The History of Inversion and Decompression

Inversion is nothing new.  In fact, the practice of “inverting” (or hanging upside down) has been around for over 3000 years.  As far back as Hippocrates there is evidence that man used gravity reversal for back pain relief.

The desire to relieve back pain has been in the forefront of man’s mind since the beginning of time.  For thousands of years, man has acknowledged that time cures most ailments and that bed rest may have the power to heal.  When backache occurred, man noticed that the symptoms usually decreased when lying down.

Thousands of years ago resourceful thinkers utilized a form of “Inversion” by simply hanging upside down.  This intuitive human, knowing that “getting the pressure off” made sense, has lead many creative thinkers to design methods of unloading to bring about back pain relief.

The vertical upright position of the human body is maintained for about 2/3rds of a person’s life, either sitting or standing.  Therefore, “compression” occurs in humans as a natural effect of gravity.  The head, neck and upper torso for example, load the lower lumbar spine. 

By the age of sixty, (60) a person has slept twenty years of their life and compressed vertically for forty (40) years.  The twenty years of sleeping in the “decompressed state of renewal” helps the body recover from daily physical stress.  Decompression in a slightly inverted state will logically provide a greater amount of unloading than merely resting horizontally.

The “concept” of Inversion to relieve stress and pressure on the back was reduced to an actual machine in the late 60’s.   A California Physician, Dr. Robert Martin, had spent years researching ways to suspend the human body in an upside down angle, using specialized boots.  This pivoting racket and boot system was called the “Gravity Guidance System”.  The “Gravity Machine”, as many people called it, was a controversial yet very effective way to relieve back pain. 

Like so many other self help remedies, critics were quick to throw water on such a beneficial and simple idea.  Stroke potential was the major concern in the 80’s, however no published data, to the knowledge of this author, has ever appeared to confirm the assumption that stroke ever occurred as a result of inverting.

In contrast, the use of Inversion/Decompression, as an effective means to reduce stress and reverse the compressive impact of gravity, is bigger and more accepted today than ever. 

Since the days of Dr. Martin’s gravity boots, the creative variations in inversion designs have been vast.  The common goal of all design variations has been to decompress and unload to a greater degree than what occurs in the horizontal plane.

Much has been written over the years about the benefits of inversion, decompression and exercise.  Some studies have suggested that the rapid relief found when inverting could be attributed to the “significant separation” of the intervertebral disc.  (Vernon H. “Inversion Therapy:   A study of Physiological Effects” 1985.  Another study (Meshino J. “The role of Inverted Traction in Chiropractic Practice” ACA 1984) suggested that inversion offers a promise of prevention.  Sheffield, F. “Adaption of Tilt Table for Lumbar Traction” suggests that stretching of the paraspinal vertebral muscles and ligaments, along with widening of the intervertebral disc, were responsible for the improvements seen in the study.

Another 1985 study by Gianakopulos, G., etal “Inversion Devices: Their Role in Producing Lumbar Distraction” suggests that gravity assisted inversion offers an effective means of personalized self help at home.

The history of inversion continues to march forward from the crude devices 3000 years ago to the 60’s -70’s Inversion Boots. 

Today the home technology for back pain relief is all about versatility and comfort.  The most technologically advanced concept to concern itself with versatility and comfort is the patent pending design developed by doctor, researcher, scientist and inventor, Dr. John Boren.  The SomaTrac inventor, Dr. Boren has been credited by many as one of the leading pioneers in Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression (NSSD) and Strength Restoration Therapy (SRT). 

Dr. Boren’s thirty five years of experience in practice, research and equipment design, has made him one of the foremost authorities and recognized leaders in the field of decompression.  He founded the medical company, Lordex, Inc. to bring new scientific innovations in back pain treatment to the medical world and has now focused his energy on home based, self help back pain solutions.

Dr. Boren’s theory is that the compressive force produced by the weight of the upper torso, should be relieved through unloading on a daily basis.  Dr. Boren further suggests that the SomaTrac design, versatility and comfort make it practical for everyone regardless of their age or athletic ability.  “So many other inversion machines were intentionally engineered to be inexpensive and mass produced.”  Unfortunately, a very large portion of the people that could benefit from inversion simply can’t hang upside down.  These people are in need of an affordable, yet serious machine that will accommodate their needs and positional comfort.