“I’m no longer suffering from excruciating back and neck pain.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all say that?

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Like so many millions of people, I suffered from recurring back and neck pain for many years. Chronic back pain is one of the most common reasons we go to the doctor and spend a lot of money seeking other treatments.

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So who would have thought spending time hanging upside down would be what helped the most?

Inversion Therapy
Before you spend any more money on therapy, care, surgeries, or pills, perhaps you want to give gravity a chance to reverse its course. I’m referring to inversion therapy. It’s changed my life and my quality of life.

I use an inversion table for my own therapy (although some people swear by gravity boots). Inversion therapy involves being upside down or at an inverted angle while hanging by the legs, ankles, or feet with the intention of therapeutic benefits. Chances are you’ve seen these tables as you’ve passed through the fitness section of your favorite sporting goods store.

While many say the results are only temporary, I’ve had dramatic results.

In my humble opinion (and from trial and error), a table is the easiest and safest inversion therapy method available. Gravity boots, which allow you to hang upside down, can be a pain in the back (pun intended) to put on. A table allows you to adjust the angle of inversion. Typically there are settings from 20 degrees to 90 degrees. I find that at about 60 degrees or higher, I get the most back pain relief.

Why It Helps
Inversion therapy puts your body at an angle that allows your heart to be elevated above your head, pulls your entire spine toward your skull, and as a result, helps you achieve spinal decompression, allowing for proper alignment. While many will say the results are typically only temporary, I’ve had some pretty dramatic results.

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This also allows your lymphatic system to properly circulate lymph fluid, which circulates and eliminates toxins from your body.

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Other health benefits may include a better maintenance of your height as you age, increased flexibility and range of motion, and stress relief. I use my inversion table combined with yoga, foam rolling, stretching, and deep-tissue massage/trigger-point therapy. All of these activities combined have eliminated my back pain for good.

Check with Your Physician First
Mayo Clinic experts advise that inversion therapy doesn’t provide lasting relief from back pain — and it’s not safe for everyone. If you are pregnant, have glaucoma or other eye ailments, or have any heart or circulatory issues, talk first with your physician before trying inversion therapy to be sure you don’t hurt yourself or make your symptoms worse, advises Michael Gleiber, M.D., in a blog post.

Related: A Better Year for Your Back

Still, gravity — over the course of your lifetime — wreaks havoc on your spine, compressing it every moment you’re walking, standing, or sitting. Because of this, regular spinal decompression is not only necessary but, in my opinion, required for proper spinal alignment.

In an age of the quick fix, a pill isn’t always the best or only option. At a time when many are looking at it as a last possible resort, this may be a simple, natural, and easy-to-use therapy worth trying.

Michael Tamez is a Florida-based certified holistic health coach and a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners.