Tips & Tricks With Inversion Tables

Considerations

• Check with your doctor before using an inversion table. Patients with certain medical conditions shouldn't use an inversion table, including women who are pregnant, people on anticoagulants, and anyone with hernia, glaucoma, retinal detachment, conjunctivitis, high blood pressure, recent stroke, heart or circulatory disorders, spinal injury, cerebral sclerosis, swollen joints, osteoporosis, unhealed fractures, surgically implanted supports, ear infection or obesity.

Starting Out

• Perform your therapy in a relaxing setting, away from phones and distractions. Tuck in your shirt, empty the contents of your pockets, and take off any jewelry or anything else that could fall or injure you while on the machine.

  Set the machine to the proper setting for your height, and strap yourself in tightly to prevent falling off and causing injury. Use the gentlest inversion angle, 15 to 30 degrees (or no more than halfway) for a few minutes each day to start. Continue with the gentle angle until you feel comfortable and relaxed on the table.

  You may feel a little dizzy when getting off the first time, so come up slowly, little by little, and wait a few seconds before dismounting. You may notice your face is red, but this symptom is normal, an indication of increased blood flow to the brain, eyes, skin and scalp. If you feel uncomfortable in the beginning stages, stop and rest awhile, something referred to as "intermittent" traction (alternating inversion and being upright). Don't overdo it, or you may experience back pain. If the pain becomes severe, however, discontinue inversion until you've had a chance to talk with your doctor.

Frequency

• After you've become acclimated to the table, you should be able to use it 10 to 30 minutes a day for its therapeutic benefits. Your time on the table can be broken up into shorter twice-daily sessions, if you prefer. You may find that using the table two to three times a day helps reduce or eliminate any back pain you may be having. The angle of inversion can affect the length of inversion time, with the shallower the angle, the longer the inversion session required. Listen to your body and stop when you've had enough.

Advanced Techniques

• Partial inversion comes from using the table at an angle up to 60 degrees. Exercises during partial inversion include gentle stretching by crossing one arm over your body, gripping the opposite side of the table frame, and rotating up on one shoulder for a stretch. You can also rotate the lower back gently from side-to-side, or slowly rock your pelvis forward and backward. Relieve stress in the neck by gently rotating the head from side to side, lifting the head (don't sit up), or pushing back against the table cover while lifting and stretching your shoulders.

  Full inversion is when you use the table at an angle up to 90 degrees. At this level, you can add abdominal exercises such as crunches, full sit-ups to the knees, and inverted squats where you bend your knees and lift your entire body toward the sky.