Your Back

The exact condition of your back is very important to your health. A better back can lead to a better body. Each vertebrae is held in its proper place by three different kinds of soft tissue - discs, ligaments, and muscles. Almost all back problems are related to the dysfunction of one of these three.

To understand the sources of your particular back problem and/or how to prevent back pain, it helps to understand the anatomy of your spine.

Vertebrae

The natural curves of the spine are vitally important for giving your back strength and resilience. There are 24 vertebrae in your spinal column. The lumbar vertebrae are approximately two inches in diameter reflecting their weight bearing role. The cervical vertebrae are smaller, since they must support only the head. Facet joints are located in pairs on the back of the spine, where one vertebra slightly overlaps the next. The facet joints guide and restrict movement of the spine. To the rear of each vertebrae is a hole and when the vertebrae are stacked up, these holes form a continuous channel which holds the spinal cord.

 Spinal Cord

The spinal cord provides a vital link between the brain and all body functions below the neck. This includes internal organs and all feeling. Spinal nerves emerge from the spinal cord through gaps between the main body of the vertebrae and the facet joints. One the most frequent causes of back pain is a worn facet joint, which can result in a pinched nerve. Therefore, it is very important to keep your vertebrae in good shape.

Discs

This drawing shows a normal disc. The main function of your discs is to act as shock absorbers and provide separation between each vertebrae. The outer layers of your discs are formed from tough cartilage. The inner core of your disc is a jelly-like nucleus.

In total, your discs account for one-quarter the length of your vertebral column 4.50" to 6" (12 to 15 cm) for most people.

The disc acquires its nourishment through fluid-attracting and fluid-absorbing qualities of its jelly-like nucleus. With no blood supply of it own, the disc is dependent on sponge action for attracting and absorbing nutrients from adjacent tissues. During non-weight bearing activities (sleeping) the discs expand as they soak up fluid increasing the length of the spine by as much as one inch overnight. In weight bearing activities (sitting, standing, exercising), this fluid is squeezed back into the adjacent soft tissue.

Muscles

Your vertebra are supported and moved by many different muscles. Muscles are used for three basic functions; support, movement, and posture control. If muscles are tight or weak, they create or worsen back pain. Joints are controlled by at least two sets of muscles, flexors which bend the joint, and extensors which straighten it. In addition, most joints have rotator muscles that twist and rotate your bones. Good posture is only possible if the flexors, extensors, and rotators are in proper balance.

Your paraspinal muscles (which run parallel to your spine) rotate your spine, bend it backwards, and sideways, and influence posture by creating and maintaining the curves of your spine.

Your erector spine muscles are involved in movement and run the length of your spine. These muscles help you to bend over by resisting the force of gravity, and to straighten up by contracting and exerting great compressive force on your spine.

Your abdominal muscles play an important role in helping to support the spine by maintaining pressure inside the abdomen. This pressure is an essential measure of counter support to the spine.

Your psoas muscles (hip flexors) are a large group of muscles in the abdomen. These muscles help to flex your hips when walking or climbing stairs. They play an important role in maintaining posture for sitting and standing.

Ligaments

Intervertebral joints are supported by ligaments, tough and inelastic fibers, which support the spine and hold it together by allowing only a limited range of movement in any one direction. Ligaments require regular movement and stretching, otherwise they will eventually become stiff and weak.

Summary

• The 24 vertebrae in your back encase your spinal cord.

• Spinal nerves run through each vertebral joint in your spinal column.

• Your discs act as shock absorbers.

• With no blood supply of their own, discs depend on sponge-like action to soak up nutrients.

• Muscles and ligaments require regular stretching in order to maintain support.

Now that you better understand your back, you can learn how inversion can help relieve and/or prevent back pain.

Back Pain

A back injury is usually not caused by one single incident. The extent of your injury is determined by how much wear and tear your back has been through prior to the injury. Over a lifetime, many minor stresses or irritations add up to cause damage that can gradually weaken and stiffen your spine, setting you up for a significant injury. Many doctors agree that main causes of back pain are:

Gravity

To understand just how dramatically gravity affects your spine, try this exercise at home:

Measure your height in the morning and then measure your height again at night. You will be 1/2" to 3/4" shorter at the end of the day because of the compressive effects of gravity on your spine. During weight bearing activities (sitting, standing, exercising), fluid is squeezed out of your discs and into the adjacent soft tissue. This lost of moisture results in height loss by the end of the day!

