Benefits of Inversion Therapy

Try hanging upside down for just a few moments, and you will understand why millions of people around the world use this ancient therapy to relieve back pain, reduce stress and improve their quality of life.

Introduction to Inversion Benefits

   Today's methods are more accessible and luckily more comfortable.Set the Teeter Hang Ups® to your desired angle of inversion. Rotate on our precision balance system, which allows you total control of the speed and rotation with simple weight displacement of your arms. Relax. In just a few minutes, the body decompresses, naturally using your body weight and gravity so soft tissue in the joints can hydrate and decompress. Progressive decompression allows each joint to be decompressed by the same weight that compresses it while upright. This "perfect" stretch helps naturally relieve back pain, keeping the weight-bearing joints healthy and allowing the weight-bearing skeleton to align, which can result in better balance, posture, and symmetry.

    In addition to the rehabilitative benefits, many doctors, physical therapists, and sports trainers recognize inversion as an effective way to prevent compression fatigue joint injuries. In fact, even the U.S. Army Physical Fitness School intends to include inversion into their worldwide physical training doctrine. 

    The industry leader since 1981, Teeter Hang Ups® has focused solely on producing the best value inversion equipment with time-proven design features that ensure dependability and user security. Teeter is the only brand certified to UL 1647 and supported by an independent engineer evaluation showing the highest factor of safety and easiest assembly. When you want a natural, in-home solution for a healthier back, try inversion. If you value quality, look to Teeter Hang Ups.

*This is only a tool to help inform you about the benefits of inversion therapy, and should not be considered as medical advice. Always consult your doctor before trying inversion or beginning any type of new exercise regimen.
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Relieve Back Pain

Using a Teeter helps:

• Rehydrate discs
• Reduce Nerve Pressure
• Realign Your Spine
• Relax Tense Muscles

Re-hydrate discs: Damaged discs can take a long time to repair since they don't have a direct blood supply. Inverted decompression takes pressure off the discs, allowing them to widen and hydrate with nutrients that help expedite repair. The added cushion helps increase shock absorption and flexibility.

Reduce nerve pressure: Inverting on a Teeter has been clinically proven to increase intervertebral separation[1], helping to open up the passageway for nerve roots and alleviating pain caused by pinched nerves[2]. Those who experience sciatic pain can benefit from this aspect of inversion. Less pressure means less pain.

Realign: The back is supported by hundreds of ligaments and muscles that stabilize the spine but also hold it in compression. When the back moves out of alignment from bad posture, too much sitting, or rotational activities, this support structure holds the body in misalignment. Even while lying down, your spine maintains 25% of standing pressure, especially in your lumbar. In order to decompress, the spine needs a traction force of at least 60% of your body weight, roughly equivalent to inverting at an angle of 60 degrees on a Teeter[3]. This type of progressive decompression naturally re-aligns the weight-bearing skeleton, promoting good posture.

Relax tense muscles: Inverting to as little as 25 degrees for a few minutes can help relax muscles and speed lymph flow. A study conducted by physiotherapist L.G. Nosse found that EMG activity (an indicator of muscle tension) declined over 35% within ten seconds of inverting.[4]

[1] Sheffield, F.: Adaptation of Tilt Table for Lumbar Traction. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 45: 469-472, 1964
[2] Kane, M, et al: Effects of Gravity-facilitated Traction on Intervertebral Dimensions of the Lumbar Spine. Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Phys Ther. 281-288, Mar 85
[3] Nachemson, A, et al: Intravital Dynamic Pressure Measurements in Lumbar Discs. Scandinavian Journal of Rehab Medicine, supplement, 1970.
[4] Nosse, L.: Inverted Spinal Traction. Arch Phys Med Rehabilitation 59: 367-370, Aug 78.
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Improve Circulation and Accelerate the Cleansing of Blood and Lymph Fluid

Using a Teeter helps:

• Stimulate circulation by aiding your heart in moving blood from the lower limbs 
• Relieve varicose veins by placing the legs above the heart  
• Move lactic acid of the limbs (since the lymph does not have a pump like the circulatory system) 

The cardiovascular system is your body's transportation system, carrying food and oxygen to your body's cells. Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs travels out through the arteries and waste-filled blood comes back through the veins to be cleansed and recharged with oxygen. Inversion allows your body to work with gravity to ease the circulation process by placing your lower limbs"above" your heart and thus improving your circulation. Some suggest that the improvements inversion has on your circulatory system can temporarily help decrease the appearance of varicose veins. When inverting, you are helping your heart to clear the blood from your feet, legs, and lower body. [7]

