Inversion tables are designed to allow a person to align their body comfortably in an upside down position, with the head lower than the feet. In this position, body weight functions as a form of traction, which leads to a wide range of benefits for not only the spine, but for the rest of the body as well.
Stretching and Elongating the Spine
By hanging in downward position, inversion tables allow you to feel relief from compression as more space is created between each vertebrae. By stretching and elongating the spine in this way, there is no pressure placed on the discs, nerves or ligaments surrounding the spine. In an inverted position, nerve roots that emerge from the spine through each space between the vertebrae are additionally relieved of pressure, allowing them to function better when communicating between the body and the brain.
Relieving Spinal Discs of Pressure
By maintaining an inverted position for a few minutes, the discs, which are essential as shock absorbers, are allowed to plump up from lack of pressure. In this position, the spine has a chance to regain flexibility by finding the natural curve that indicates good posture and relief from pressure. As the ligaments stretch, you can find more movement possible once you are back on your feet. Just a few minutes a day on an inversion table helps with loss of height as discs decompress; this is key in helping to reverse the effects of aging on your spine.
Alleviating Stress
The way we sit, walk, and handle tension affects our body in a myriad of ways. Most of us are stressed due to the rigors of life as well as through bad habits related to lack of exercise, poor posture and eating habits. Because of this, we often feel tension in our back, neck, shoulders and spine. When oxygen cannot properly reach our muscles, joints, and organs, headaches and other discomforts result. Additionally, when the lymphatic system is not functioning properly, wastes accumulate in our organs, causing added problems.
Helping the Lymphatic System
Lymphatic fluids are designed to flush out debris from our system, but because the lymphatic system does not have a pump like the heart, it requires a healthy body to accomplish its task. By inverting the body, we help lymphatic fluids while flushing fresh oxygen into our system, thus helping to alleviate pain due to toxic build-up in the muscles.
Helping the Organs
By inverting, we give our hearts a helping hand. Lying upside down, even at a slight 25 degree angle, creates tremendous relief for the heart, which then has less work to do in order to pump blood to the brain. Prolapsed organs have a chance to regenerate in this position as normal downward gravity is changed to a new direction. Inversion tables provide an amazing sensation of relief and well-being by sending an infusion of blood and oxygen to every area in our body. In this way, it works to clear and stimulate the mind as well as our skin, organs, ligaments, and bones.
An Age Old Custom
Inversion as a health therapy has been around for a long time. Used by the ancient Greeks, records show its first practice when a patient was placed upside down on a ladder to create relief for a spinal contraction. Yoga practitioners have been inverting their bodies for thousands of years, standing on their hands, heads or hanging upside down from belts like bats in the practice of Iyengar Yoga. A more modern and less problematic way to invert has been through the creation of Inversion tables. Over the years they have become more ergonomic, as makers have refined their construction, making them extremely easy and safe to use in the home.
Precautions
Do not do headstands or handstands on your own without consulting a yoga professional as well as your health care provider. Headstands, when done improperly or on injured necks, can create more compression, exacerbating potential problems.
