Spine decompression can save the day for some of us with back pain.
Oh how magical these Pop! sounds when the vertebrae and discs take back their rightful place... 😍
Lucky for us, there are many ways to decompress the spine. Some more practical, painful, expensive or even idiotic than others !
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| Hanging |
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| Spine Discombobulator |
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| Inversion table |
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| Drunk Spiderman ? |
Not being a fan of anything involving hanging upside down, a bunch of very interesting-looking torture devices were immediately ruled out...
Having noticed at the gym that pops would manifest when hanging from a bar or when using the knee raise station, it appeared that simply using the weight of the hips & legs was enough in my case to provide relief.
So I quickly cobbled up this simple and light knee raise station-like stand:
Usage instructions
Using it is super simple: step on it, grab the horns / handles at the front, rest the elbows along the top arms and against the outter sides, relax the torso & shoulders until the shoulder blades and upperarms just naturally take up all the weight, relax the whole spine. Done, pops incoming !
The key is to fully relax the shoulders and torso until the skeleton, bones, ligaments, from the hands to the neck just passively take up the lower body's weight. Easier said than done. The brain fights against relaxation in that position. Just persevere.
Once relaxed, gently wiggle the hips or feet without raising the knees.
At that stage I typically get a couple of pops and most of the pinching or unease is gone.
For complete relief though I also regularly raise one knee, keeping the back and abs relaxed (not intuitive), and then rotate it out. Relax back to the dangling legs position, and do the same with the other knee. Repeat a couple of times. Usually that takes care of any tweak left:
Over the years I found out that outside of immediate relief when things are clearly out of whack, the most beneficial use is just before going to bed. Thanks to the decompression, the fluids around the spine & discs can finally bathe the squashed hard-to-reach places and do a better job at repairing tissues overnight.
However, this is only a temporary band aid. It has irrefutably helped my discs over 15 years, allowing me to go back to biking, climbing, etc. But not back to swinging a pickaxe or carrying heavy loads. Once hurt, discs never seem to fully recover, and will keep breaking down if solicited too much.
Yeah, still waiting for a youth pill ! 😂
I am not a doctor, though, so consult a specialist if your back hurts.
Construction details
The stand is simply built out of 2x3s (~5x7.5cm) for the vertical posts and the elbow sides, and just 3/4" (2cm) pine boards for everything else. Glue, screw, stain, and done.
To determine the optimal length for the vertical posts, measure the distance between the floor and the underside of your elbows (arms by the side, forearm horizontal), then add ~14" (35cm). Add or subtract a couple of inches if your feet are much longer or shorter than 11" (28cm).
Happy build to all, and good luck for your back !!!
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