During non-weight bearing activities (sleeping), the discs expand as they soak up fluid increasing the length of the spine. However, you will not gain the full 100% of the height lost back. This is evident in the fact that as a baby, your discs are 90% water. By the time you reach 70 years of age, your discs are only 70% water! Over a lifetime, this loss of moisture causes thinning discs and you will lose ¸" to 2" in height!

Loss of height due to gravity would be easy to live with if it was the only result of thinning discs. However, another result of thinning discs is worn facet joints due to increased pressure. The joints can become irritated and inflamed, and the capsule of lubricating fluid which surround each joint might swell and press on a nerve root.

How do activities affect the amount of pressure on your discs?

Our daily activities (running, sitting, weightlifting) and the force of gravity places pressure on your discs. For example, sitting places 50% more pressure on your discs than standing. Sitting and leaning forward (i.e., typing at a computer) places 150% more pressure on discs than standing. The average person will spend 16 hours (2/3 of your life) day sitting or standing.

How do we know that gravity is a major cause of thinning discs?

Astronauts grow in space! After 84 days in space (a gravity-free environment) astronauts grew 2" in height. During twelve weeks in orbit, their discs had continued to take moisture from the blood stream, but with no gravitational pull to squeeze moisture out, the discs remained plump, making their spines longer, and themselves taller. In fact, space suits are designed to accommodate the extra 2" spinal stretch. After a few days on earth (a gravity environment), they returned to their normal height.

How can Inversion reduce the effects of gravity?

When you invert and relax, your body can stretch up to 2". "Muscles relax quite quickly in the fully inverted position, and the length of the spine measurably increases after only a few minutes. Some of the lengthening effect is gained from reabsorption of fluid into the center of the disc. Used over a longer period, this may delay the degeneration process that occurs due to 'drying out'" (Beating Back Pain, Tanner).

Image 1. Supine - Lumbar curve maintained, posterior erector muscles contracted (shortened), intervertebral disc pressure, and psoas exerts pressue on spin.

Image 2. Pre-Inversion - Lumbar curve reduced, muscular relaxation, and pressure of psoas muscle decreases.

Image 3. Seated Inversion - Joint spaces widened, pain relief, intervertebral disc pressue reduced, and musculature stretching.

Summary

Over a lifetime, you will lose, 1/2" to 2" due to thinning discs.

Since your discs act as shock absorbers, thinning discs can cause intervertebral joints to become irritated and inflamed.

Gravity is a major cause of thinning discs because astronauts grew up to 2" while in space (a gravity free environment).

Inversion reverses the effect of gravity on your spine.

While inverted your spinal length increases partly due to the reabsorption of moisture into the center of the disc.

Weak Back Muscles

It is estimated that 60%-70% of all back pain is the result of muscle strain.

Muscle Strength

Your musculo-skeletal system needs a basic level of strength and endurance in order to protect itself against back pain. Your muscles need a good supply of blood and energy in order to be maintained at peak performance. Poor posture or muscle spasms can deprive the cells and tissues in your back muscles of a good supply of blood and oxygen.

For example, when you sit and bend forward (i.e., typing at a computer) two of the three muscle groups which support your back (abdominal and hip flexors) are inactive and, therefore, being detrained (weakened). If this state of affairs continues, muscles will become painful, weak, less elastic, and shortened.

Muscle Imbalance

Often muscles acting on a joint are out of balance. For example, the flexors may be tighter and shorter than the extensors, so that the joint cannot be fully straightened; or the muscles that rotate the joint in one direction may be stronger than those that rotate it the other direction (i.e., one-sided sports like golf). These unequal forces make the joint weaker and more vulnerable. Parts of the bone surfaces bear more weight than they should. This imbalance can cause pain.

