If you are suffering from cervical spinal stenosis and are wondering how it can be treated without surgery, you may want to try inversion therapy.
Cervical spinal stenosis results in insistent pain in the back, neck, arms and shoulders, lower abdomen, and even in the legs. It usually affects people that have a weak skeletal structure, which explains why it common among the aged. However, it can still occur in younger people, especially if they naturally have a narrow spinal canal.
The aging process usually causes an effect referred to as the bulging of discs, a condition where the spinal discs bulge out further than is normal. This, coupled with other related factors like destruction of tissue covering the bones, and thickening of the tissue that covers the bones can result in contraction of the spinal canal.
Spinal Stenosis Symptoms
The main symptom for spinal stenosis is the back and neck pains. However, there are other important symptoms that distinguish the condition from other spinal related conditions.
For instance, the patient might feel numb, stiff and weak in the shoulders, neck, arms, legs and even hands.
Cervical spinal stenosis might also lead to loss of balance and coordination thereby resulting in tripping or shuffling while walking. Losing of bowel and bladder control might also be an indicator of the condition.
Can an Inversion Table Help Spinal Stenosis?
Inversion therapy is one of the best non-intrusive remedies of cervical spinal stenosis. The insistent back pain usually comes from the pressure that is exerted on the spine due to gravity. Under normal conditions, the spinal discs cushion the nerves from the effects of gravitational pressure.
However, when these discs are damaged, the spine feels the full effects of the pressure and this causes a lot of pain in the back. Inversion therapy helps to reverse this non-intrusively.
Inversion therapy involves lying in an inverted position on an inversion table. The inversion table typically has a mechanism of strapping yourself in to avoid slipping and falling when inverted at an angle.
Medical professionals recommend patients to invert at an angle of 20-30 degrees for those trying out inversion therapy for the first time. Once you have used an inversion table for a couple of weeks, you can slowly increase the angle of inversion to increase traction on your spine.
When in this inverted position, pressure is released from the spine which results in instant pain relief. As you continue using inversion therapy for a couple of minutes a day, the back pain will be greatly reduced to bearable levels as you seek out another permanent solution.
Apart from releasing the pain, inversion therapy also increases the blood pressure which helps in transporting of oxygenated blood to the head and vital organs. This helps in improving the health of the cells which ultimately leads to a healthier and more relaxed you. Inversion will also help increase mobility and restore balance to patients that had lost it due to cervical spinal stenosis.
As a precaution, you should contact a licensed chiropractor before using an inversion table. Expectant mothers and high blood pressure patients should also consult with a physician before attempting inversion therapy.
On our main benefits page, you can read more about the other advantages inversion can offer.