Inversion therapy, or simply inversion, is the process of seeking therapeutic benefits from hanging by the legs, ankles, or feet in an inverted angle or entirely upside down. It is a form of spinal
traction.
[ Spinal Traction can be useful for effects of decreasing muscle spasm, stretching muscles/ligaments of the back, increasing the space between vertebral bodies and thus rehydrating the intervertebral discs, decreasing disc bulging and decreasing pressure on nerve roots and the spinal cord. In turn, these effects can help for the reduction of pain and increasing tissue repair.
] Gravity boots are ankle supports designed for inversion therapy. Some people use gravity boots to add an extra challenge to workouts, doing inverted
crunches
The crunch is an abdominal exercise that works the rectus abdominis muscle. It enables both building "six-pack" abs and tightening the belly. Crunches use the exerciser's own body weight to tone muscle and are recommended by some experts, despite ...
or
squats
Squat, squatter or squatting may refer to:
Body position
* Squatting position, a sitting position where one's knees are folded with heels touching one's buttocks or back of the thighs
* Squat (exercise), a lower-body exercise in strength and co ...
.
People who have
heart disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...
,
high blood pressure
Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...
, eye diseases (such as
glaucoma
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...
), or are
pregnant
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occur ...
are at higher risk for the dangers related to inversion therapy and should consult their doctors about it first. The first time anyone tries inversion therapy with gravity, they should be sure to have someone standing by, in case assistance is required to get out of the apparatus, or if health problems are experienced.
During an episode of
acid reflux
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is one of the upper gastrointestinal chronic diseases where stomach content persistently and regularly flows up into the esophagus, resulting in symptoms and/ ...
, small amounts of stomach acid may manage to escape from the stomach and into the
oesophagus
The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...
. Gravity typically minimises this upward leakage, but an inversion table and acid reflux can be a painful, nauseating, and potentially dangerous combination. The inverted position, leading to an increase in heart rate and output, peripheral resistance, venous return and myocardial oxygen consumption, is not recommended in cardiac individuals.
Additional images
References
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Exercise equipment
Physical therapy