[Nkole]

Turning things upside down…

 
The Nordic Track ‘Revitalize’ Inversion system was on sale in the Sears catalogue a few months ago, so we decided to give it a try.  When it arrived I took on the task of assembly, daunting considering the number of pieces and the lack of precision they used in drilling the holes in the metal for the many bolts.  But, once it was assembled, it was obviously a sturdy piece of equipment.  We added a plank accross the lower bar, to allow some pillows to be placed under Bernard’s knees, hoping this would ease pressure on the lumbar curve.

It takes up a lot of space, and looks bloody impressive, like it ought be able to offer assistance.

This ‘Invertor’ is said to allow the discs to decompress a little by taking the body’s weight off of the spine, letting it stretch and return to a more natural spacing.  The key is to be very gentle, starting with 15 degrees of inversion and to work up to 45 or 60 degrees, if appropriate, over some weeks. 

It’s not going to cure the disc degeneration or spondylolisthesis, but perhaps it can help with some temporary pain relief, if it takes a bit of pressure off the compressed nerves. 

Bernard tried it a few weeks ago.  We proceded carefully.  There are some small adjustments to make so that it’s set at the correct levels for his height, and it’s an intense and nervous thing when you know that even slight errors in movement cause him major problems at this point.   

[Bernard]

It may take a while to ease into.  This first time, I could not perceive any stretching in the lumbar area.  My main experience was of a few varieties of substantial discomfort and some unaccustomed and borderline alarming sensations of motion in the spine.  I was numb almost to the knees for an hour afterwards from the ankle compression cuffs, which didn’t quite suit my foot shape.  I’m going to try it without shoes, contrary to the printed instructions, since there is no way my big feet are going to slip through these very tight-fitting cuffs.

I’ve always kept my calves and hamstrings well stretched, going back to my karate training 20+ years ago.  In the last year the stances required for that stretching have become impossible, and additionally there is a pronounced tightening in the calves that often accompanies nerve compression and its attendant leg pain.  I periodically try to stretch my calves by angling my toes upward towards the knees as I lie on my back.  This yields some benefit in comfort, but is hardly a full stretch.  This first time on the machine I felt a very strong stretching down the entire backs of both legs.  We went very slowly, Nkole rotating the bed in small increments, with lengthy pauses to allow my muscles to adjust.  

There is a strong element of danger involved, and the benefits may be only very slight, but at this point gaining a fraction of a millimentre for a few days could equal precious relief.