Facts about Inversion Tables By: Dr. Christine Bartholomew, D.C.

The topic today is about inversion tables in Woodbury MN and do they really help? I occasionally get questions about inversion tables by my patients and the real question is do they work? My usual response is "Yes, it will help to temporarily help decrease symptoms of pain." The second question that I am asked is "How does it work?" First of all, let's talk about what the body goes through. As we all know, gravity weighs heavily on our bodies. The average spine has normal wear and tear, but as the body is put through injury after injury, the spine starts to degenerate. The discs can; therefore, lose height and the vertebra themselves will start to break down and can cause even more problems.

Facts about Inversion Tables in Woodbury MN

Spinal degeneration plus injuries can cause disc bulging, disc degeneration, thinning of the disc spaces and even disc herniation, etc. Along with gravity, these injuries put pressure on the spinal cord and or nerves that can cause numbness and tingling and pain, but mostly causes nerve interference. When there is nerve interference, the brain cannot receive information from the body nor can the body receive proper information from the brain; therefore, the organs, muscles, and glands cannot perform their duties at the optimum level. So what can we do to prevent this?

As chiropractors we treat the body as a whole, by adjusting the spine to increase organ, gland and muscle function. There are also other things people can do in the mean time to help improve their quality of life. The inversion table, for example, can be used at home or if your chiropractor has an inversion table as a therapeutic modality you can use it there. As your body is hanging upside down, your body can combat the effects of gravity. This will help promote proper blood circulation, lymph circulation which can help with repairing the body. If you are suffering from disc damage and pain, the distraction of the joints themselves can help by relieving that pressure on the spine and creating more space for the nerves to flow properly.

There are also other benefits from the inversion table:

• Improved posture: Inversion Therapy can help distract the spine causing to go back to where it should be.Muscle relaxation: Inversion therapy can help the muscles relax, when you are sitting and standing your muscles are constantly working, so lying down will help those tired muscles relax temporarily.
• Improve blood circulation: lying upside down causes the blood to flow back up to the heart quicker.
• Maintaining height: As the spine is distracted with inversion therapy, the vertebrae are pulled apart creating more disc space.
• Disc rejuvenation: Inversion therapy will distract the vertebrae creating more space for your disc spaces therefore, creating more room for the blood vessels and nerves to get to the disc spaces to rejuvenate the cells properly.
• Decreased back pain: When the body has more room for the nerves and blood vessels to flow better, then the body's innate intelligence steps in to heal itself.

If you are interested in purchasing or using an inversion table please research and talk to your primary physician before seeking this alternative therapy.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Christine Bartholomew, D.C.