversion History
Did you know that hanging upside down has been used to treat pain and rejuvenate the body for many centuries? The earliest reference to inversion therapy that I found is from an ancient Greek who lived in 400 B.C. . This mans name was Hippocrates and he is generally recognized as the father of western medicine. What he did was place a patent on a ladder and then use a rope and pulley to raise the foot end of the ladder.
Pretty ingenious don’t you think? It must have worked pretty well because since that time, people have been hanging upside down to relieve there back pain and help with other ailments all over the world.
America owes the modern day incarnation of inversion therapy to a Dr. Robert Martin, an Osteopath, Chiropractor and licensed MD . Dr. Martin gave us the “Gravity Guidance System” using gravity to treat ailments.
Who Should not Use a Hang Upside Down Machine
You should always check with your doctor before beginning any type of therapy. Folks with the following conditions or circumstances should not use an inversion table:
- Anything creating a weakness in the skeletal system such as fractures, implants etc.
- Folks with heart conditions and circulation disorders
- People with hernia, either hiatal or ventral
- If you are on an aspirin regimen or taking blood thinners
- Have high blood pressure or suffer from hypertension
- People with eye problems ranging from pink eye to glaucoma
This is just a short list and should not be taken as all inclusive or as a substitute for a Doctors advice.
(Picture provided by riordanmr at flickr)
