An Invitation to Researchers

We are both licensed health professionals who believe in helping people help themselves, also known as Self Care. We also are very careful with the claims we make about Gravity Pal LOW Angle Inversion Tables. We prefer to let users report the value they have experienced.

In the course of developing Gravity Pal we found many allegorical accounts of the value of Low Angle Inversion.

Mostly, one can find first person reports of benefits like we and our customers have reported on this website.

But there exists very little hard scientific research on the effects of inversion, although there was some study during the 1980s.

And there exists no research at all, that we have been able to find, on the relative merits/benefits of LOW Angle Inversion versus Higher Angle Inversion.

It is important that we make the point that even though we believe we have justifiable reasons to recommend Low Angle Inversion, we readily acknowledge that many people have benefited from other ways to alleviate the compressive effects of gravity including inversion tables, inversion chairs and decompression tables. We are not attempting to debate that people should not responsibly use these other methods.

Instead, we believe we should present the rationales for LOW Angle Inversion and respect what method(s) people find working best for them.

Having said that, we who make and use Gravity Pal inversion tables, based on our experience and our research, have an admitted prejudice toward LOW Angle Inversion and believe that:

  • It is a more gentle approach. It is easier for the body to more-immediately start releasing muscle and fascial tension with LOW Angle Inversion without triggering “Muscle Guarding” which would inhibit the release of tensions.
  • Because muscle guarding is kept to a minimum, shorter times of 2-3 minutes are very effective.
  • It is easier for someone to fit in 3 minutes at a time, 3 times a day than to set aside 15 or 20 minutes for a session. Therefore someone is more likely to make a habit of it and look forward to repeating the experience.
  • It is more accessible to people of modest – or even marginal – fitness levels who seek natural compression relief or temporarily improved cranial blood, lymph and spinal fluid circulation.
  • We have found it is better to use Low Angle Inversion with Gravity Pal for post exercise recovery rather than as a device on which to exercise.
  • Because Gravity Pal is easy and comfortable to use and the angle is less intimidating for many people, individuals may choose to use it more often and this offers the possibility of cumulative benefits.

We therefore make this invitation to researchers to examine the experiences of others and to determine through objective testing if these results can be independently verified.

Below we have listed some potential areas where formal research into Low Angle Inversion could be – and in our opinion should be – conducted.

Where available, links to articles are provided. These articles, in some cases, may spur the justification for such research.

We hope that some researchers will contact us in this process. We would like to help.

We know that many people suffer from compression related ailments and it is our most sincere hope that the work we are doing to bring Gravity Pal to the world will aid those who need it most.

Sincerely,

Michael McKay, LMT & Dawn McKay, LMT, MS-SLP
Gravity Pal, Inc.

Suggested Areas of Research on Low Angle Inversion

Brain Health & Increased Cranial Lymph Circulation

Implications and Questions

There is an obvious increase of blood flow to the brain experienced during Low Angle Inversion with Gravity Pal; what are the measurable amounts and what are the implications?

  • Could regular use lead to a reduction in Brain Bleeding (micro-bleeding) in elderly?
  • Could regular use lead to a reduction in Brain Atrophy normally associated with aging?

There is an obvious increase of lymph fluid exchange within the head experienced during Low Angle Inversion with Gravity Pal.

  • Is there a measurable increase of waste removal in the brain via the lymph system and, if so,
  • What are the implications and impacts on delaying, or eliminating, the early development of Alzheimer’s Disease, MS, Auto Immune Disorders and Autism Spectrum?

Would regular use of Low Angle Inversion with Gravity Pal be a strengthening method whereby those with high or hyper sensitivity to brain damage from minor head trauma could avoid chronic subdural hematoma (SDH)?

Some reference articles:

Landmark Discovery of vessels connecting brain to immune system, published June 6, 2015, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/294965.php, accessed August 24, 2015

Study Finds Brain Bleeding is Common with Aging, published November 11, 2010,
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/207320.php, accessed August 24, 2015

Study warns of increasing incidence of brain bleeds in US population over the next 15 years, published March 21, 2015, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/291196.php, accessed August 24, 2015

Physical activity may protect older people from brain damage, published March 12, 2015,
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/290675.php, accessed August 24, 2015

Cognitive Function

  • Many users of Gravity Pal report greater clarity of thinking and improved memory after only a few weeks of regular use, Why?
  • Are there measurable levels of increased oxygen and nutrient infusion (via increased blood flow) into brain tissue during 1 to 3 minutes of a Low Angle Slanting session and which areas of the brain are affected most, and least?
  • Are there longer term effects of regular use of Low Angle Inversion on maintaining brain volume?

Reduced Brain Volume May Predict Dementia in Healthy Elderly People, published January 4, 2006, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/35648.php, accessed August 24, 2015

Joint and Spine Health

  • What are the short and long term impacts on those with chronic back or joint issues who regularly use Low Angle Inversion with Gravity Pal?
  • Can some scheduled back surgeries be postponed, or the need eliminated altogether, for those who regularly use Low Angle Inversion with Gravity Pal?

Note: My first account answer to this question is a resounding YES. I was scheduled for back surgery in the autumn of 2014 and regular low angle inversion is the reason I was able to cancel that surgery. Michael McKay, LMT

  • Can there be an improvement in joint health, in particularly the shoulder and hip?
  • What would be the mechanics?
  • Is it that proprioceptive control is relaxed while resting on the Gravity Pal and this allows improved range of motion without muscle guarding?

Exercise Recovery

  • What are the mechanics behind reports from users of Gravity Pal that they seem to recover from vigorous physical activity more quickly by immediately getting on their Gravity Pal for as little as 3 minutes after playing sports, weight lifting or performing house or yard work?

General Health

There are reports of improved skin tone from regular users of Gravity Pal.

  • What are the measurable changes in facial collagen improvement and is it directly related to regular Low Angle Inversion?

There are reports of improved digestion function from regular users of Gravity Pal.

  • Could there be improvements in digestion due to regularly experienced compressive relief from gravity? Why would this occur?

Method Efficacy

Many users report noticing a progression of benefits after anywhere from a week to several weeks of regular, daily use.

  • What is the impact of regular use of 3&3 (3 minutes per session, 3 times a day) of Low Angle Inversion with Gravity Pal versus irregular, sporadic use?

Many users report that before using Gravity Pal they had used, but abandoned, a method of High Angle Inversion.

  • What are the comparative effects of regular Low Angle Inversion with Gravity Pal to High Angle Inversion options?
  • What are the comparative effects of Low Angle Inversion with Gravity Pal to simply lying flat?