Inversion can help

Gently stretching your back muscles, through inversion, can help increase the supply of blood and oxygen to your back muscles. With a regular inversion program of stretching and strengthening, the muscle groups can be brought back into balance.

Summary

Muscles need regular exercise in order to maintain posture.

Various one-sided activities (i.e. golf) can cause muscles to be unbalanced

Inversion provides a gentle stretch to help increase the supply of blood and oxygen to muscles.

Inversion can help bring muscle groups back into balance and thus improve body alignment (posture).

Poor Flexibility

Muscles and ligaments require regular movement, otherwise they will become stiff and inflexible.

As you age, your discs become thinner, bringing the intervertebral joints closer together. The ligaments which used to support the spine firmly become more slack and joints become looser. It is like a worn machine with a loose drive belt or pulley. Any undue strain may throw something out of gear. Throughout your life you obtain strains by bending the spine too far, placing too much load on the spine while in the bent position, or bending repeatedly.

Ligaments have a limited blood supply and thus do not heal easily. Sometimes they fail to heal completely, thus leaving scar tissue. Scar tissue is not as strong or flexible as regular ligaments or muscles and leaves the area stiffer and weaker. This is how your back ages and becomes less flexible. Without regular stretching, ligaments can become stiff and may increase the risk of injury.

Inversion can help.

Unless appropriate exercises are performed to restore normal flexibility, the unhealed tissue may produce a continuous source of back pain and/or stiffness. Simple, gentle stretching can help scar tissue become more flexible and more strong, or absorbed and replaced by more normal ligament and muscle tissue. This strengthening can help to prevent a re-injury. Although there are exercises to stretch parts of your back separately, inversion helps to gently stretch all the ligaments encasing your spinal column at once.

Summary

Muscles and ligaments require regular stretching to maintain normal flexibility and strength.

Inversion helps to gently stretch muscles and ligaments.

Stress and Tension

Stress can cause physical effects throughout your body. Back pain is the body's way of protesting against stress and enforcing general slowing down. Tension and stress can literally cause a "pain in the neck" or a "pain in YOUR back."

 Muscle Tension

Poor posture can make muscles chronically tense. This is common among people who spend hours typing at a computer or among factory operators.

Stress and tension substantially contribute to back problems. Stress and tension can cause spasms in the back, neck, and shoulders, as well as headaches. Tense muscles produce spasms and pain by reducing the supply of oxygen and by reducing blood and lymph flow, allowing the accumulation of waste chemicals (carbon dioxide and lactic acids). Stress increases nerve activity to muscles, creating tension which decreases your flexibility.

Muscle tension can actually be measured by using a machine that monitors electromyographic (EMG) activity. Sensors are placed on particular muscles groups and are attached to a small machine which gives off a signal. The more tense muscles are, the faster the signal emitted by the machine.

Inversion Can Help

Inverting as little as 25‹ for even a few minutes can help relax tense muscles. A study conducted by physiotherapist LJ Nose found that, EMG activity declined over 35% within ten seconds of inversion." Inversion, therefore, is very effective in relieving tension and pain in your muscles which may have been caused by stress.

The concept of turning the body upside down for better health has been around for centuries. In yoga, the "Shirsonana" head stand position has been used by yoga practitioners as a form of "postural exchange" (reversing the direction of gravity). Not everyone wants to do headstands, so inversion products create an easier alternative to reverse gravity. Additionally, suspension by the thighs or ankles is decompressive, while a head stand is compressive to the spine.

Summary

• Stress and tension lead to back pain.

• Muscle tension can be measured using an electromyographic (EMG) machine.

• EMG activity decreases 35% after 10 seconds of inversion.

• Yoga practitioners use the "Shirsonana" headstand to reverse gravity and relax.

• Inversion is an easier way to reverse gravity and is decompressive.

General Wellness

Inversion's benefits exceed those solely related to the prevention and/or relief of back pain. Reversing gravity can lead to a better body:

Increases oxygen to the brain

Your heart must work against gravity to pump blood up to your brain, which is the body's largest consumer of oxygen. Although it is only 3% of the body's total weight, the brain consumes 25% of your body's oxygen.

