I bought one of these inversion units in the mid-1990’s at age 60 directly from the company that invented it and have been using it twice-weekly ever since. Best money I ever spent.
If your back problem is in any way related to disc compressions (and the always-linked nerve pinch pain), this unit is a dependably pain-relieving and re-alignment answer (was to me anyway). The accompanying literature that came with the unit mentioned that you achieve maximal decompression in 70 seconds, and that indeed turns out to be the actual truth.
Your upper body hanging bent over and fully relaxed, does the job, and anything more than 70 seconds isn’t necessary (or result enhancing). Using the unit for a couple minutes a week, not even daily, keeps my discs de-compressed and the back muscles toned, thereby much less prone to cramping up from reaching, bending, or moderate lifting movements. I had 35 years of fairly recurring back problems before finding this solution; it's quite different from any inversion unit I've ever seen or heard about. Good easy to use design which appealed to my mechanical instincts.
I bought a small magnet-backed timer at a kitchen products store and keep it attached upside down within reach on the metal base of the unit. Cost triple Cs for the exceedingly sturdy unit then and now, plus about $50 for shipping (thick steel tubing throughout, so it’s heavy to ship).
Takes about a half-hour to assemble and it’s terrifically solid when you’re done. It’s a very commonsensical premise that your spine gets compressed throughout the day, and stressed and marginally out of alignment via a variety of activities.
They include a booklet of dozens of exercises you can do on the unit if you like; I never do any of them and my back stays toned and discs decompressed just from the weekly minutes I briefly invert on it. I've recommended it to a couple dozen other pool players over the years whose back pain had chronically plagued them or even shut them down entirely and was glad to do it. Here's one link to read about it:
http://tinyurl.com/novbaqh
Arnaldo – (also two descriptive pix attached)
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