Well, I normally don't write reviews but I thought that I really should since I make use of them before generally buying anything nowadays so what better place to start than about a product that has done wonders for me. While I have a had good results with the Teeter, my healing wasn't as instant as many other reviewers and I would like to share that experience with others so that not everyone thinks that after a week or two their back pain may be cured.
After reading the many positive reviews and being at the end of the line with the pain from my herniated disc I felt that I had nothing to lose by trying the Teeter. I went ahead and ordered a good inverter (Teeter) knowing that I did not want to be upside down in a flimsy inverter that I was afraid to go fully inverted.
By way of background, I have a herniated disc and have suffered from back pain (both dull and acute) for the 6-8 months preceding getting the inverter. I had gone to physical therapy with limited success and had been doing the exercises that were suggested but did not get anything more than just some temporary relief, nothing permanent. I also sit behind a desk/computer most of my day and only get up sparingly (4-8 times).
Week 1-2: My pain level was high at this point and I tried using the inversion for 2-3 minutes a day with the safety strap so I wouldn't be fully inverted. I did this about once or twice a day. The pain in my back seemed to get worse and I was not feeling any relief.
Week 3-4: I decided to stick with the regimen and give it more time as I knew that decompressing the vertebrae would not happen overnight. At this point I still did not fully invert as I was still in too much pain. I tried to increase the amount of time to about 5 minutes. The pain still had not subsided. In fact, towards the end of week 4 I tried to fully invert and I think a suffered some sort of muscle spasm that made things worse. I think it is a good idea to wait before fully inverting until your body is used to it. This may be different based on how quickly one becomes used to it.
Week 5-6: I took a week off after the muscle spasm but then continued again after that. Towards the end of week 6 I was starting to feel a little better.
Week 7-8: I was really doing the inversion for about 5 minutes once a day at night as I couldn't time it right to do it in the mornings. As the pain started to get better I started to only go to the full inversion. It was about the end of week 8 that I began to feel no back pain. I was shocked as I had not experienced 0% paid in the last 8 months before that. I have to say that I was glad I stuck with it because initially I felt that back pain get worse.
General Observations: It is true that your feet do hurt, especially if you invert for 5 minutes or more. I found that it would help to wear very thick socks and running shoes before using the inverter. I still think it is better to endure the very minor and temporary foot pain with the inversion rather than chronic back pain so that was not really a big deal for me. I have not tried the boots but may give that a try since people seem to generally think it helps with the foot pain.
I also found that after inverting for a couple of weeks I could hear my back cracking during normal routine day to day activities. I attribute this to the vertebrae beginning to decompress and align. I don't seem to hear it anymore unless I am doing the stretches.
I find that nothing is as relieving as fully inverting. At this point I only fully invert but I would recommend building up to it especially if you have back pain in the beginning. I also continued to do some exercises all along to help strengthen the back as the pain got less. I wasn't as diligent doing exercises that I should have been but I find it difficult with my schedule (excuses, excuses).
Overall, I am extremely pleased with my purchase and my experience. I have been back pain free for about 2 months which is really amazing. I am taking much greater care of my back and am more diligent about remembering to invert at least once a day (although I do miss days here and there). It especially feels good to invert after doing something that puts a lot of pressure on the back (like gardening). I wonder why doctors don't recommend this more often to their patient but then again that's not in their financial best interest. If you are like how I was in pretty bad back pain then go ahead and give it a shot and stick with it even if you don't get any relief the first few weeks, it worked for me.