inversion table. Any good?

[loveitloads]

Was thinking about getting some anti grav boots but my door frames are not strong enough or high enough for mt to use so I have been looking at inversion table as they seem to do most of what I want plus I can start at an angle and slowly increase until fully inverted so seems like a good Idea

But I would like all your views please

Are they worth it I have read that inverting helps clear toxins out of the muscles that build up during exercise which sounds benifical and the idea of uncompressing the spine after weight training does seem also ,like a great idea along with the ability to do inverted squats and crunches and sit ups it all seems like these sort of tables are a god send but I have only come across them in the last few years and only from a few places yet if the benefits are as good as everyone involved in them claims surely they would be every where

And ideas welcome

[girl81]

I am very interested in these for upper back pain. Anyone tried them?

[Mindi912]

I've tried and would love to have bought it they are awesome - they help take any stress off your vertebrae and because it's being pulled apart it allows your body to replenish your spine with fresh blood and oxygen more so than normal. It is also very good for the cushions and spinal fluid.

I was on their 10 min's and I actually fell asleep in the shop

btw just as a little added bonus for about 10 min's after you are a little taller but that soon goes back to normal

[gimpy835]

i use the one they have at the gym i go to and it helps out a good bit. i had a fusion at L5-S1 done and it was a little uncomfortable at first but love it now. only thing that gets me is the things that hold your feet kill my ankles....

[BigJonMud]

HELL YEAH!

But whatever you do-> find one that can hang you from your waist, and NOT your ankles. It has been very damaging to my knee ligaments.

I'v had mine for over 1 year, and I swear that becoming familiar with a couple of good yoga postures will do everything and more that the inversion table will.

[girl81]

HELL YEAH!

But whatever you do-> find one that can hang you from your waist, and NOT your ankles. It has been very damaging to my knee ligaments.

I'v had mine for over 1 year, and I swear that becoming familiar with a couple of good yoga postures will do everything and more that the inversion table will.

Do you mean yoga positions? If so, may I ask which ones?

[BigJonMud]

Mountain pose. Childs pose.
Anything that elongates the spine and uses breath pressure to strengthen the inner abdominal stuff. Which is just aboout any yoga position done right.
Pilates is also the bomb when it comes to core work.
Also..abs and leg work haning from the bar is fantastic..

But seriously, dont hang from your ankles or feet

[timberwolf]

Mountain pose. Childs pose.
Anything that elongates the spine and uses breath pressure to strengthen the inner abdominal stuff. Which is just aboout any yoga position done right.
Pilates is also the bomb when it comes to core work.
Also..abs and leg work haning from the bar is fantastic..

But seriously, dont hang from your ankles or feet

Some yoga poses can be quite detrimental to spine health as well since.
Lumbar flexibility is actually not desireable but rather lumbar stability.

Been considering the inversion table myself...

[BigJonMud]

Its funny you say that, Timberwolf..

as the majority of my yoga and pilates practice has been focused on gaining more mobility in the lower lumbar vertebrae.
It would seem that many years of heavy deads and squat style lifting has all but fused my lower vertebrae together.. this greatly affects ROM through legs and hip, not to mention hindering my lower body muscle development.

Rather than looking for less spinal mobility, I would opt for greater agility coupled with very strong lower abs and pevlic floor muscles to protect the lowr back when lifting heavy. I alos think it wise to do some ballistic stretching when gaining agility through postrual muscles, so as to hardwire some protection into the muscle reflex.

[girl81]

Some yoga poses can be quite detrimental to spine health as well since.
Lumbar flexibility is actually not desireable but rather lumbar stability.

Been considering the inversion table myself...

Please update if you get one.

Does anyone know where I could try before I buy?

[I dont work at Ballys]

hang from a pullup bar to elongate your spine and stretch your lats/pecs.

do light aerobic exercise to get blood/oxygen flowing.

no table, no blood rushing to your head. bingo bango.

[Tyciol]

I am very interested in these for upper back pain. Anyone tried them? Please update if you get one. Does anyone know where I could try before I buy?

I have always felt with tables/boots the emphasis is on hip/lowerback/neck pain. For upper back pain, you could get just as much or more traction on that part of the spine by hanging from a bar by your arms probably. I honestly don't have a strong grip so I can't do that for very long though. While we develope our ability to hang from bars for longer, we can get additional TUT (time under traction, lol) for our backs by supplementing our bar-hanging with inverted hanging.

One benefit I can see to hanging by feet rather than arms, even though it has less traction, besides being able to do it for longer for the most part, is that you would be able to move your arms and scapula around freely, whereas they are less mobile when you are dangling by your arms, since they must hold together. Being able to do stretches and stuff while the upper back is in traction might be a helpful means of relieving pain perhaps.