Unlike the cardiovascular system, the lymphatic system has no pump. Only the alternate contraction and relaxation of muscles moves lymphatic fluid upward through capillaries and one-way valves to the upper chest for cleansing and flushing. Inverting the body so that gravity works with these one-way valves helps to push the lactic fluid up to the chest. [8]

In her book Beyond Cellulite[9], Nicole Ronsard discusses the role of the lymph system in creating cellulite, and ways in which people can help stimulate lymph flow to reduce cellulite. She explains that when the flow of lymph is slowed down, a stagnation of fluid occurs in the tissues. In areas where circulation tends to be poor and relies almost entirely on gravity to move it back up, as in the hip and thigh area, this stagnation encourages the formation of cellulite. By "reversing" the flow of blood and lymph fluids in the body, you can increase the nourishment of cells and accelerate the removal of wastes. She recommends inversion:"The slant board is particularly effective because it's easy to use, and it allows for long, sustained periods of reversal."

[7] Wilkins, R et al: Circulatory effects of the head-down position (negative g) in normal man, with a note on some measures designed to relieve cranial congestion in this position. Journal Clin. Invest. 29: 940-949, 1950. [8] Jahnke, Roger. O.M.D., The Lymph. June 19, 2000. [9] Ronsard, N. Beyond Cellulite. p 12, 146. New York: Villard Books, 1992.
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Relieve Stress and Fatigue

Using a Teeter may:

• Lower your heart rate through rhythmic rocking on the table 
• Reduce muscle tension by lowering EMG activity (an indicator of muscle tension) 
• Provide a full-body stretch 

Inversion therapy offers an enhanced version of a full body stretch, which is rejuvenating and can also help to reduce muscle tension and overall soreness. The Nose study found that EMG activity declined over 35% within ten seconds of inverting, which suggests that inversion can help to relieve tension and pain in your muscles that are caused by stress.[5]

For centuries, yoga practitioners have recognized the concept of turning the body upside down to find relaxation. The head stand position is a form of "postural exchange" (reversing the direction of gravity). While a headstand may not top everyone's list of favorite activities, inversion can provide all of the benefits with minimal practice or effort.

Inversion therapy is an extension of the way a body naturally relaxes. With an inversion table, you have the ability to rock slowly up and down. This has been shown to decrease heart rate[6] and can induce a state of relaxation, much as one might rock a baby back and forth to sooth him.

[5] Nosse, L.: Inverted Spinal Traction. Arch Phys Med Rehabilitation 59: 367-370, Aug 78.[6] Wilkins, R et al: Circulatory effects of the head-down position (negative g) in normal man, with a note on some measures designed to relieve cranial congestion in this position. Journal Clin. Invest. 29: 940-949, 1950.
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Increase Oxygen Flow to the Brain

Using a Teeter helps:

• Provide oxygen to brain cells, which may improve mental acuity
• Stimulate surface blood supply to improve skin tone and hair health 

Your heart must work against gravity to pump blood up to your brain, which is the body's largest consumer of oxygen. Although it is only three percent of the body's total weight, the brain consumes 25 percent of the body's oxygen intake.

Win Wenger, in How to Increase Your Intelligence, noted that "only those brain cells which are close to an ample capillary blood supply are thoroughly developed. Away from such source of supply, brain cells remain undeveloped and useless." Wenger describes "upside down activities" to increase oxygen supply to the brain. He states, "In short, you can improve the physical state of your entire brain."

Peter Russell notes in The Brain Book that the deterioration of the brain is not directly linked to age alone. Rather, this deterioration is caused by hardening arteries and high blood pressure, both of which decrease the supply of oxygen to the brain. Thus a major step in reducing mental deterioration (or senility) over time may simply be increasing the oxygen supply to the brain. Keeping the brain active and well-supplied with oxygen may help maintain your brain function and mental acuity throughout your entire life.[10]

Some people claim that increasing the circulation of blood to the head through inversion may also improve the color and tone of your skin, stimulate mental alertness, and improve hearing and vision. In addition, some claim that hair will be healthier, and may even grow again if the scalp is well supplied with blood.

[10] You should talk to your doctor about inverting if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure.