Hanging upside down by your feet never sounds like too much fun at least to me. However, it is gaining increasing popularity if done for medicinal purposes and when done for medicinal purposes it is known as inversion therapy. However, it is key that you hang by your feet using an inversion table, inversion chair, or gravity boots. You won’t get the same affect by doing a head or handstand.
When your body is dangled in such a manner, the joints in your body are loaded in a manner exactly opposite of normal – in other words, when you’re in a standing position. This is desirable especially for people with back pain. Your spine is made up of discs. In between each disc there is a jelly like substance. Through the effects of gravity or even constant pounding from activities such as running, the jelly substance starts to become squished and can protrude from between the discs, hitting the surrounding nerves, this can obviously result in considerable pain. Inverting oneself allows the joints to stretch back out, sucking the jelly back where it belongs.
We’ve all had tight muscles in our back that have caused significant discomfort. Instead of trying to find someone to rub the knots out, you can now use inversion therapy instead. The upside down position allows your muscles to stretch in ways that would be very difficult from a standing position – this can help relieve back pain, chronic or otherwise that is related to muscle tightness.
Relieving back pain is not that only benefit of inversion therapy. Increased flexibility, better circulation- both cardiovascular and lymphatic, and better posture are also toted as benefits by proponents of this unique therapy.
Some of these benefits have already been covered, namely back pain and flexibility (in some respect). Circulation is another exciting benefit however, that most people know very little about. Proponents of inversion therapy claim that hanging upside down encourages increased blood flow and oxygen to the brain resulting in clearer and sharper thinking. Lymphatic circulation has also been shown to increase. The lymphatic system is not equipped with a pump as the cardiovascular system is. The inverted position seems to allow the lymphatic system to work faster and expel waste more efficiently from the system – which makes for a faster recovery time from athletic pursuits.
The opponents to inversion therapy have very little information. Basically all they can say is that the inversion tables, chairs etc are a waste of money, not that they cause any harm. Now several years ago a study indication that those suffering from heart problems could suffer a stroke from the use of inversion tables was vastly blown out of proportion by the media and was later disproved. Inversion therapy products have been on the market for 15 years and no major injury has occurred as far as I can tell. Some participants have strained their neck muscles as a result of using the devices for too long a period of time – but that is pretty much the extent of the potential dangers. However, if you do suffer from a chronic condition, especially related to the eyes or heart, or are pregnant, consult with a professional before use.
