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The 5 Best Inversion Tables for Back Pain & Sciatica

No matter if your back pain is from sitting at your desk all day, lifting heavy objects at work, or just aging – an inversion table for back pain can be a lifesaver for your aching back, and all you have to do is hang upside down like a bat.

What should you consider when you want the best inversion table for back pain/sciatica?

Is comfort more important than durability? Does the price determine quality?

What makes one gravity table better than the other?

In these inversion table reviews, you’ll find all the answers,  and you’ll save hours of research to find the top rated inversion tables for back pain, sciatica, and bulging/herniated discs.

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How to Choose an Inversion Table for Back Pain/Sciatica

When you choose an inversion table for back pain, make sure you check the durability, safety, comfort, ease of use, weight and height support, and price & warranty. Choosing a well-known brand is important, to make sure you get a durable and safe inversion table, and to avoid injuries and damage to your back.

👉 In a Hurry?

See our top 3 picks compared below, or scroll down to our inversion tables reviews.

Inversion Table	Bottom Line	Price
Teeter FitSpine X3	🥇Best for Back Pain/Sciatica Leading Brand	✅ $399 at Teeter Free shipping
Innova ITX 9600	Best Under $150 Basic, effective and safe	✅ $111 on Amazon
Innova ITM 4800	Best with Heat & Massage	✅ $149 on Amazon

Comparing the best inversion tables for back pain and sciatica, according to brand reputation, features, safety and price.

Here’s how to pick the best inversion table for back pain:

1. Durability and Safety

Durability and quality of materials are the most important things to look for in your inversion table. There are areas in your life where it is wise to save or conserve money. This is not the case when it comes to your health or your safety.

The inversion table is supposed to support your weight and hold you while you’re hanging upside down – to prevent falling on your head or injuring other parts of your body.

The best inversion tables are sturdy, durable, and safe, and last for years without any issues or hassles. Buying a cheap inversion table from an unknown brand only to save 50$ is a huge mistake and a serious health hazard.

👉 The Safest Inversion Table Brand – through our research, the Teeter Inversion tables are the safest and sturdiest inversion tables on the market, and Teeter is the most popular and established brand – for many years.

2. Comfort

While inverting can be the best back decompression tool you’ll find, inverting with a low-quality inversion table can be so uncomfortable that you’ll give up on the whole experience in less than a week.

Ankle padding and ankle locking systems are extremely important in inversion therapy, and so is the bed design.

For example, the Teeter X3‘s EZ-Reach ankle locking system with triple lock provides ample safety and support to the ankles, reducing most of the pressure while you’re inverted.

3. Ease of Use

It’s highly important to find an inversion table that allows for easy assembly and setup. No one wants to spend 3-4 hours assembling a new inversion table with awful instructions.

Choose an inversion chair that you can start using within minutes after set up, without watching instructional DVDs that’ll give you a headache.

👉 Your work chair is highly important! See the best office chairs for back pain in 2023.

4. Price & Warranty

As we said, a cheap and low-quality inversion table can do more harm than good, adding injury to injury.

(👉 However, we did find 3 inversion tables that are safe and effective – under $150)

When a company implements cost-cutting measures during the manufacturing of products, those measures may affect the structural integrity of the product and transitively the safety of the user.

Also, a low-quality inversion table will break down fast and will not last for many years as it should, which makes it a bad investment.

But, in some cases, low price does not necessarily mean low quality. For example, the Innova ITX9600 Inversion Table is relatively low-cost, but still a high-quality one.

Its low price comes from a lack of additional features that the more expensive inversion tables have, such as infrared therapy (like in the Ironman Infrared Therapy Inversion table), or the ability to hang free, like in the Health Mark inversion tables.

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The 5 Best Inversion Tables for Back Pain & Sciatica

Here are the results of our 2023 research, the 5 highest quality, safest, and top-rated back inversion tables on the market.

