Gravity inversion at home

Press, 10 September 1983, Page 23

Gravity inversion at home

Gravity has come a long way since Sir Isaac Newton and his falling apple. Gravity inversion apparatus are the latest health craze sweeping the United States and one that a Christchurch man is hoping New Zealanders will get the hang of.

Mr Don Poole, a selfstyled body therapist, has started importing “gravity backswings.” He already uses the machine for his clients, mostly those with back problems, at the Christchurch Health Centre. Six customers had so far ordered backswings which sell for about $645 each. There was also widespread interest among other, physiotherapists and chiropractors. “It is a way of relaxing mentally and physically,” said Mr Poole. The user fastens his ankles into position and then moves the arms, changing the centre of gravity so that the backrest tilts on its pivot. Once a comfortable angle is found, he starts a gentle rocking motion to apply rhythmic traction to the body. The more enthusiastic could completely tilt the

backrest so they hung vertically by the ankles in a position to do other exercises.

“That is how you impress your friends at a party,” Mr Poole said.

The backswing was more than do-it-yourself spinal traction. Its use could also help people with circulatory disorders, bad posture, strained muscles and ligaments.

“An American chiropractor even reckoned that his hair was not falling out so fast with gentle rocking and the blood going to the head,” Mr Poole said.

“The idea has been aroifnd in hospitals for as long as hospitals have been around — raising the legs and tilting the beds,” he said.

But the gravity inversion apparatus, in different shapes and sizes that could be used at home, were a new phenomena in the last decade. Hospitals and physiotherapists started using them, then athletes and runners wanting to ease strained muscles and joints. It was not until a “hanging device” appeared in a movie, starring Richard Gere, that the craze started

18 months ago in the United States.

The backswing Mr Poole distributed was developed by the owner of an Arizona tooling shop whose wife had chronic back problems. There were many other variations including the more long-standing gravity gym and the cheaper gravity inversion boots — padded ankle clamps that kept the wearer dangling from a suspended bar.

Mr Poole’s first customer was a Christchurch woman who saw the contraption in an overseas magazine. She had been plagued with back problems for the last 12 years which surgery had done little to ease.

“I just seemed to be always ending up getting some sort of help to make it bearable,” she said. After a few sessions on the clinic backswing, she wanted one to use at home. “It is marvellous,” she said. “I get instant relief.” The only problem now was that the rest of the family had caught on to the idea. Both sons, one a ballet dancer and the other an athlete, were queuing up to use it.

One note of warning — it was possible to overdo things if the user did not act responsibly. Mr Poole said he had already had an aggressive client who fitted the category — “he just liked to hang upside down.” People with eye or hearing problems that could be aggravated by blood pressure should also aeek medical advice before using the backswing.