Although often considered as a relatively new concept, inversion therapy has been around for many years and has been the subject of a considerable number of medical studies from as early as 1964. The subject has been approached from many differing angles with different test groups and methods but the overwhelming conclusion is that inversion therapy not only works but it is safe and suitable for patients to undertake without direct medical supervision.
In the ground breaking study from 1964,175 patients who had been unable to work on a long term basis due to back pain were treated on a rudimentary predecessor of modern inversion tables. After just 8 inversion sessions 155 patients were able to return to work.
Technical studies that do not rely on direct patient feedback have also been undertaken to ascertain exactly what happens during sessions of inversion therapy. One study concentrated on measuring EMG activity (EMG is an indicator of muscle pain) and it was found that this activity reduced by 35% within the first 10 seconds of inversion. It went on to conclude that there is a direct and measurable correlation between EMG activity (and therefore associated muscle pain) and an increase in spinal length. That is to say, when the spine is shortened due to compression, the patient will feel more pain than when the spine is naturally lengthened and decompressed by regular inversion therapy.
Another study in 1985 concentrated on the practical use of inversion therapy and compared its benefits with very well known forms of mechanical traction that have been in use for hundreds of years. These consist of the familiar medical traction devices in which weights are used to place pressure on the body and elongate joints. Whilst the benefits of inversion therapy compared very well when measured clinically against traditional methods, the study concluded that it is only gravity assisted traction (inversion therapy) that is suitable for patients to use unsupervised at home.
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