♪ Bob and Brad ♪
♪ The two most famous ♪
♪ Physical therapists ♪
♪ On the internet. ♪
- Hi folks, Brad Heineck physical therapist.
- Mike Kenitz PT assistant.
- And together we are the most famous physical therapist
on the internet.
- In our opinion of course.
- There you go Mike.
Today's episode is understanding spinal decompression
using an inversion table.
And will it work for you?
You're going to understand it
as get some answers for this.
So I'll hold on for just a second.
As we
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- Oh, our website,
- Our website. - Absolutely.
And the giveaway is
- The fleas.
What are these?
- Suspension straps.
- Suspensions straps. - Excellent workout.
Good for arms, legs and core.
I really enjoy working with them.
Okay. Let's carry on with
the product at hand and the whole system.
So understanding
why this can take care or delete
or does it actually work?
Take care of your back pain.
We're going to cover that, how it works is traction
or decompression which really is the same thing.
- Yep.
- And we're going to look at that closer using the spine.
Uh, if we look at the spine,
often times particularly with sciatica
we're going to be dealing with a bulging disc.
Now if you have tight muscles
this also can be helpful just for relaxing the muscles
but we're going to look at the bulging disc.
Where's my pen?
Oh - Over there.
- Thank you. - Right where the spine was.
- Yep.
So here we have,
what have we got?
L three L four
and there's a bulging disc here pushing on the nerve
causing back pain and sciatica all the way down the leg.
Now that bulge, if we can centralize it
or reduce it, medically speaking,
we want to get to go. - Making it go back in.
- There you go.
So if we actually could pull the vertebra
here you can hold that there we go.
If we can pull the vertebra apart
allowing space for the bulge to go back in
that is good.
- Typically reduces the pain you are experiencing
from sciatica or wherever it may be causing.
- Right.
Now what used to happen back in the day
when I was early in the therapy,
there wasn't inversion tables,
but they had traction machines where you would lay down.
We should call them devices.
Machines sounds a little
- They still have them.
- Industrial.
But if you could pull that
they would have a device where they connect up your waist
and connect up your trunk or your torso,
- You laid on a big table
- And it would pull and would get relief.
And if you got relief,
you know, you're doing the right thing.
- Yep.
- And you typically lay there
for 15 to 20 minutes on a certain protocol prescribed
by the therapist
- Yep. - or the doctor.
All right.
So how do we do this without an expensive device.
We found out the inversion table can work out very well.
And these have become more popular
over the last five or 10 years.
- Yes. This is a Teeter table.
They have different versions.
We have one of the higher end models here.
Um, this one just has a bigger base of support.
It also comes with a few adjustable features compared
to the other ones,
but they all work well.
- Right?
And I used to have an inversion table.
It worked well on my spine for about two and a half years
with spondylolisthesis then it stopped working
and I actually sold it on the used market.
That worked out well,
but these are, I attest very top quality.
You're going to be happy
with how it's built mechanics and the how it works.
So before we get into that.
I did do a little research Mike,
I want to share this with people.
There's a nice research study done,
people who had a sciatica a bulging disc,
according to the MRI.
And they split it into two groups.
One group had therapy exercises alone.
The other group had the same therapy exercises
with the inversion table treatment.
What they found out was
that people who had the inversion table, that they
by the way all of these people were cited for surgery.
- Oh
- The people who did this,
it was a significant difference of people
who use the inversion table
did not have the surgery, evidence that it works.
Um Mayo clinic I looked at them.
They also said they're very consistent
with reducing back pain.
But then they're saying not for long-term,
in other words you might need to use it for maintenance,
which I've had patients own one.
And they say they love it because they invert,
they decrease the pain.
It lasts, but not forever.
- Yeah it's not a long term solution
- Right.
Exactly.
And should I let you talk?
I just been babbling on you.
I get that. - Go ahead.
(laughing)
- Okay. So why don't we demo?
- Okay.
So to get into these, you have to first step in.