Win Wenger, in How to Increase Your Intelligence, noted that "only those brain cells which are closed to an ample capillary blood supply are thoroughly developed. Away from such source of supply, brain cells remained undeveloped and useless. In short you can much improve the physical state of your entire brain." A brain which is better nourished simply works better. Peter Russell notes in The Brain Book that "the brain operates 7% faster and 14% more accurate while inverted."

While in the final development stages, a baby is inverted in the mother's womb. This inverted "downhill" pull forces oxygen and nourishment laden blood into the brain to accelerate development by the time of birth.

A treatment for hair loss

Andy Bryant, the author of The Baldness Cure, sites three prime causes of hair loss:

1)Blood has difficulty getting through to the hair follicle owing to vasoconstriction and muscular tension.

2)The blood that does get through carries with it insufficient nutrients for hair growth.

3)The waste products from cellular activity find it difficult to drain away from the scalp through the lymphatic system.

 

Bryant achieved his dramatic hair growth by placing optimum blood flow back into the scalp. He accomplished this by inverting with the aid of an inversion device. Inverting with the F5000III allows for a balanced, controlled inversion session. If the process was not controlled, the body could become distressed, which brings about a restriction of blood flow.

Not only does inversion make it easier for blood to run downhill toward the capillaries in the scalp, but the capillaries are opened further when baroreceptors in the neck and chest sense an increase in blood pressure to the head and act to reduce that pressure by dilating all the capillaries in the body (including those that service the hair follicles.) Additionally, our bodies react to stress by diverting blood away from the hair follicles to other parts of the body. The blood in the body thickens, the body becomes slightly dehydrated and the cholesterol level increases. High stress levels can eventually cause permanent damage, so that no blood gets through to the hair follicle. Using inversion therapy can therefore open the capillaries and force blood into the damaged area.

Increases blood circulation

The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart, veins, arteries, and capillaries. It is your body's transportation system, carrying food and oxygen to your body's cells. Your heart pumps blood through the system: oxygen-rich blood from the lungs goes out through the arteries and waste-filled blood comes back from your legs and lower torso, carrying it upwards against the downward pull of gravity. Inversion allows your body to work with gravity to ease the circulation process. When you are inverted, gravity works for you, helping your heart move venous blood from your legs and torso to your heart and lungs to be purified.

Accelerates cleansing of blood and lymph fluids

Equally important, inversion speeds the flow of lymphatic fluid, which in turn clears the body's wastes from your cells and circulates antibodies important to your immune system.

Unlike the cardiovascular system, the lymphatic system has no pump. Only the alternating contraction and relaxation of muscles moves lymphatic fluid "uphill" through capillaries and one-way valves to the upper chest where it enters the blood stream for cleansing. Inverting the body so that gravity works with, not against, these one-way valves helps to push the lactic fluid up to the chest. The faster the lymphatic system is cleared, the faster the ache and pain of stiff muscles disappears.

Improving skin tone

Increasing the circulation of blood to the head through inversion may also improve the color and tone of your skin. 7 Upon her return to earth, an American Astronaut stated she was happy to return home - her only regret was that in space (a gravity-free environment) she had lost all her wrinkles. (under research)

Decongests Abdominal Organs

The older we get, the longer our bodies have been exposed to the compressive effects of gravity. As your body gets older, organs begin to prolapse. Inversion helps these organs (kidneys, stomach, intestines) resume their normal shape and position in the body. Middle age spread is partly due to the relocation of internal organs. Digestion and waste elimination problems are common symptoms of prolapsed abdominal organs. We blame these problems on old age but they are more directly related to the long term effects of gravity.

Relieves varicose veins

The veins in your legs work against gravity to bring blood back to the heart. These veins have valves to assist in the upward movement and to keep the blood from draining back downward. When the valve gives in to the downward pull and allows blood to slip back, blood tends to pool in that spot, which causes the vein to distend or bulge.

A distended vein can be painful. When inverting, you are helping your heart to clear the blood from your feet, legs, and lower body. This allows the blood in your lower limbs to circulate more easily, draining blood from varicose veins.

