Inversion
Definitions
- 1: a reversal of position, order, form, or relationship: as
- a (1) : a change in normal word order; especially : the placement of a verb before its subject (2) : the process or result of changing or reversing the relative positions of the notes of a musical interval, chord, or phrase
- b : the condition of being turned inward or inside out
- c : a breaking off of a chromosome section and its subsequent reattachment in inverted position; also : a chromosomal section that has undergone this process
- 2: the act or process of inverting
- 3a : a change in the order of the terms of a mathematical proportion effected by inverting each ratio
- b : the operation of forming the inverse of a magnitude, a function, an operation, or an element
- 4a : the conversion of dextrorotatory sucrose into a levorotatory mixture of glucose and fructose
- b : a change from one stereochemical figuration at a chiral center in a usually organic molecule to the opposite configuration that is brought about by a reaction in which a substitution of one group is made for a different group
- 5: an increase of temperature with height through a layer of air
Description
Inversion therapy involves being upside down or at an inverted angle with the intention of therapeutic benefits. The process of doing so is called inverting. This can be done via hand balancing (such as in a handstand) or via hanging. It is a form of spinal decompression and is a form of spinal traction.
When the body's weight is suspended from the lower body – rather than borne on the hands as in handstands or headstands or hanging from a bar with arms at sides, which are also forms of inversion – the pull of gravity may decompress the joints of the body below the anchor. Hanging by the feet, as with gravity boots or inversion tables, causes each joint in the body to be loaded in an equal and opposite manner to standing in an identical position of joint alignment. Inversion therapy of this sort is often commercially advertised as a relief for back pain.[1]
