Inversion table

[WTR]

For the past 10 to 12 weeks I have had sever back pain 24 seven. I was having trouble just walking. A Chiroprator gave me minor and short lived relief. I had been doing the exercises that a PT had shown me 20+ years ago and they did not seem to be giving me any prolonged relief. As a last resort before considering surgery, I purchased an inversion table off Amazon. I felt relief after just one 5 min. session. I have now used the table once in the morning and once in the evening for 6 days. I have reduced my pain by 95%. I highly recommend trying one before considering surgery. Best $167.00 I’ve spent lately.

[stever1950]

Those things are great! Like you, I had severe pain in my lower back running down into my legs and could barely get through the day. I bought one at Sam's for the same price (10 years ago). The first few times I never went beyond 30 degrees and found 45 to be the best. Going beyond that did not seem to make much difference. I started at about 10 - 15 degrees and the first minute was excruciating. After the first minute I felt thing start shifting in my spine and it felt great. Like you I did 5 - 10 minutes twice a day and after a week I had no pain. I used it steady for a couple of months and have not had any more attacks since. I get on it for 10 -15 minutes once a month.

[flechero]

I bought one a few years ago for the same reason... Inexpensive and work great.

One caution though- I got the where I quit using it regularly and when I get back on it, I have to remember to invert much more slowly that I used to or else I get vertigo from the rotation. Never bothered me when I used it regularly but now that I'm infrequent, it sneaks up on me. (maybe it's just me but keep it in mind.)

I hope you also get the long term relief that I got from the inversion table!

[warnmar10]

I bought one of these for use on my inversion table: https://www.inversionbelt.com/product-p ... rsion-belt
And yes, I did pay that much for it. Knowing now what I now know, I would buy it again. Someone really crafty could make one for a lot less I suppose.

The point is I can fully invert for as long as suits me and my ankles, knees and hips are non-the-wiser. I have mine adjusted to approximately half my weight suspended by my ankles/feet and half suspended by the inversion belt.

When I was a younger man the strain on my lower extremities wouldn't have been a big deal. Now it is. However, I firmly believe inversion and stretching my knees and hips has helped them too. But without the belt it is way too much of a good thing.

[flechero]

I bought one of these for use on my inversion table: https://www.inversionbelt.com/product-p ... rsion-belt

First I've seen them... but it looks like money well spent. May look into one for myself!

[RoyGBiv]

Hmmmm.... That's quite a lot of positive testimonial... I've been wrestling with some lower back issues for years...
For $125... Might be worth trying... About the cost of 2 visits to the Chiropractor.

Any comments on this one with heated lumbar? Is the heat useful? LINK

The one without heat is only $15 less.. Probably worth the extra $15 to go for the one above? LINK

ETA: When I posted these links the 4800 was showing up at $125 Prime and the 9600 was at $110.
Currently, the 4800 is not coming up as Prime and the prices from 3rd party sellers are a bit under $150.
Guess I waited too long... LOL.

[stever1950]

That looks like a pretty good one Roy, very close to mine. The heat could be beneficial and if not just turn it off. Just start off slow on the angle and work up to 45+ degrees. The first time will be painful for a minute until some things pop back in place, then it's like OOHHH. Might sound like you are laying on Rice Crispies...LOL.

[WTR]

Hmmmm.... That's quite a lot of positive testimonial... I've been wrestling with some lower back issues for years...
For $125... Might be worth trying... About the cost of 2 visits to the Chiropractor.

Any comments on this one with heated lumbar? Is the heat useful? LINK

The one without heat is only $15 less.. Probably worth the extra $15 to go for the one above? LINK

I don’t think you will be on long enough ( 5-10 min) for heat to build up. I think you would be better off heating up your back with a heating pad before you even get on the table. I’ve only done 6 min per session with no heat so far.

[warnmar10]

That looks like a pretty good one Roy, very close to mine. The heat could be beneficial and if not just turn it off. Just start off slow on the angle and work up to 45+ degrees. The first time will be painful for a minute until some things pop back in place, then it's like OOHHH. Might sound like you are laying on Rice Crispies...LOL.

I had the same experience as you at first. 45°wasn't comfortable at all but if I took my time rolling over and stopped every several degrees of rotation to relax, 45° of rotation was very beneficial.