Improves vision

Increasing the blood flow and oxygen to any organ will enhance its function. Your eyes, particularly the retina, are large consumers of oxygen. Flooding the retina once or twice a day with blood may enhance and maintain their acuity. (NOTE: Consult with your medical advisor if you have retinal detachment or glaucoma before beginning an inversion program.) 2

Summary

Every organ in your body requires oxygen. Increasing the blood circulation, thereby increasing the oxygen to your organs benefits your eyes, ears, brain, hair, and skin tone.

Inversion encourages your organs to retain their natural shape and position in the body.

Inversion aids circulation in your legs helping to prevent varicose veins.

 

| Body Realignment | Muscle Pain | Ligaments |

Back

People who care about their quality of life and health (and athletes certainly do) are adding inversion to their daily fitness programs.

Inversion helps athletes in several ways:

Inversion Enables the Body to Stretch

Nearly every physical activity involves some form of compression of the spine. The compressive effect of gravity is compounded by activities such as running, weightlifting, aerobics, skiing, biking, and golf which can exact an incredible toll on the spine discs and back muscles.

If we perform our daily activities in the wrong way, we can cause a misalignment of the spine. Most often these misalignments are nominal and will readily correct themselves given the opportunity. Inversion with movement (such as side-to-side bends, back arches, and a partial sit-up or two) provides that opportunity. This decompressive inverted stretch is most effective when done at the completion of a workout or following any significant physical effort. An alternative is to invert just before bedtime.

Enables the Body to Realign

One-sided activities may be the most damaging and troublesome for the athlete for two reasons: The body will tend to over compensate for the strong-side muscle groups, pulling the spine out of alignment, and one-sided activities usually involve rotation of the spine, often under incredible loads. The muscles that rotate the intervertebral joints in one direction may be stronger than those that rotate it the other direction. These unequal forces make the joints weaker and more vulnerable. Parts of the bone surfaces bear more weight that they should This imbalance can cause pain. Examples of these activities are golf, water skiing, tennis, bowling, racquetball, and baseball.

Inversion after one-sided physical activities helps realign the spine and keeps athletes performing at higher levels for longer periods of time.

Reduces Pain in Overworked Muscles

Athletes prone to stiffness or muscle spasms after a work-out can benefit from the lymphatic wash provided by inversion. Intense muscles activities cause muscles to become sore. This is due to the build up of large amounts of lactic acid and carbon dioxide in the muscles. The faster this waste is cleared, the faster the stiffness in the muscles disappears. The alternate stretching and relaxing of your muscles through movements during inversion clears the lactic acid and other wastes accumulated during physical activities. Many athletes find that severe back spasms that used to take up to ten days to recover from are now cleared in three to four days through the use of inversion.

Provides Balance and Orientation Training

The performance of inverted activities can be enhanced through inversion training. If you are not used to being upside down, you will be disoriented, making the performance of any activity in this position difficult. Inversion helps to develop balance awareness, which occurs when the upper regions of the inner ear are stimulated. Sky divers, gymnast's, springboard divers, and scuba divers will find that inversion therapy fine-tunes the body and the inner ear to the upside-down world. Inversion therapy has also been used to normalize the ear canal as a treatment for motion sickness.

Strengthens Ligaments

Ligaments are fibrous strips that hold your bones together. Most important are the ligaments which hold the disc nuclei inside the disk and the paraspinal ligaments that run the length of the spinal column. Ligaments are flexible but not very elastic. They can tear when they are stretched too much. The gentle reverse pull and stretch that occurs while you invert strengthens both ligaments and connective tissue, and helps to protect the athlete from serious injury.

Summary

• Stretching the spine can reverse the effects of compression activities (running, weightlifting, aerobics) which are compounded by the force of gravity.
  
• One-sided sports (i.e., golf, baseball, & tennis) can pull the spine out of alignment--Inversion helps realign the vertebrae.
  
• Inversion encourages the lymphatic system to cleanse the muscles of built-up lactic acid, thereby relieving sore muscles.

• Inverted training allows skydivers, gymnasts, scuba divers and springboard divers adjust to the upside-down world.
  
• Stretching ligaments in the spine can help reduce the risk of injury to the athlete.