You can safely use them for Sciatica, pinched nerve, degenerative disc disease, herniated discs, poor posture, and more while saving lots of money on chiropractic care.

1. Teeter Inversion Tables Best for Back Pain/Sciatica

Teeter is the leading company in the inversion table market, with over 30 years of experience and the highest user ratings on the market.

They have a large range of high-quality inversion tables and inversion equipment at different prices and reliable customer service.

Their new FitSpine series is the best when it comes to treating back pain and sciatica, because it has the maximum range of inversion angles, it is easy to adjust and use (simply set it, lock, recline, and relax), it is comfortable, and the safety features are excellent. You will need no help in getting on it or getting off of it, and the pain-relieving results are immediate.

👉 See our detailed Teeter inversion table reviews!

Teeter is the leading brand when it comes to inversion tables, and they are the only ones that are UL tested for safety and FDA-registered as a 510(k) medical device.

Through our research, their best value model (for the money) is the FitSpine X3. It’s packed with technologically advanced features, and as such, we’ve found it has the best price-to-quality ratio on the market.

Here’s Teeter explaining how their inversion table decompresses your spine:

✅ Available at  Teeter ($399 with free shipping, 60-day return)

Teeter FitSpine X3 Pros & Cons

The X3 supports high weight safely, includes a boarding platform, is easy to assemble and store, is easy to adjust inversion angles, and it has a 5-year warranty and free shipping. The only cons are the large footprint due to the boarding platform, and the price – which is a bit higher than average.

2. Innova ITX9600 Inversion Table Best Under $150

3. Ironman Gravity Tables Best with Heat

While all of the Ironman Inversion Tables are good, the Ironman IFT 4000 Infrared Inversion table is the best model, thanks to its amazing infrared therapy technology.

Infrared heat loosens and relaxes your muscles while you decompress your lumbar spine.

It is a proven drug-free back pain reliever, and if you don’t have an infrared heating pad at your home, you’re really missing out.

The heat is extremely calming, relaxing, and soothing, which will give you even more motivation to spend a few minutes getting your spine “in shape” every single day.

👉 See our full Ironman IFT 4000 review

Ironman IFT 4000 Pros & Cons

The Ironman inversion table is a great option for people looking for an affordable inversion table with higher weight support (350 lbs.), quality of parts is good, and the infrared heat is an amazing bonus.

It is easy to assemble, and it is easy to use without having to bend your back thanks to the ankle holders. However, it doesn’t lock at the inversion angle of your choice (compared to Teeter), so you can not use it for abdominal exercises.

✅ Available on Amazon

4. Health Gear Inversion Table – Best with Massage

The Health Gear inversion chair has a long heating pad running down the backrest, which radiates infrared rays on your entire back while you decompress your spine. The added (removable) vibrating massage pad boosts blood circulation even more.

The neck part of the backrest is made with memory foam and supports your spine safely.

You can choose from 4 inversion positions (20/40/60/90 degrees), and all the necessary safety features are built-in (extra long locking arm, ankle locks, etc.)

This inversion table is easy to store – it folds and even has wheels to move around easily.

Health Gear Inversion Table Pros & Cons

The best quality of the Health Mark inversion table is its superior comfort, with a 4-inch memory foam backrest, foam rollers, and padded handlebars.

The second best thing is the optional heat and massage it offers – which can be removed and used separately. However, this one doesn’t fully invert to 180 degrees.

✅ Available  on Amazon

5. Health Mark Pro Max Inversion Table Best for Big & Tall People

The Health Mark Pro Max Inversion table is a professional-level inversion table and one of the highest-rated inversion tables on Amazon.

This inversion table supports up to 600 (!) lbs – the highest weight support in the industry and can work in the traditional “face-up” or the inverted “face-down” position.

It is designed to help deal with blood circulation problems by letting you sit up in a face-up manner while inverted to relieve compression fatigue felt by the shoulder and neck region.