My worst experiences with inversion was after stretching my back for a few minutes I would rotate back to the starting position. Doing the 1/2 sit up to go from reclining on the back board to sitting up ready to stand... excruciating! My newly relaxed lower back wanted to get involved in the sit up and it had no business doing that. I did hundreds of 1/2 sit ups on the machine to get used to making that transition.

The only disappointment in the whole inversion process, my lower back is stretched by the weight of my entire torso. Now that the low back feels good the upper needs attention. I'm considering a way to add weight to my head and/or shoulders to help stretch the upper back as much as the lower. So far I haven't come up with a workable solution.

[warnmar10]

I don’t think you will be on long enough ( 5-10 min) for heat to build up. I think you would be better off heating up your back with a heating pad before you even get on the table. I’ve only done 6 min per session with no heat so far.

I've used a heating pad on the inversion table and it was helpful at first. Once I was able to rotate without involuntarily and spasmodically tensing whole muscle groups heat was just a distraction.

What I have found to work best for me is to spend about a half hour on the device. Only 5 or six minutes are ever spent fully inverted but the rest of the time I slowly rotate between ~22° and ~45°. The repeated stretch and relax cycles really works on my issues.

[stever1950]

I don’t think you will be on long enough ( 5-10 min) for heat to build up. I think you would be better off heating up your back with a heating pad before you even get on the table. I’ve only done 6 min per session with no heat so far.

I've used a heating pad on the inversion table and it was helpful at first. Once I was able to rotate without involuntarily and spasmodically tensing whole muscle groups heat was just a distraction.

What I have found to work best for me is to spend about a half hour on the device. Only 5 or six minutes are ever spent fully inverted but the rest of the time I slowly rotate between ~22° and ~45°. The repeated stretch and relax cycles really works on my issues.

You nailed it there. I forgot about that. The rinse and repeat works great. I find that when I am at 45 or greater, if I extend my arms above (below?) my head that tends to pull the upper back some. Like you though, I haven't figured a way to pull on the top of the back/neck yet.
There used to be a device with a harness that went under your chin and the back of the skull. This had a rope that went over a door with a water bag on the other side. This might work with a small weight when you are inverted. Have to be careful though and make sure it only went on the chin and back of the head, otherwise.........

[WTR]

I don’t think you will be on long enough ( 5-10 min) for heat to build up. I think you would be better off heating up your back with a heating pad before you even get on the table. I’ve only done 6 min per session with no heat so far.

I've used a heating pad on the inversion table and it was helpful at first. Once I was able to rotate without involuntarily and spasmodically tensing whole muscle groups heat was just a distraction.

What I have found to work best for me is to spend about a half hour on the device. Only 5 or six minutes are ever spent fully inverted but the rest of the time I slowly rotate between ~22° and ~45°. The repeated stretch and relax cycles really works on my issues.

You nailed it there. I forgot about that. The rinse and repeat works great. I find that when I am at 45 or greater, if I extend my arms above (below?) my head that tends to pull the upper back some. Like you though, I haven't figured a way to pull on the top of the back/neck yet.
There used to be a device with a harness that went under your chin and the back of the skull. This had a rope that went over a door with a water bag on the other side. This might work with a small weight when you are inverted. Have to be careful though and make sure it only went on the chin and back of the head, otherwise.........

My Mom has one of the harnesses that went under the chin and had a rope with pulley that went over the door and had a light weight attached to it. It cured her problem and she only had to use it for about a month. Her neck had been whipped when we were rear ended by a pickup.

[lama]

Do not get on them wet. Family friend broke her neck when she tried to show someone how it works just after getting out of the pool. She will still tell you they are great but is paralyzed. So, be aware of the risks and take the steps to mitigate them.

[RoyGBiv]

Thanks to this thread I purchased this table about a month ago, when it was on sale for $97. Took me about 45 minutes to assemble myself, using only the tools in the kit. Only difficult part was attaching the table itself to the stand, without an extra set of hands (wife was traveling). I've been quite happy with the table for alleviating symptoms (pain and numbness due to stenosis) while getting checked out by a spine doc. Will be starting PT next week, but, 10 minutes on the table (8 minutes at 15' and 2 minutes at 30') 2x/day has kept the pain mostly at bay so far. Also started doing some yoga stretching as well... thinking about taking a few yoga classes to learn positions and work on core strength.

Thanks again for the suggestions here.