To try one before buying, I would check out large shopping malls. Some malls have stores which sell exercise machines, sometimes even infomercial stores, and they will allow you to try their floor models. Do not do it without a store person there to spot you, I had one spot me when I tried out their inversion table.

Sometimes people buy this stuff used on places like craigslist and in that case if they lived nearby they might let you visit and try it out, but I honestly wouldn't recommend that, buying used or trusting a random person to spot you, especially if you are a lady. Stores in public places are safer for this, as are employees rather than random people. You generally want precarious things like inversion tables to be new rather than used anyway.

i use the one they have at the gym i go to and it helps out a good bit. i had a fusion at L5-S1 done and it was a little uncomfortable at first but love it now. only thing that gets me is the things that hold your feet kill my ankles....

Definately the greatest strain from this stuff is at the ankles. I have been told using boot attachments rather than ankle clamps slightly diminishes this strain by spreading it out a bit. It was actually kind of attractive to me because I felt like it would be a way of strengthening the anterior tibilias muscle or something. But anyway, this aspect of strain is one reason that in addition to getting an inversion table I also got an inversion chair. Those, you invert with legs flexed 90/90 at hip/knee with your weight on the tops of your thighs (like the reverse of sitting) so there is no ankle strain. This, along with hanging from a bar, are ways to accumulate spinal traction without stressing any particular area of hanging (hand, ankle) too much.

But whatever you do-> find one that can hang you from your waist, and NOT your ankles. It has been very damaging to my knee ligaments.

I'v had mine for over 1 year, and I swear that becoming familiar with a couple of good yoga postures will do everything and more that the inversion table will. Mountain pose. Childs pose. Anything that elongates the spine and uses breath pressure to strengthen the inner abdominal stuff. Which is just aboout any yoga position done right. Pilates is also the bomb when it comes to core work. Also..abs and leg work haning from the bar is fantastic..

But seriously, dont hang from your ankles or feet

Hanging from the ankles/feet can be stressful for them, and almost as much for the knee, this is true. It is unfortunate you were injured doing this. This is why diet is important (nutrition for your joints and ligaments) and to work up very gradually. Aggressive gentlemen (I am wary of this, as I want to jump right into inversion) can damage themselves due to their enthusiasm.

If this occurs I would not blame the device, but only our progressing too rapidly without caring for our ligaments and giving them time to adapt. Ligaments do not thicken as quickly as muscles do, and require slightly different components to build than our muscles do.

In regards to those yoga postures, I know yoga says stuff like 'lengthen the spine' but honestly, while it might do that compared to doing a barbell squat, the amount of traction you put on the spine is pretty negligible. Child's pose honestly just flexes the spine moreso than it lengthens it. Rythmically flexing and extending the spine is certainly healthy for lubricating the joints and keeping it supple, but it doesn't really 'lengthen' it totally, it is much less stimulus than total traction is.

There is definately much to learn from yoga about breath pressure and using it in conjunction with spinal exercises, it would be a great thing to incorporate.

hang from a pullup bar to elongate your spine and stretch your lats/pecs. Do light aerobic exercise to get blood/oxygen flowing. No table, no blood rushing to your head. bingo bango.

Unfortunately, bar hanging is only part of the equation, and not all of it. It will not elongate the cervical spine, for example. You would need to do forward bending or hang upside down on said pullup bar to get that, which many people have problems with. Inverting is so far the only way to use gravity to stretch the ENTIRE spine simultaneously. Definately aerobic exercise is very important, it is something that can also be done on these tables. The blood rushing to the head is a precarious stress, which is why I would not use a table for too long all at once, but build up to using it for longer periods over time with a mind for how it feels and if it is causing any negative symptoms which should be reported to a doctor, who should be consulted if you have any health conditions anyway, prior to using something like this.

[BulldogVTX]

I've had one for about 2 years now. I bought it from a store that used to be a Play It Again Sports, but now it's a mom & Pop shop. They let you try anything you want there.

I absolutely love it. After a day of training in the morning, and then sitting in an office chair, there is nothing more relaxing than stretching out on my table. The key to getting used to the table is that you DON'T need to go completely vertical to get benefits! Even going slightly past horizontal will help relieve pressure and stress. If you're worried about ankle/'knee pain, and too much blood rushing to your head, start at a small decline and work your way up! (or down....)

I think they're worth it, but that's just my $.02

[Tyciol]

You're 5'11". Just how low is your doorframe exactly? So long as you can walk through it without stooping and have some clearance I think it has enough height to hang boots on. But there's no point arguing if it's not strong enough I guess. In that case it s probably also too weak to hang a chinup bar on.