When searching for a good back stretcher you may be surprised at what you do, or don’t find. You really don’t have as many options as you would think you would given how many people have back pain and are continually trying to find ways to stretch out their backs. By doing a quick Google search you will find 3 basic types of back stretchers:

• The Lynx portable back stretcher
• Inversion tables
• Lumbar extender back stretcher (they are the stretching tools that look like a hill-shaped object that you either lay on or up against that forces your back to arch and stretch)

For me, out of the three options above, I would argue that the best back stretcher is the inversion table. *AGAIN, PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NOT A DOCTOR AND AM NOT OFFERING MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN/TRAINER BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO ACT ON ANYTHING YOU READ HERE OR ELSEWHERE. THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IF YOU HAVE BACK PROBLEMS OR HAVE HAD THEM PREVIOUSLY.

Why would I say that the inversion table is the best back stretcher in the world? As an upside down back stretcher, nothing will stretch out your spine, thus increasing the space between your vertebrae, better than an inversion table. By doing this, your discs and ligaments and even the nerves will have less pressure, which in turn will mean that you will have less back pain.

In addition, here is my common sense explanation: all day long you are being pulled down, literally, by gravity. This pressure is real, and can even cause you to shrink 1-2 inches in your lifetime (as a side note, Astronauts’ spines will decompress when they are in space to the point where they are an inch or two taller, which further shows the effects that gravity has on your body). By hanging freely upside down, you will be using gravity as a the back stretcher, putting a smooth, even force on your body that effectively is opposite of what you have been subjected to throughout the day.

Are the other products good? I’m sure they are, and honestly I haven’t tried the Lynx (I have used lumbar extender back stretchers before and do like them quite a bit as well, but I don’t feel like they are as good of back stretchers as inversion tables are).  If you have tried the a portable back stretcher like the Lynx back stretcher, or other back stretchers, please let me know what you thought!  I’m also curious to know what you guys thinks think of using these as good exercises for posture? I don’t personally have bad posture, but know several people who have, and I also know some people who have found using inversion tables for bad posture to be effective.

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