Pain Management and Pain Relief Information

For many people who are carrying excess weight and many who aren’t, low back pain is a problem. Here are some statistics: 70% of people in the US will suffer from low back pain at some point in their lives, 5-10% of those will develop chronic low back pain, 60% of people in the US will suffer from neck pain at some point in their lives. If your low back pain is due to excess weight around the middle, dropping some that belly fat could do wonders for you, but depending on the state of your back, it might not. If you are suffering from back pain there are several solutions at your disposal. When you’re in pain the first person that comes to most people’s mind is the medical doctor or maybe the chiropractor. Both can be good options, but I’m going to tell you about an option that you may not have thought about. It’s an inversion table. Although you may have seen and heard of these before, these tables may not pop into your mind when your trying to find solutions to your back troubles. But these tables can help tremendously. I’m going to go into more detail about what these tables are, how they are used, why you could benefit from them, the types of inversion tables available, and precautions and contraindications when using these tables.

What is an inversion table and inversion table benefits:
Inversion tables are, as you might gather from the name, tables that invert you. You get on them in an upright position and then you rotate back until you are inverted to some degree. You can control how much you invert through various methods, some built into the device, some you improvise. You can invert anywhere from a few degrees past horizontal to hanging completely upside-down. These tables are obviously different from “anti-gravity” boots in that the boots only allow full 180 degree inversion. Like the “anti-gravity” boots you are held by your ankles. So what are the benefits of using one of these tables? For low back and neck suffers there are many. Pain relief from several causes of low back and neck pain is possible due to the fact that the spine is completely unloaded from the force of gravity and the intervertebral disks are relieved of normal pressures. Vertebra are spread apart and muscles are stretched out. Fluids are imbibed into the vertebral disks, hydrating them and creating as much space as possible between the vertebrae.

Some of the conditions that can be helped by using an inversion table include:

• Bulging herniated disks
• Degenerative joint disease and the associated pain
• Facet syndrome
• Sciatica
• Sacroiliac dysfunction
• Spondylolithesis
• Spinal stenosis
• Edema in the legs
• and Cervicogenic headaches

If your overweight you and have back or neck pain there is a chance you could be suffering from one of these conditions. Even if your not, and only have low back pain due to overworked or improperly used muscles, the inversion table could still benefit you.

What to look for:
The design of the tables is generally the same for all of them. You strap in at the ankles and the table is balanced so that you can lean back easily and smoothly until you have reached your desired degree of inversion. Then you just hang there for a specified amount of time according to the protocols of inversion table therapy. There should be instructions on how to use an inversion table included with whatever table you purchase. Pay attention to these protocols regarding how may times per week, how long per session, etc… Like anything else regarding your body, you must work into things slowly to give your body time to adapt. There are a number of inversion table providers and a number of outlets to purchase from. So which one to choose? The first thing you must be concerned with is quality. When it comes to a product like an inversion table, quality will be key to a successful outcome when using the table. Quality, here, means performance and safety, which relates to the materials and construction of the product. Look for tables of high quality because you don’t want to have the table break while your upside-down or have trouble getting into and out of the table. Some of the leading brands are: Teeter, Ironman, Paradigm, Stamina, and Health Mark.

Contraindications and precautions:
One of the problems with inversion therapy is that once you return to an upright position, it won’t be long before the pain comes back along with the same stresses that inverting removed. With continued use the amount of time you feel relief should increase, but there is another necessary ingredient that needs to be included when striving for a pain free back and neck, exercise. Strengthening and stretching the muscles of the core, hips, shoulders, and neck cannot be overlooked as these muscles will allow you to properly deal with the forces that caused you to be in pain in the first place. Losing excess fat is also a big step in the right direction for dealing with back and neck pain. There are some contraindications and precautions to using these tables that must be taken into consideration before you decide to get on. Let someone know when your using the table in case something happens or you get stuck upside down. If there is no one else around you can rig up a safety mechanism that allows you to pull yourself out of a bad spot. However, anytime you use a table under your own direction you are doing so at your own risk. Children under 14 should not use the table without a doctors supervision. If you’ve had spinal surgery in the past, it’s very important that you consult a doctor before inverting yourself especially for an extended period. Strict contraindications include: anti-coagulant use, osteoporosis, fractures, infections of the ears/eyes/nose/and throat, glaucoma or retinal detachment, uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart and circulatory problems, history of stroke or transient ishemic attacks, pregnancy, hiatal hernias, and total hip or knee replacements. It’s also important to know that these tables have a weight limit, which for most of them is anything over 300 pounds. For those of you who may be suffering from one of the medical conditions mentioned and/or you are over 300 pounds, don’t worry, there are alternatives.

Other methods for dealing with back and neck pain include: medical doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, traction tables and devices, and some newer devices like the “Back Bubble” which is a device which works for the low back and mid back only by using your own lower body as traction weight without pulling directly on the lower body joints (weight limit on this is 350 lbs) and some devices like the “Trekke Lumbar Lift” that allow for ambulatory unloading which allows for unrestricted movement while unloading the spine, combining traction of the vertebrae with exercise. Medical doctors often times only treat the symptoms and do not attempt to treat the cause of the problem, although there are MDs who do address more than just the pain, look for these kinds of medical doctors as you can get the best of both worlds with them. If they just offer muscle relaxers and pain medication, you should probably keep looking. Some MDs will refer you to a physical therapist who will employ several beneficial techniques to help you. Chiropractors are also a good option as they will employ many techniques similar to physical therapists and have devices like traction tables to assist them in treating you. Some chiropractors employ questionable techniques, if you have any concerns ask the chiropractor, and if your not satisfied with the answer you receive, look for another.

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