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Arching your back time and again in short intervals to ease that oh-not-again back pain? Inversion got your back, quite literally.
The benefits of inversion 1are innumerable once you apply it. It is effectively used to ease our back pain by stretching upside down, preventing further back problems and health issues in the future.
Check out the article below to know how to perform inversion and how many ways it can give you health benefits, some risks of completing it, and types of inversion techniques and devices.
10 Super Benefits of Inversion You Must Know
As specified above, inversion is a posture where you stretch your spine upside down. It can provide us with numerous gains, and it is considered one of the most effective yoga moves.
Check out the various benefits of inversion below.
1. Reduction in Back Pain
One of the good benefits of inversion lies in this point, you relieve back pain greatly with this practice.
A survey states that around 47 people suffering from chronic lower back pain adopted this effective therapy. They practiced inversion therapy in three sets at different angles.
Consequently, studies showed that a person performing inversion at 60 degrees could be relieved of the pain within a maximum of eight weeks.
Moreover, inversion therapy is also beneficial in providing torso flexibility2 and strength. Reduced back pain continues to stay among the most practical benefits of inversion.
2. Better Spinal Health
Among the best benefits of inversion therapy, the point of improved spinal health stands out to be crucially important.
You are involved in multiple activities throughout the day, such as sitting, running, bending, etc., that might turn up to be the significant causes of back pain, collapsed vertebra3, or any other related major issues.
This is where inversion therapy delivers its magic vehemently! It helps in improving the space between spinal discs, thus relieving pressure. It is indeed, among the most significant health benefits you get, through inversion.
3. Increase in Flexibility
You gain multiple health benefits with the aid of this therapy. Micro movements in the spine are an essential part that makes the body healthier and fitter.
Activity such as bending gets more comfortable, and your posture is also improved to an appreciable extent. The more flexible your poses get, the easier it is to focus on your tasks.
4. Need for Surgery Decreases
The primary and perhaps the most crucial feature of inversion therapy is its zero gravity. Therefore, it is utterly helpful in reducing compression.
The treatment reduces chronic back pain and cuts down the need for spinal surgery to a desirable extent. A study from 2012 also states that many people with lumbar disease could reduce the need for surgery after six weeks of undergoing the treatment.
5. Improves Circulation
Speaking about the benefits of inversion, we have to figure out the point of improved blood circulation in your body. When you have your body inverted and your legs up the wall, the blood flow enhances your brain to a significant extent.
Eventually, your ability to work, focus, and carry out the related tasks upgrades considerably. Also, the blood carries oxygen and nutrient only to serve as nourishment to the brain.
6. Increase in Energy
The physical therapy of inversion is a great way to heat your body. The processes of headstand and forearm stand are the most coveted ways of heating your body.
The increase in blood flow, which is genuinely revitalizing and worth mentioning, enhances energy levels, including mental strength increases, which deserves genuine appreciation.
7. Relaxation
Relaxation is among the best benefits that you are likely to derive through inversion. Activities like shoulder stands and legs up the wall are significant ways of cooling inversions. With these postures’ assistance, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated.
Resultantly, it calms down your body, providing you with peace and balance. As already denoted, this lies among the most excellent benefits of inversion.
8. Enhancement of Immunity
It is very vital to keep your body healthy, and it majorly lies in the lymphatic system. With the movement of lymph through your body, toxins are collected, and taken to the lymph nodes to discard.
When you turn your body upside down, the lymph system gets moved to the central areas, such as the lungs, faster. A healthy immune system is a blessing to staying fit in this buzzing world.
9. Increases the Patience Level
One of the most significant benefits of inversion is gaining patience and calmness. Not the destination, but yoga surrounds the journey and experience, like life.
Performing this movement more and more, you will understand its deep essence and derive the benefits.
Every time you attempt this move, you will learn and explore. After trying it again and again when you return to your original position and fall again, your patience level will gradually increase.
It will assist you to be kind to your body as it is one of the most effective yoga poses.
10. Healthier Muscle and Increased Core Strength
According to various studies and research, the inversion workout works on core muscles, shoulders, and arms. Eventually, these muscles become active at the time of inversion and you gain power gradually.
People with strength in the lower part of their body can apply it to achieve the right body balance. This, too, is one of the best benefits of inversion.
