Zak strongly recommend inversion table therapy with years experience.
The use of Inversion Tables has been proven therapy for back pain. When inverting, the force of gravity counteracts compressions in the joints, mainly concentrating on the back, neck and hips.Inversion Tables helps to optimize lumbar traction and allows the back muscles that support the vertebrae to relax. This also improves circulation and reduces tension.This in turn also helps to reduce the effects of spinal compression and stimulates blood flow for increased mental alertness and helps with stress relief, compression fatigue and lower back pain.
you should always consult your doctor or medical advisor before commencing any inversion therapy.
Case studies:
We have been using Mastercare in Malaysia for the last 18 months in practices which are very sports intensive. As I am sure Magnus will have informed you, my background is very much entrenched with Sport. I was involved with the South African Mens Hockey team and Students team in a Sports Chiropractic and technical capacity from 1999 to 2004 attending numerous sports events from the All African Games, Manchester Commonwealth Games and Athens Olympics. I was involved in training the doctors and physiotherapists that volunteered in the polyclinic in Beijing at the Olympics.
As a sports therapy type device, the Mastercare makes a tremendous amount of sense. The mini is particularly useful since it is portable. Most sports such as cricket and rugby, which Craig is involved in are very ‘compressive’ in the nature of the biomechanics involved. This is particularly true of fast bowlers, and the tight five in rugby. The controlled longitudinal traction with the dynamic nature of the moving portion of the table in the professional version, makes for an excellent way to decompress the spine, stretch muscles and ligaments and allows for physical therapy to take place for the first time in a ‘distracted position’. IN other words, since the table is so stable and the patient is locked in, a lot of the myofascial release, stretching, dry needling, electrotherapy and joint mobilisation/manipulation techniques can take place in 15 or 30 degrees of inversion. Also since the intervertebral discs require ‘movement’ for nourishment, the inversion forces could encourage better nourishment of the nucleus pulposis.
The AN3 version of the table is stable enough to take up to 150kg of weight and allows for a good stretching routine to be performed actively by the athlete, while strapped in and inverted.
The table has been used successfully with the Swedish Winter olympics team but I am sure Magnus could give your more information on the European uses. I believe its also used by the belgian tennis physio, and she uses the ‘treatment in distraction position’. These details can be confirmed with Mastercare Sweden.
