Inversion Table Research

Inversion therapy may be one of the most disputed and, at the same time, one of the most popular alternative pain treatments available today. With all the research that goes into inversion tables and the use of inversion therapy to reduce back pain and improve overall health, it seems inevitable that there will be skeptics. And the truth is that inversion treatments may not work for everyone. But if you're looking for a non-invasive, natural way to treat pain and you're curious about inversion therapy, it may help to hear about some of the case studies being done.

Inversion table research has been taking place for a number of years. Some of the key studies are listed below:

• 1964- Dr. Sheffield: Adaptation of Tilt Table for Lumbar Traction study
  This study consisted of 175 patients with back pain. Of the 175 given eight inversion treatments each, 155 of the patients were freed of back pain. Conclusion of the study was that the stretching of the back muscles caused by inversion was able to free up the ligaments and relieve the pain.
• 1978- Dr. Nosse: Inverted Spinal Traction study
  This study was able to conclude that EMG activity, which indicated muscle pain in the subjects, decreased significantly within the first ten seconds of inversion therapy. It also concluded that the increase of spinal length caused by inversion had an impact on the reduction of pain.
• 1985- Dr. Kane: Effects of Gravity-facilitated Traction on Intravertebral Dimensions of the Lumbar Spine study
  This study showed that inversion therapy produced separation between vertebrates in the lumbar spine, causing relief from lower back pain in subjects.
• Dr. Dimberg et al: Effects of gravity-facilitated traction of the lumbar spine in persons with chronic low back pain at the workplace study
  For this study, 116 people were used as subjects for a one-year period. From those 116, all of whom had missed work days due to back pain, those who used inversion therapy for 10 minutes once or twice a day found a 33% decrease in sick days due to back pain, while overall, those treated had eight fewer days per year in which they suffered pain. The conclusion was that inversion therapy may be a cost-effective and non-invasive way to avoid missed work days due to back pain.