“The only honest answer to the title question is a pretty obvious one: sometimes, for some people, but not always and not for everyone.” The only honest answer to the title question is a pretty obvious one: sometimes, for some people, but not always and not for everyone. However, that’s true for nearly every therapy so it doesn’t get us far. Let’s look deeper into inversion therapy…
First, what is inversion therapy? It’s really no more than a fancy term for hanging upside down at some angle between zero and 90 degrees.
The main idea is to reverse (partially or entirely) the direction of gravity, in order to relieve pressure on muscles, joints, and most importantly the nerves of your back. Naturally, when you’re upside down, all parts of the body are affected but the chief benefits sought are directed at the back.
Does that help, and if so how?
Sciatica, for example, is a painful condition produced by compression on lumbar or sacral nerves. Changing the direction of the force of gravity on you can (slightly) move discs apart in the spinal column. That lowers the pressure on the fluid between them and hence decreases pressure on the nerves that thread through the column.
“For many years inversion therapy was regarded as, if not an outright scam, a marginal benefit at best. Several studies carried out over various periods suggest it’s more effective (for some) than previously believed.” For instance, the Kane study published in the March 1985 issue of the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, showed that traction can produce significant separation of lumbar vertebrae and lower back pain. Other studies support the idea with some, not surprisingly, saying it produces little or no benefit.
Beyond clinical studies, there is one other major source of useful data about the effectiveness of inversion therapy: real people who use it to relieve back pain every day.
Granted, it’s possible to put too much emphasis on customer reviews. It’s also wise to be cautious about those sources, since they can be created by anyone even someone paid to generate a positive review. But checking their status (Verified Purchase, for example) can change that skepticism.
The overwhelming consensus of those real-world users is that an inversion table (the most common device used to carry out inversion therapy) does provide relief. Out of almost 200 reviews on one popular model there were only two negative reviews and those were complaints about assembly problems, not inadequate effectiveness from inversion (or even the product’s function). Similar numbers (and similar high praise) can be seen for other models.
The net result is that those who actually use an inversion table believe the therapy is effective. Medical studies will sometimes contradict one another, but it’s hard to dismiss “my back pain is gone” from so many real users over so many years.
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