Inversion Traction for Lower Back Pain Following Baltimore Car Accidents

Inversion Traction for Lower Back Pain Following Baltimore Car Accidents

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating Baltimore auto accident patients, I often see a lot of patients with lower back pain. Whether it is a rear-end auto accident, side swipe, T-bone, or head-on collision, lower back pain is a very common symptom following Baltimore auto accidents. People tend to think of Chiropractors as “back crackers.” Which, lets face it, we are. In addition to spinal manipulation of the lumbar spine for lower back pain following Baltimore auto accidents, we have a lot of other tools to help loosen up stiff joints and tight spasmodic muscles.

Typically patients with lower back pain following Baltimore auto accidents receive electrical muscle stimulation and some form of traction therapy, in the form of either intersegmental traction and/or mechanical traction. Previous blog posts on these topics can be found on my website.

I recently had a conversation with a patient who was asking me about the appropriateness of inversion traction for lower back pain following his Baltimore car accident. Inversion traction is a device where patients lay on a flat surface and slowly invert (turn upside down) their body. It attempts to reverse the effects of gravity and to decrease the compression on the lumbar spine. For some patients, it is a god send. They lay on the table for about 10-15 minutes at a time 1-2 times per day and they note a dramatic improvement in their lower back discomfort. As with most pieces of medical equipment, some are better than others. The late night infomercial traction tables show people hanging upside down until they are perpendicular to the floor. That is dangerous! Patients should only go about 30 degrees below the horizontal line so as to not have too much blood rush to their head. While I do not currently offer inversion traction in my clinic, I am going to purchase one shortly to help patients make the decision as to whether or not it is something that they want to try at home on their own.

Not everyone is in favor of inversion traction to treat lower back pain following Baltimore auto accidents. Opponents of inversion traction therapy state that it does not offer long term relief of lower back pain. Cardiologists suggest that inversion caused the heart beat to slow, blood to rush to the head and neck, and increased intraocular pressure. For patients with high blood pressure, heart disease, or glaucoma inversion traction could cause health effects such as heart attack, stroke or death.

As with most rehabilitation following a Baltimore auto accident, you should always consult with a professional before doing anything on your own. Provided that you do not have high blood pressure, it is reasonable to try inversion traction to help with mechanical lower back pain following your Baltimore auto accident induced lower back pain. If that does not work for you there are plenty of other treatment modalities that we offer that can help to provide relief.

If you have any questions about lower back pain following a Baltimore auto accident, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help.

Dr. Gulitz