Inversion Therapy Techniques and Devices
One of the best benefits of inversion is that there are various techniques and devices. A person can perform this movement with ease based on the available equipment. Check it out below.
1. Inversion Tables
One of the practical tools that will aid you in doing inversion is the inversion table. However, people often use the available tables to hang upside down for a few minutes only. But inversion tables are handy to use, mostly to do this exercise.
Its quality depends on the brand and model. It also helps to carry out ab crunches and torso rotations. They are not difficult to afford, which starts from reasonable to high prices.
2. Gravity Boots/ Inversion Boots
One more useful device that helps individuals to perform inversions with ease is gravity or inversion boots. These boots are specially made for carrying out this move. Hence it is also named an inversion boot.
They are heavy-duty ankle wraps, and affording this tool is very easy, which runs from 50$ to 100$ for each pair. Studies have shown that, by implementing this tool, you can secure the best benefits of inversion undoubtedly.
3. Inversion Chairs
Another useful tool that you can pursue performing inversions is inversion chairs. The concepts of this device are more or less similar to the basics of inversion tables.
The fundamental difference between an inversion chair and an inversion table is that a person will sit instead of standing while performing this workout. It will also derive you the best benefits of inversion, which is affordable at a reasonable price.
However, suppose it is too harsh for you to perform inversions accurately. In that case, you also obtain the inversion benefits by carrying out other movements close to this like, headstands, plow pose, shoulder stands, and handstands.
You must consult a specialist or a yoga instructor for performing these movements.
Though inversion is very beneficial for health, you should necessarily take a bit of medical advice to execute any tools or be a student of a yoga instructor. If you get the green signal, execute this physical therapy to gain the best advantages.
Risks
Though inversion is good to do, it may be a matter of risk to people in some specific conditions. It is sometimes very risky because the upside-down posture lowers your heart rate and increases your blood pressure. You will also feel a strain in your eyeballs when you do this move.
Consulting your doctor before practicing it is highly recommendable, and your doctor may restrict you from performing this workout under certain conditions –
- Individuals suffering from joint and bone disorders, or spinal injuries, will be limited.
- If you have cardiovascular disease, you will also be limited.
- Your doctor will also advise you not to perform inversions if you suffer from ear infections and conjunctivitis.
- Apart from these factors, people suffering from obesity, retinal detachment4, and pregnancy, should strictly prohibit themselves from carrying out this task.
However, adjusting to this move takes a bit of time. Try coming to this angle from different angles slowly to get used to it. It will also aid in reducing muscle strain but don’t perform it frequently.
Closing Thoughts
The benefits of inversion are numerous and they also form a crucial significance in your yoga sessions. Taking care of your body’s health is crucially significant but you must not indulge in any activity that gets painful or puts pressure.
Inversion therapies are worth it to keep you relaxed and fit. However, certain health conditions might not support this physical therapy.
Therefore, consulting an expert is good. In case you are interested in this practice, have a word with your doctor first. Be safe and stay healthy!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is an inversion in yoga?
Yoga poses known as inversions place the head lower to the floor than the heart. Hence, forms like a supported shoulder stand, in which the shoulders are supported by a folded blanket, legs up the wall, and downward facing dog are included.
2. What are the benefits of inversions?
Inversion exercises increase lymphatic and blood circulation5, which assist the body remove waste items and transport oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body.
3. What is the purpose of inversion?
You can stretch your spine and get relief from back discomfort by hanging upside down as part of inversion treatment.
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- Filippova, K., A. Kozhenkov, and A. Alabushin. “Seismic inversion techniques: choice and benefits.” First Break 29.5 (2011). ↩︎
- Sell, Timothy C., et al. “Strength, flexibility, and balance characteristics of highly proficient golfers.” The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 21.4 (2007): 1166-1171. ↩︎
- Fornasier, V. L., and A. A. Czitrom. “Collapsed vertebrae: a review of 659 autopsies.” Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research (1976-2007) 131 (1978): 261-265. ↩︎
- Michel, R., C. Wilkinson, and T. Rice. “Retinal detachment.” St Louis: CV Mosby 117 (1990). ↩︎
- Rusznyák, István, Mihály Földi, and György Szabó. Lymphatics and lymph circulation: physiology and pathology. Elsevier, 2013. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology
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