FYI: Safe, Effective, Natural Back Pain Relief with Inversion Therapy
Inversion therapy is enjoying a comeback as a legitimate physical therapy in the twenty first century but, like many of our modern techniques, it is thousand of years old.
Apparently, back pain has plagued the human race longer than we know. Inversion is the process of negative gravity that relieve pressure on the discs of the spine and provides relief for organs that may be cramped for space. By positioning the body by means of hanging upside down or lying on a tilted table, back pain can be significantly reduced.
Archeologists have found stone carvings from as far back as 3000 BC depicting yoga poses accompanied by subjects hanging upside down from various objects, some held by their friends and others lying on sloping ground. This is believed to be the very first evidence of inversion therapy. Yogis have long believed that inversion therapy re-balances the body and helps increase circulation, stimulates the brain and relieves the everyday pressure on abdominal organs. It’s probably a fair supposition to assume that Yoga is responsible for developing this negative gravity therapy.
Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, first treated a patient with inversion therapy in 400 BC. Using ropes and pulleys, he hung a patient on a ladder with his head pointed towards the floor. It’s unclear what malady Hippocrates was treating but he apparently grasped the connection between reversal of the gravitational pull and relief of back pain or circulatory problems. A drawing of this procedure was found by historians, documenting the “discovery” of inversion therapy.
Not much is known about the development of inversion therapy after Hippocrates experimented with it but it was introduced to America in 1893. During the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, Swami Vivekananda of India spoke about yoga and inversion therapy and their spiritual benefits. Yoga caught on with the American people and many of them tried inversion as a means to better health. This was the infancy of inversion therapy in the Western world. Although the it was practiced by many, it wasn’t really a movement or a prominent treatment until the mid-twentieth century.
In the 1960’s Dr. Robert Martin revealed his “Gravity Guidance System” as therapy for the back pain that was plaguing more and more Americans. An Osteopath, Chiropractor and medical doctor, Dr. Martin’s system grew through media publicity of an exciting “new” treatment. It received great publicity with write ups in the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine. Martin made numerous television appearances demonstrating his therapy and entrepreneurs began to manufacture similar products to compete with him in a growing market.
At this time, inversion therapy was performed using “gravity tables” that were well made with quality materials. The practice was deemed safe and beneficial by prominent doctors. With the alarming increase in back pain, sciatica, pinched nerves and damaged discs the table manufacturers did a booming business with medical offices, therapeutic spas and individuals who could afford the product.
Dr. Robert Martin, Jr., followed in his father’s footsteps. A prolific author of articles and one book on inversion therapy, he produced his own Gravity Guidance Inversion Table and sparked a resurgence of interest in the 1970’s. Other companies entered the market with products like the Bud Leach table and the Backswing.
By the 1980’s this simple and effective therapy became an overwhelming craze in America, with a market share of $70 million! Thousands of people were receiving or giving themselves inversion therapy and there were over forty different manufacturers of inversion tables and machinery. Richard Gere’s use of gravity boots in the movie “American Gigilo” fed the movement and soon there was so much competition for equipment that quality began to suffer. There were isolated incidents of injuries on sub-quality tables that were duly reported on by the media.
In 1983 a Dr. R. Goldman published a study that claimed inverted patients were at risk for increased blood pressure, high internal eye pressure and possible in danger of a stroke. Needless to say, this study was a major blow to inversion therapy and many therapy table manufacturers went out of business. This was actually a good thing for proponents of inversion, for the remaining competitors could now pay more attention to quality control with the reduction of competition and increase in their revenues.
Then in 1985, in a reversal of his original theories, Dr. Goldman revealed that further research showed no danger of stroke in people that used inversion therapy. Marquette University and Portland University conducted their own independent research and drew the same conclusion, putting inversion therapy back on track with the full support of the medical community. The market for this remarkable physical therapy began to recover as consumer confidence rose. Where formerly only chiropractors, physical therapists, sports trainers and professional athletes had been using the gravity-based training, ordinary people once more began to embrace the technique and the relief it offered.
Today the United States Army’s Physical Fitness School is incorporating inversion therapy into their world wide training program. Orthopedic surgeons and other medical specialists recommend the therapy as an alternative to traditional traction, which uses weights to artificially stretch the body. As little as 25 degrees of inversion for just a few minutes a day can relax tense muscles and relieve pressure on discs and nerve roots.
The benefits of inversion therapy are indisputable, proven by research and medical experience. It is a simple and non-invasive therapy that greatly relieves pain, tension and stress due to excessive pressure on the spine and organs. One of the oldest forms of physical therapy known to exist, inversion therapy is here to stay.
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