Chiropractor

How does it work?

Hanging upside down?

 

I don't know BUT I do know I have never met a bat with spinal problems. Yet.

 

ok, so what i have used for the lower back is a hip traction belt which fastens tightly around the pelvis and has straps running down to about the ankle with d rings for attaching to weights. however in my case i use an 2 by 12 plank about eight feet long with a hook on one end to attach the straps to. i then lay prone (on my front) with the plank on about a 25 degree slope (leaning against a sofa or heavy chair). you stand astraddle of the plank, attach the d rings, then lay down while using your grip on the sides of the plank to keep from sliding. once you are in place you let yourself slide down very slowly until the straps become taut and your upper body begins to serve as traction weight for your lower back. in my case sometimes the pain was pretty significant at the beginning.

each treatment takes about twenty to thirty minutes in part because it takes time to make yourself relax the muscles in your back. at the onsetof treatment they stay in tension. as you relax your back then you can increase the traction by gripping the sides of the plank and pulling even more traction on your back.

keep in mind please this is just what has worked for me and some others i know.

i suggest an inversion table because it is designed for you to lay on it flat with your feet in boots at one end, tightly fastened. the table is designed to tilt either way so you can use it to tilt your head down the twenty degrees or what ever amount of trendelenberg you want to use. on you tube you will see completely upside down while on the table. i have never used the inversion table but it looks much easier to use than plank and belt and the table is advertised for the same lower back issues.

keep in mind, this is what worked for me. i am not a doctor. i am not prescribing anything for you, just relating my experience. not sure if you can find an inversion table locally but you could probably make one or revert to my plank and belt.

you have to be in the set up long enough to make your back relax as that is when the traction force can actually work to reverse the compression force that is the norm for your lower back

i am sure there are possible negative outcomes so consider that. i would imagine if you ask a physical therapist they will tell you not to do it. but google "inversion table, or youtube it, and you will get the idea.

to complicate this a bit, i had a similar issue with my neck stemming from bad judgement playing touch football while drinking. a cervical traction at home using the full water bag weight also fixed that problem after multiple treatments.

in both cases i use more weight than would normally be recommended i think. my theory is that sufficient traction allows the vertebra to be in tension and allows them to move back into a proper alignment. my believe is they are slightly misaligned due to injury, but they are happy to go back home and the traction makes it possible.