Anyone use or recommend the Teeter HangUps inversion table?..yes, its me…Mr L5-S1 practically no-disc man…still havent had my consultation at the hospital…scheduled for 13th October now…so anyway, a friend of mine is banging on about this Teeter inversion table…would that help me or cause me more problems? Forgive me when i say this but American telesales products like this one dont exactly convince me…seems to good to be true…
I have one and use it regularly. I like it. When I do a lot of running, it seems like my spin get compressed and my middle back gets a little sore. When I hop on the table and completely invert, I can “pop” my back out to “normal.” I also like hanging partially inverted after long bikes/runs to allow the lactic acid to flush out of the legs.
I have noticed a difference in the last 4-5 months of having it. It certainly “works.” However, I am not sure what you want to get out of it. For me, it certainly helps loosen up my back and “pop” it back into shape. But, I would not claim that it is a magic bullet or cure all.
Let me start by acknowledging that not all back pain is created equally.
I used a table about 10 years ago, helped my back a little, but that’s about the same time my ITBS started to get a lot worse. Stopped using the table, ITBS is gone and hasn’t come back, but my back still hurts.
I used one a lot when I was rowing. I think it helped, but who knows. I think it feels good, but they are a pain in the ass to find a place for. You need a lot of room for them, so most people I know that have them inevitably end up stuffing them somewhere, which then results in them never being used.
it can help muscles relax by removing the stress and position they have been in (fighting gravity all day etc). it won’t elongate your lumbar spine itself. the amount of force to do real traction on the spine (except the cervical part of the spine) is huge–more than you’d tolerate
we’ve used inversion tables and they can help with muscle tightness. I’ve had much better luck having people roll there mid-back over a 6 inch foam roller on the ground
jim