Lately, I've been having issues with my lower back. The back pain has come and gone over the last 3-5 years and seems to be getting progressively worse with age. I get to the gym 4-6 times a week and try my best to stretch and lift properly.
A friend of mine is telling my about her research into Inversion Therapy. She has visited one of the leading sports doctors in the GTA and was told that due to disc compression (and the fact that she's 51), she'll need surgery. This friend of mine is a sharp lady and spent quite a bit of time looking into the subject.
A few months ago, she purchased an Inversion Table and hangs upside down for about 10-15 minutes first thing in the morning and before turning in. She tells me that the difference is amazing, the constant pain she was experiencing is gone and she has her life back again. I'm thinking of purchasing a table. The prices range from the upper $200 to as much as $1500. Ironman has one or two for under $300 (US). http://www.livingincomfort.com/br29967.html
I would appreciate anyone's thoughts on dealing with lower back pain. I hate needing to take medication, especially if its something that I will need to take for the rest of my life. Here is what Wikipedia says about Inversion Therapy:
Traction and stretching
When the body's weight is suspended from the lower body (rather than borne on the hands as in handstands or headstands or hanging from a bar with arms at sides, also forms of inversion) gravity to decompress the joints of the body below the anchor. In particular, it is often advertised as a relief for back pain.[2][3] It is not known to be widely regarded as a serious treatment for back pain.
Hanging by the feet, as with gravity boots or inversion tables, causes each joint in the body to be loaded in an equal and opposite manner to standing in an identical position of joint alignment.
Proponents claim that inversion therapy is particularly beneficial for the spine in that it relieves pressure on the discs and nerve roots; this in turn allows discs to recover lost moisture and to return to their original shape, decreasing the pressure they can exert on nerves. Skeptics note that pressure is also relieved when lying down in bed. Proponents counter that while pressure is removed, pressure of tight muscles is not, and that traction is needed to allow the possible space between spinal discs to be realized.
Holding the bones of the spine and legs together, the ligaments crossing the joints under traction are subjected to pulling forces, assisted by passive muscle tension, the skin, and the fascia. Proponents claim gradual introduction and increases (of intensity and duration) of traction could cause stimulation for the strength of ligaments to increase.
Posture
Proponents advocate that traction can be a tool to restore proper alignment to the spine, which may assist in maintaining proper posture when later righted.
Flexibility
Inversion devices are promoted as a tool to be used in gaining flexibility. Static-active stretching methods impossible to perform standing can be performed upside down for the spinal flexors, side flexors and extensors, and situps are a closed-chain exercise for the hip flexors (a static-active stretch for the hip extensors) compared to the upright exercise, leg raises, which are open-chain movements. Due to increased spacing in the joint which can occur in response to traction, the muscles crossing that joint are pre-stretched, and as such, experience a greater lengthening compared to the equivalent joint angle while under no traction (lying down) or while being compressed (standing).
Blood flow
Claims are made that inversion stimulates circulation differences due to gravity acting on the circulatory system in an opposite manner, opposing what it would normally assist, and assisting what it would normally oppose, while upright. This pooling of blood and greater circulation is thought by some to increase oxygen flow to those tissues, primarily in the brain or roots of the hair, which are superior to the heart.
A friend of mine is telling my about her research into Inversion Therapy. She has visited one of the leading sports doctors in the GTA and was told that due to disc compression (and the fact that she's 51), she'll need surgery. This friend of mine is a sharp lady and spent quite a bit of time looking into the subject.
A few months ago, she purchased an Inversion Table and hangs upside down for about 10-15 minutes first thing in the morning and before turning in. She tells me that the difference is amazing, the constant pain she was experiencing is gone and she has her life back again. I'm thinking of purchasing a table. The prices range from the upper $200 to as much as $1500. Ironman has one or two for under $300 (US). http://www.livingincomfort.com/br29967.html
I would appreciate anyone's thoughts on dealing with lower back pain. I hate needing to take medication, especially if its something that I will need to take for the rest of my life. Here is what Wikipedia says about Inversion Therapy:
Traction and stretching
When the body's weight is suspended from the lower body (rather than borne on the hands as in handstands or headstands or hanging from a bar with arms at sides, also forms of inversion) gravity to decompress the joints of the body below the anchor. In particular, it is often advertised as a relief for back pain.[2][3] It is not known to be widely regarded as a serious treatment for back pain.
Hanging by the feet, as with gravity boots or inversion tables, causes each joint in the body to be loaded in an equal and opposite manner to standing in an identical position of joint alignment.
Proponents claim that inversion therapy is particularly beneficial for the spine in that it relieves pressure on the discs and nerve roots; this in turn allows discs to recover lost moisture and to return to their original shape, decreasing the pressure they can exert on nerves. Skeptics note that pressure is also relieved when lying down in bed. Proponents counter that while pressure is removed, pressure of tight muscles is not, and that traction is needed to allow the possible space between spinal discs to be realized.
Holding the bones of the spine and legs together, the ligaments crossing the joints under traction are subjected to pulling forces, assisted by passive muscle tension, the skin, and the fascia. Proponents claim gradual introduction and increases (of intensity and duration) of traction could cause stimulation for the strength of ligaments to increase.
Posture
Proponents advocate that traction can be a tool to restore proper alignment to the spine, which may assist in maintaining proper posture when later righted.
Flexibility
Inversion devices are promoted as a tool to be used in gaining flexibility. Static-active stretching methods impossible to perform standing can be performed upside down for the spinal flexors, side flexors and extensors, and situps are a closed-chain exercise for the hip flexors (a static-active stretch for the hip extensors) compared to the upright exercise, leg raises, which are open-chain movements. Due to increased spacing in the joint which can occur in response to traction, the muscles crossing that joint are pre-stretched, and as such, experience a greater lengthening compared to the equivalent joint angle while under no traction (lying down) or while being compressed (standing).
Blood flow
Claims are made that inversion stimulates circulation differences due to gravity acting on the circulatory system in an opposite manner, opposing what it would normally assist, and assisting what it would normally oppose, while upright. This pooling of blood and greater circulation is thought by some to increase oxygen flow to those tissues, primarily in the brain or roots of the hair, which are superior to the heart.