It has 5 preset angles and 25 total height settings. All you do is choose any of the 5 preset angles and lie back until it reaches the position.

You can do any imaginable exercise with the Health Mark Pro table and it is very comfortable and easy to use.

Plus, it’s the only inversion table that allows for hand-free hanging.

✅ Available on Amazon ($799)

Inversion Table Benefits

Benefits of inversion tables include back pain relief (through spine decompression), improved blood circulation, improved brain function (by hanging upside down), stress relief, skin anti-aging, joint pain relief, improved breathing, better posture, and increased flexibility. 

Can Overweight People Use Inversion Tables?

Before you buy an inversion table, you have to make sure it fits your height and weight. Statistics show that big and tall people tend to suffer more from back problems and posture problems – which can be significantly relieved by using an inversion table that supports their height and weight.

The last inversion table on this list, the Health Mark Pro, allows for the highest weight support (600 pounds), but there are a few other models that support up to 350 pounds.

1. The Ironman 3000 High Capacity Inversion table fits users up to 6 feet 6 inches tall and has extra-long safety handles. It also supports users up to 350 pounds.
2. The Ironman 4000 gravity table is the same but is more expensive because it comes with lumbar pillow support.

The lumbar pillow is quite amazing: you can line it up perfectly with the tensest or most painful area of your back.

Can an Inversion Table Relieve Pinched Nerves?

Inverting 2-3 times a day, ideally to an angle of 60 degrees or more, can help to decompress your spine and stretch the tight muscles that often contribute to pinched nerves in the neck, lower back, and hips. The discs are able to rehydrate and restore the cushioning between them, creating more space for pinched nerves that go between them.

The cost of an inversion table is equivalent to a couple of visits to a chiropractor or physical therapist, but can be used without limits for years to come.

Can an Inversion Table Fix Your Posture?

Inversion tables can help improve posture to some extent, but they are not a cure-all for posture problems. Inversion therapy works by reversing the effects of gravity on the body and providing spinal traction, which can help reduce the pressure on the spine and improve posture by reducing spinal compression. However, inversion tables alone will not fix underlying postural issues caused by muscle imbalances or weak core muscles.

To improve your posture it is important to address underlying issues through spinal decompression exercises and stretching, along with proper posture habits (for example, sitting on an ergonomic office chair, or sleeping on a hybrid mattress) and regular use of an inversion table.

Inversion Table Alternatives

👉 Find out about alternative back traction machines for back pain!

Is it possible to stretch your back powerfully – without an inversion table?

The answer is YES.

For people who don’t like inverting, or have a health condition that doesn’t allow using inversion tables, here are a few excellent spinal decompression home devices:

1. Standing Back Traction – these devices are used flat-footed and do not require inversion to decompress the spine. Our top recommendation is the Stamina Inline Traction Control system – check out our review!

1. Orthopedic back stretchers – these simple devices, which usually require no assembly or effort on your part, are anatomically shaped to conform to your spine and realign your vertebrae – to help improve your posture and relieve compression in your nerves and discs.

2. Lay-Down Spine stretchers – These devices are portable, lightweight, and do not require hanging upside down to create space between your vertebrae and decompress your spine. The best one is the Spinal Stretch you can see below:

3. Lo Bak Trax – this simple, portable, and lightweight lumbar stretcher allows you to perform a powerful manual stretch and decompress your spine in just a few minutes a day. See our Lo Bak Trax review!

Conclusion

The effectiveness and safety of your new inversion table for back pain will not be determined by any aesthetic coloring, stitching, or molding. The accessories won’t matter either.

The best gravity tables and chairs for back pain are sturdy, durable, fully support your weight, and come from brands that won’t cut costs at the expense of the materials.

To your health and happiness,

The Back Pain Relief Products Team

P.S

Looking for a gift for someone with chronic pain? see our new guide for the 15 BEST  gift ideas for people with back pain.