Inversion table - advice, recommendations?

[WindSpirit]

I'm trying to decide if I should buy one. I want it to help me with my back pain. Relaxing at 45-60 degree angle with soft music sounds like heaven right now.

I've researched it a little and I think these are the features I need/want:
- comfortable "bed" (those with metal bars with fabric wrapped onto them don't look that comfortable to me)
- a handle that extends to your knees so you don't have to bend over to your ankles to fasten your feet
- round handlebars that extend to the back (I love those)
- easy storage

I've looked at other tables, but I keep coming back to this one: Teeter Hang Ups EP-950 Inversion Table Another link.

It's quite pricey, but if it works, I don't care. If I were buying a lens for my camera, that would be considered pretty cheap. They also have this massage mat for $99. It just looks so comfortable even without the massage part.

Have anyone ever used an inversion table? Which one? Do you have any advice on what to look for? I'm pretty set on this one, but maybe it has/does something I wouldn't like, I don't know.

My main concern right now is installation. Yikes. Someone wrote it took them 3 hours. Storage is also a concern. But hey, I have a second bedroom I don't use, I can just get rid of the bed and put it there. As long as it works (I don't expect miracles, but a little help in relieving my lower pain), I'd get it.

[numbers123]

I had (have) the Teeters Hang Up one (probably not that edition since i got mine 12 years or so ago). It helped some because of the arthritis in my sacrum and stretched me out.

Storage was an issue as well as set up. It is pretty heavy and if I hadn't had someone to help set it up I would have been unable to get it done. I used it for approximately 3 years before herniating my disc doing some lifting and moving equipment.

You start out slow - inverting at a mild degree to begin with. I think that everyone needs to assess for themselves how it works for them. Do you have a relax the back store near you? Sometimes they will let you try it out before buying one.

[mikey]

I also have a Teeter Hang Ups Inversion Table. I bought it a few years ago after developing inflammation in my sacroiliac joints which caused a lot of muscle spasm in my lower back. It definitely "worked," meaning that it felt good to use; the pain resolved eventually. Since then, I have only used it on rare occasions, so I am not sure it was worth the price tag. I don't remember set-up being that difficult. It does takes up a lot of space; in fact, I have a spare bedroom that now contains nothing but the inversion table and a treadmill, and they both continue to collect dust.

[WindSpirit]

Do you have a relax the back store near you? Sometimes they will let you try it out before buying one.

I don't know if there's a store like that near me, but that's a great idea. I'll see if I can find one.

I also have a Teeter Hang Ups Inversion Table. I bought it a few years ago after developing inflammation in my sacroiliac joints which caused a lot of muscle spasm in my lower back. It definitely "worked," meaning that it felt good to use; the pain resolved eventually. Since then, I have only used it on rare occasions, so I am not sure it was worth the price tag.

That's what I'm afraid of now after I thought it over. $399 is a lot in general, but for something I'll use only occasionally? Ouch. But I would love to have that table right now, as it feels like the entire earth's gravitation is attracted to the place on my back.

[Quintuple]

Always with the cheap ghetto solutions am I: Do you have a Par Course in a park near you? I've seen the Teeter commercial and have thought - Wait, can I just go to a pull-up bar, hand by my knees, and twist a little?

I actually just hung upside down in a few positions and swung (swinged?) a bit on a "mobility trapeze" at an aerial dance center and I definitely felt the benefit as described above. Also, sometimes older gymnasiums have walls with wooden "ladders" where people hand from their ankles and do some hanging sit-ups.

... just a thought. Not sure if the table is particularly special.

[Norlite]

Windspirit, I can't remember what your specific problem is, beyond having pain that is, but I have this.

http://www.badbackstore.com/BackMagi..._p/u-10271.htm

And it has helped immensely with both my lower back pain and even posture and shoulder blade pain. It was recommended at my pilates class. Five minutes twice a day, best 30 bucks I have ever spent.

Now if your problems are more serious, might not be for you. It really is just for alignment and run of the mill back pain that we all get from poor posture.

[made_in_canada]

Have you checked the buy and sell? If people generally don't use them much then there's probably people trying to get rid of them.