Obviously, if your back is hurting
you might have to have someone bend down to push as close.
You want it tight.
You don't want it so tight your ankles are uncomfortable.
So I'm just going to snap it in.
That feels tight for me, it's adjustable.
We have this preset to my height.
We also have the strap in here.
So it will not fully invert.
You can fully invert.
We do not recommend it - Right
- Full inversion is honestly used more for exercises,
which we've showed in previous videos in the past,
but this is set up so all I'm going to do is lean back.
And as soon as I lean back,
I'm going to get to a neutral position.
And this is set up for me, for my height, my weight
you're going to have to mess with it.
Brad and I are the same height
but I'm a little more top heavy than him.
So I have to set it up a little different than him.
And as you could see
if I bend my knees, I start to come back down.
If I straighten and go back this way,
I'll go neutral, start in neutral.
And then to actually invert
I'm going to start raising my arms up above my head.
And down I go.
- And at this point
as the weight of his arms, head and trunk
offer that traction
and Mike as the person using it as the patient,
if you will needs to learn to relax the abdominal muscles
and the core muscles.
And that allows that traction to occur.
And if you've got that bulging disk
allow that to centralize go back in
or if it's just a relaxing the muscles
you have to kind of learn how to relax
or in your breathing feeling okay, Mike.
= Yup.
- Also, if you have arthritis in your back
in the Fossette joints that can gap those
and allow that synovial fluid to get in
reducing the pain and Mike's going to come back up.
- And also if you had any type of back surgery
you probably should not do an inversion table
check with your doctor.
- Exactly.
- And some people like it's so bad,
like getting into this is uncomfortable.
So it's not for everyone.
You can definitely go to a store
is not what you did - Well, that's right.
I do want to say there is a few instances of,
well you're not going to be a candidate
for the universe table with some medical issues.
Number one, if you have glaucoma.
The pressure in your eyes goes up when you invert.
And if you have any eye problem,
make sure you check with your doctor
or your, the eye doctor.
Glaucoma's uh, what are you laughing at?
- The eye doctor or the eye doctor.
- Did I say that? - Yeah.
Optometrists is that what they're called?
- There you go.
Heart conditions.
If you have blood pressure problems
any cardiac problems, make sure you check with that doctor.
If you recently, or in the past, I've had a stroke
a hiatal hernia, cause you don't want the pressure
and that to change and irritate that.
Or if you're pregnant
- Yep. Or high blood pressure.
Hypertension is also precautious.
- Didn't I say that.
- I think you stepped that one.
- All right.
So what I did is I went to a store that had them
and I tried it.
You're only going to, in my recommendation,
you're only going to use these is if they offer relief
while you're doing it as well as after you get off
and walk around and for the next few hours,
some in other words,
it could feel good while you're inverting.
And then when you get up and walk around
Oh man, that was not the right thing to do.
That's the problem.
- Yeah. - You're not going to use one.
If you invert
and you're gonna not invert too long the first time,
the first time I did it
I was inverted for about five minutes.
I thought if one minute is good, five is better.
Well my back was feeling good,
but I got a headache for the rest of the night.
And I inverted too steep.
So I recommend 60 degrees
at the most and this is about 60 maybe a little less.
- This strap is adjustable,
- Right exactly.
- It'll allow them to go further back or less.
- There you go.
Now you're going to say
well, what if I can't find a store,
particularly now with COVID going on.
You can buy one of these from Teeter.
You got a 60 day trial.
If you're not happy with them 60 days,
full money back guarantee.
- Yep if you go through the link we put in the description,
you do get a bit of a discount as well.
- Right.
And that'll be below the video.
- Yeah.
- So there we go.
Understanding spinal
decompression or traction
as it is described here.
I really hope we've number of people.
I've used them.
They, they are valid and they're useful
and I'm really hope that we help straighten this out
in your head
- And your back.
- Can we delete this last part?
(laughing)
Thank you very much.
- Thanks.