When I Started Using an Inversion Table
One warm, relaxing summer day, I wore my comfy boxer shorts and settled into an afternoon watching a movie on cable and cold beer. I felt a little exhausted at the time but totally comfy as I reached for the remote, when suddenly there was a hot flash of pain shooting through my right lower back. The pain was so sharp and intense, I felt as though I couldn’t catch my breath, let alone move!
After nearly ten minutes or so, I was able to gently rock myself up into a seated position, but still couldn’t straighten up beyond halfway. I had to shuffle my way to the bathroom, bent over, to look for a pain relieving cream. I felt like I was a 90-year-old man. I felt so helpless; I simply could not quit whimpering. What on earth was going on? This had never happened to me before.
I was in pretty darn good condition!
I train at the gym about five days a week. And that’s not all; I was an experienced personal trainer for crying out loud! I had never experienced any kind of injury before and certainly hadn’t ever had the slightest twinge in any part of my back. Well apparently, what I didn’t realize at the time was that I wasn’t alone.
I was in pretty darn good condition!
I train at the gym about five days a week. And that’s not all; I was an experienced personal trainer for crying out loud! I had never experienced any kind of injury before and certainly hadn’t ever had the slightest twinge in any part of my back. Well apparently, what I didn’t realize at the time was that I wasn’t alone.
Digging Up Various Studies on Low Back Pain
I came upon a number of fairly recent studies, which suggest that more than 80 percent of the population is bound to experience low back pain at some point in their lifetime. Many people end up having only a handful of episodes, while other unfortunate ones develop lingering problems. Back pain doesn’t discriminate as it affects men as well as women.
Age isn’t a factor either, believe it or not. Yes, apparently back pain can happen at any age, striking most regularly between the ages of twenty-five and sixty. And because the human spine is such a sophisticated structure, the exact cause of acute low back pain is often easily masked. Pain can be induced from origins as diverse as muscle trauma, nerve damage, infections, inflammatory diseases, and circulatory disorders, among others.
But for the majority of us who fall in the 80 percent zone, the best approach to treat back pain as well as strain is to rest for several days and then dive straight back into action. It’s also recommended that you begin a plan of gentle exercise to stretch the muscles and enable the blood and oxygen to keep on flowing. It can be something basic like swimming or walking, or better yet, a complete mind/body makeover with the aid of a quality inversion table.
Let’s face it—life can be pretty tough. It can be overwhelming. Most of us can’t stop running long enough to take a significant break; clear the mind; and release some of the anxiety, frustration, stress, anger, and fear we deal with every single day. When we don’t deal with it, we end up storing stress in the body - shoving the tension aside until some later time, when, hopefully, we are able to get it all sorted out.
More often than not, we end up burying it deep within our body’s handy storage bins: the neck, shoulders, middle back, lower back, and hips. This pent-up tension in the body can lead to weakness, exhaustion, illness, or even chronic pain. Anyway, a friend of mine suggested that I give inversion therapy a try, which can be done at home using an inversion table. So I gave it a shot and I’m happy to say I have never looked back since.
Inversion Therapy Saved My Back
In my experience, an inversion table is such a useful tool for dealing with back problems. It decompresses your spine and relieves muscle discomfort, plus it enables you to breathe more deeply, to consciously connect with the body and eventually release all the pent-up aggravation. The simple 10-minute inversion table exercises featured on this page will help you to tune in to your body, let go of tension, relax tight muscles and will even provide assistance in relieving a number of developmental disorders such as scoliosis.
However, if you are currently experiencing persistent, chronic or severe back pain, it’s always wise to consult your doctor before you begin any sort of exercise program. The practices are gentle, but your doctor will be able to inform you extensively if there is anything specific that you need to avoid.
As for me, after about two weeks or so, my low back pain was almost gone. Thankfully I’ve never again had that kind of pain, although as I get older, I do find myself feeling a little bit of soreness in the back every now and again - particularly if I’ve been working at the computer for an extended period of time, or if I’m feeling beat.
When that happens, I get onto my inversion table and perform one of my favorite inversion therapy exercises (upside down baby!). Then I breathe deeply; release all the negative thoughts that inevitably float through my mind, and allow my body to blossom into delightful openness.