Inversion Table Guide

Using an inversion table the first day can be a little intimidating…but it can also be an amazing experience if you know what you are doing.  My goal in these mini series of articles “Using an Inversion Table” is to help you see exactly what it is like to implement inversion table therapy into your everyday routine.  There are many benefits of an inversion table, but frankly you won’t ever be able to enjoy those benefits if you are too nervous to try or because you don’t know what you are doing and have a terrible experience during your first week of the therapy.  Hopefully you can learn from my experience as I learn how to use an inversion table and write about it each day during the first week of trying it out.

How To Use An Inversion Table Starting Day 1

First of all, you need to get your doctor’s approval.  I had recently undergone a physical and knew I was good to go.  However, that did not prevent me from taking things slowly the first day.  It is very highly recommended to take things slow to let you adjust to handing upside down.  Basically, after  I set up the inversion table (the Teeter F7000S is extremely easy to set up – anyone can do it) I read through all the instructions, which are attached to the inversion table.  This part is very important, as there are different settings for each table that need to be adjusted according to your height and weight.  You don’t adjust them properly then you will not be able to invert properly, since an inversion table basically works like a teeter-totter and needs to be properly balanced to do so.  This brings up a good point – make sure your inversion table will support your height/weight profile (and this goes both ways – being too big or too small for the table).  Some tables will only allow users who weight 250 lbs., so if you are over this amount you need to pay extra attention before you purchase an inversion table.

Next comes the ankle and leg holds.  You want to make these as snug as possible so there isn’t a lot of slipping and so you are being held up instead of you hanging by your ankles.   These clamps were very easily adjusted for me and I felt very comfortable in them.  However, I didn’t follow the directions here for a reason.  The directions said to have tennis shoes on and clamp my ankles down, but I found that to be fairly uncomfortable and preferred instead to simply wear socks.  That way I got a little padding to protect my skin and hair from pulling and my ankles did not hurt at all.   For you it may be different, but I would recommend trying each of those three options out to find out which one you like best.

Last, of course comes the actual inverting.  This was quite fun the first time for me, partly because I took it nice and easy.  The Teeter F7000S has a strap that you can clip into the underside of the table to prevent you from inverting fully, and for the first run I decided to go this route – a good idea.  I inverted slowly, starting at a slight inversion degree from level, and increased my decline about 10 degrees every 30 – 45 seconds (basically enough time to allow my head to adjust to the increased blood flow) until I reached about a 70% decline.  I then hung for a total of 5 minutes and slowly came up at the same rate I declined.

My Reaction/Experience

Inverting on the inversion table felt amazing.  I suffer slightly from sciatic pain, neck pain, and shoulder pain and all three felt better almost immediately.  I felt like my body was finally loose and the blood flow seemed to improve as well.  I didn’t have any problem adjusting going down or coming up, although I imagine I would have had major issues with this had I not taken it so slowly.   Bottom line, I was hooked just after one try – no inverting one time didn’t get rid of all my slight pain and discomfort, but I did feel better, more relaxed, and ready to go back to work.

Summary and Tips for Proper Use of Inversion Tables:

In order to have a good experience your first time using an inversion table, do the following:

1. Get your doctor’s blessing – no one should use an inversion table without getting clearance first.
2. Find out if you are more comfortable with socks or shoes
3. Invert slowly, in increments of about 10 degrees, so your body and head can adjust to the increased pressures.  There will be increased blood flow to your head, so this is important to adjust to so you don’t pass out.
4. Have someone spotting you until you are comfortable with the machine.

If you follow these tips for using an inversion table I think you’ll find that 1) your ankles won’t hurt, 2) you won’t pass out, and 3) you will thouroughly enjoy your experience.