Inversion tables help you accomplish more than one goal. Inversion tables help people without the strength or bravery to try hanging from a bar with special boots called gravity boots. These boots hook to a chinup bar so that you can freely hang from it. An inversion table may help if you have lower back pain. It can also help if you have weak abdominals. Inflexible people can benefit from stretching that occurs when using inversion tables. A table can also help you improve your posture.
Stretching
Hanging upside down stretches the spine. People who dislike stretching because it is uncomfortable or difficult can use an inversion table so that gravity does the stretching work for you. An inversion table helps you stretch comfortably because it lets you control the intensity of the stretch by adjusting the angle of the table, instead of the only option being a full 90-degree inversion, with your head near the floor like when doing a handstand. Full inversion causes some people to tense their muscles because of the fear associated with being in an unfamiliar position. Tense muscles make relaxation and stretching impossible. Instead, use a slight inversion with your body head first at an angle of only 20 to 30 degrees. This provides mild stretching. Work up to a 60-degree angle for a greater stretch. If you want, inversion tables do go to 90 degrees for maximum stretching.
Core Muscle Strength
An inversion table lets you do exercises that improve your core strength. Situps and crunches that you would normally perform lying on the floor are possible on an inversion table. These exercises help you get stronger abdominal muscles even more so than their floor-lying cousins because of the challenging position your body is in when upside down. You need to be fully inverted to perform core exercises on an inversion table.
Posture
Use of an inversion table helps improve posture. Stretching resets your muscles back to their optimum lengths. Strengthening the abdominals that support the spine helps, too. Posture problems may be habitual, but standing or sitting with poor posture causes muscles to tighten and others to get weak. By stretching and strengthening your body on the inversion table, you help correct poor posture but changing the way you sit, stand and move is necessary for better posture long term.
Back Pain
Stretching and decompressing the spine translate to less back pain. When tight muscles pull on the spine or compressed vertebrae pinch nerves in the back, you get pain in the lower back, hips, glutes and down your leg. Relieving the pressure and tension through regular use of an inversion table lessens pain. Also, if your abs are weak then they cannot adequately support the spine. Strong abdominals help prevent, reduce and even get rid of back pain. Strengthening the abs reduces back pain long term, although using an inversion table for back pain might get only short-term results if you do not work with a physician or physical therapist to participate in a comprehensive program for your unique back issue. The inversion table helps but doesn't by itself solve all problems.
