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 ...

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, high blood pressure, 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 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 th ...

. 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.

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{{reflist Exercise equipment Physical therapy