Benefits And Risks Of Inversion Therapy

Inversion therapy is a treatment designed to relieve a variety of ailments including lower back pain, poor circulation, scoliosis, and sciatica. It involves strapping an individual to an inversion table by their ankles and around the waist, and then turning the table upside down so the patient's head is facing towards the floor. In this position, the spine decompresses due to the gravitational force. It is believed engaging in inversion therapy can help reduce the damage caused by gravity as one ages. While inversion therapy is minimally invasive and has some benefits, there are some risk factors associated with it. As such, those interested in inversion therapy should seek guidance from their physician first.

Let's review some of the benefits and risks of inversion therapy now.

Heart Conditions Causing Increased Complications

While there are some benefits to using inversion therapy, it does pose certain risk factors for individuals with pre-existing conditions. This risk factor is especially elevated for patients with heart conditions. Some heart conditions causing increased complications during inversion therapy include hypertension and heart disease. Being inverted causes the heart rate to slow, resulting in an increase in blood pressure. This blood pressure increase also increases how hard the heart must work to circulate blood throughout the body. If the heart is already damaged due to heart disease and other heart complications, the extra stress caused by being inverted can have extremely adverse effects. As such, individuals with heart conditions are encouraged to avoid inversion therapy.

Learn more about what conditions can be risky in regards to inversion therapy.