I doubt that an inversion table would work for DDD. All DDD is is the drying out of the discs. What happens with DDD is the discs dry out, and when that happens the discs tend to flatten out - kind of squish down, and then that causes them to bulge out -- sometimes they even herniate. Everyone has DDD to a certain extent. Everyone WILL get DDD -- it's a natural aging process. It's just some of us get it earlier than others, and some of us get pain with it. There are millions of people walking around right now with bulging & herniated discs and they don't even know it. We just are the "lucky" ones and we have the pain because our discs are pushing on nerves.

I suppose it's possible the table COULD work for some people, but I doubt it would be a permanent fix. Since you had such a bad experience, I don't think I'd try it again. You could be causing more problems by using it since you had such pain.

Best of luck & God bless. Hugs, Lee

Yes, I understand all the business of DDD. My thought process was that the inversion table would work sort of like traction. To pull the vertebra apart just a bit releaving some of the pressure on the discs. I know when I had such bad pain in my neck due to the disc that was pressing on a nerve the physical therapist did manual traction - the actually held my head and pulled it away from my body to releave the pressure on the discs.

Anyway, I now know I should never use the table if I am doing well and then have an acute incident and am trying to relieve the pain. I am quite sure that the pain I got from the table was from muscle spasms, not nerve impingement.

I was just wondering if anyone used an inversion table and if it helped them. Looks like not many people do or this site is not very active. I will ask a doc about the inversion table. I work with plenty of them.

Thanks for your reply Leeall.

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I use an inversion table almost every day, it is part of my stretching routine.My maximum time that I invert is five minutes or less. I have never had any problems using it except for the feeling of dizziness and nausea some times.For me it does help to keep me loose. It is just some of the things that I use to keep me from having surgery.I have DDD real bad and my pain doctor suggested I start using it. I always check with my Doc before I try something new to help my back.

I used the table before for about 5 minutes while listening to classical music. I found it very relaxing but I didn't do it consistently so I wasn't sure if it was helping. I can just tell you if you are doing something and you feel your back "give" on you or an acute pain that you weren't having, DON'T get on it thinking it is going to relieve the pressure. Or at least it made mine worse. Holy Moly. The spasms I had...

Thanks Scooter.

Any other comments welcome.

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Thank you for telling us your experience, after hearing about what happened to you, I will never use my table if I have any acute pain.

I have cervical DDD and borrowed an inversion table with hopes of it helping my neck. It did not seem to help. I kept it for a couple of months and got on it maybe three times per week. One day my daughter walked into the room and said 'mom, your veins on your head are huge'. I felt the veins at my temples and they were pumped up, as big as my pinky finger. That kind of scared me that it was causing my blood vessel to dilate that much. I gave it back to the person that I had borrowed it from. Some people say that they really help their backs, but I don't think it did anything for my neck.

I have an inversion table and have used it for low chronic back pain for over 20 years. I truly think that it is extremely helpful, however I am not up to date on the newer tables but I assume that they will work as good as the older models. I feel my inversion table is a more stable machine and it goes over slowly so that you are not injured. I tried a new one at the Sporting Goods Store and I did not like that it did not have inversion boots, and it flipped you upside down really fast and that hurt my neck. So really check out the inversion table before you buy it!

Thank you for the responses. My acute pain is gone now thanks to the new drug vimovo (naprosyn and nexium combined) and amrix..I had to take valium initially for the acute spasm. I am too scared to get on it right now but I will give it a go again next week and we will see.

Yes it does rush all of the blood to your head because you are upside down. But I can handle that.


I will keep you posted.
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I have just been diagnosed and have been denied surgery 3 times. Am doing PT even though Dr. says it won't help since I have no disks left. My therapist decided to try traction one day when my leg pain was very bad. We have added it to my regular visits as it is providing "some" help since it's opening up the spaces and relieving some of the pressure on the nerves. However, I asked what would prevent the vertebrae from collapsing back onto themselves since I have no disks left (L4-L5 and L5-S1). He said "nothing" that I would need to return periodically for treatments. I asked if he thought an inversion table might help. He thought so. I will be checking with my Dr. at my next visit. It seems to me that it should help in the same way traction does but I agree with the comments below it is probably not a good idea to use it during an acute episode.

I am very frustrated/depressed by this situation I find myself in and am thankful I found this support group. Without surgery I fear eventually I will be looking at disability.

How long after diagnosis have people found themselves applying for disability? Were you ever able to get surgery with all the controversy with insurance companies right now?

Thanks in advance, everyone!

When deciding whether surgery is a viable option 4 a parkin, the doc must do a risk benefit analysis. Meaning the benefits of surgery MUST outweigh the risks. Riskin spinal surgeries are quite significant so you really have to have quite debilitating disease or risk of permanent nerve damage due to cord compression. If you have been denied surgery my guess is that though your pain may be significant, the risk of surgery outweighs the benefits. They will exhaust every measure for pain control before surgery if you do not have cord compression. Cord compression is considered an emergency so surgery is warranted in those situations almost immediately.

As for me, I have lived with this so long and my pain is not intolerable now due to steroid injections, meds and PT. I will NOT have surgery until necessary nor go on disability.

Hope this was helpful.

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Thank Depressed4Years, I appreciate your input and I do realize the Risk vs. Benefit Analysis. I have worked in the cinical research field for over 30 years. I guess I am impatient because of very successful surgery in 2003 for a herniated disk. The symptoms I have now are very similar. I am doing PT now. Injections are my next step. My job requires a lot of international travel which is another reason I am impatient!

I have the exact same problem. My back surgeon recommended an inversion table. I've found that hanging upside down is uncomfortable but getting off of it hurts like crazy. I've almost blacked out from the pain. I even use a low back support pillow. The painful side is my right side. I've found that when I come back up, I put all of my weight on the left side and bring my right knee up to my chest for a little while before stepping off. It helps a little. I can't determine if it is doing my back any good or not. Meanwhile, my husband gave it to me as a gift so I continue to try to use it.

nversion tables are the most common devices used to hang upside down; even though, they are not the best devices for most people. Hanging completely upside down from the ankles strapped into anti-gravity boots is very aggressive. http://www.inversiontabledoctor.com/ Some people like to be aggressive. Others find that 100% inversion is not really necessary for achieving the benefits of an inverted position. Besides, many people find 100% inversion too intense and too painful on the ankles and knees. Furthermore, inversion tables usually require a second person to spot and assist the individual hang from his/her feet.

I have had DDD for years and could not get through my day without my inversion table.Only way I can get a little relief from the pain.