A few of my family members have inversion tables. It helps spinal pain (primarily lumbar) while you are upside down (but not long term IMO). You need to let your arms hang down (otherwise you will rise upright again) so it is probably bad for TOS.

It may well be bad for TOS, but it might also be good:

"For years prior to my Pilates practice I experienced significant compression in C6 and C7, which resulted in shooting pain through the shoulder and down the arm. I purchased an inversion table. Within two weeks of twice-daily use (5 minutes at a time), the pain was gone. I continue to use it nearly every day (once per day for one or two minutes) for maintenance. "
-- http://www.pilatesconnections.com/to...tlet-syndrome/ #2

If he got decompression in his lower C spine then it must decompress the T and L as well.

In any case, I volunteer to be the guinea pig!

So I got this one:

Ironman IFT 1000 Infrared Therapy Inversion Table
http://www.amazon.com/Ironman-Infrar...dp/B003LR1DB4/

I assembled it today. The instructions were poor but I got through it. Once it was up, it seemed very well constructed. I have no complaints about the parts, the look or how everything fits together. Okay one complaint. Everything new I get has some kind of smell to it that takes a few days to wear off. I call it the "freshly manufactured" smell.

I have not yet tried the heat but look forward to it.

As with many inversion tables there is a "control strap" on the back so you can limit how much it will invert. I set it at about 50 degrees (I'm calling full inversion 90 and horizontal 0; midway would be 45).

So I inverted back to 50 degrees for about 1 minute. The first thing I noticed was that the amount of stretch I felt in my abs was incredible. I do back stretches every day, but almost nothing for the abs, so this made sense to me once I experienced it. They are tighter than my back so they are the first restriction to kick in.

I also experienced incredible tightness in the front of my neck. It surprised me. I couldn't tell if it was just plain tightness or if my neck was actively clenching with some kind of "guard reaction". Of course, this is the last thing a TOS sufferer wants.

Being upside down, even just part way, was uncomfortable for me, but I presume I'll relax into it over time.

When I got back up, I took it slow, to avoid any dizziness. My hands were very dark red and my fingertips purple. I relaxed my neck, shoved my rib down and shook my hands a bit. Now they are back to "my normal" (red with white spots).

My left ear tinnitus increased for a few minutes. (Left is my bad TOS side. Left ear tinnitus kicks in with neck tightness.)

I adjusted the strap to 45 degrees, meaning a little less inversion than I started with. I will try again tomorrow.

This is definitely an experiment. My usage goal is full inversion for 5 minutes, 2 X per day. What I'm hoping for is lengthening and decompression of the spine, especially T-spine and lower C-spine. I also hope for a looser neck!

thanks, keep us updated!! interesting stuff

You might need to start with even less tilt, sounds like a lot of sx showed up @50.
Maybe 30 and see how that goes..
Less tilt and use the Infrared??

I have one and found that it really depends on the day for me. I do not let my arms hang overhead, I kind of lock them to my sides. You really need to start of with less of an angle. Even a slight angle is causing decompression of the spine. I started only at 10 degrees and did that for over a month before increasing it to 20. I can and have in the past did complete inversion, and it really depends on the day for me whether or not it causes me problems, kind of just like any other activity with TOS.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

Session 2:

I used a timer to keep it to 1 minute which was pretty short. I now think I was on 2 - 3 mins last night for my first session. Woops.

I did my normal stretch routine just before going on. Once on, I found that I'm still tight in the abs and neck (no surprise), but not as much as last night. I felt some stretch in my top right thigh and also my lower center back, close to the hips.

I was at 45 degrees. I let the arms hang, but they go down further because they are outside the backing board. It's a little like the stretch we do when we arch over an inflatable ball, foam roller or yoga bolster. But more extreme. I can still feel it in my left chest.

No dark red hands and purple finger tips this time.

I think I'm okay with 45 degrees and a true cap of 1 minute. I'll do it again tonight and then based on feel, I will increase the time at some point.

I still debate on letting the arms go or holding them up.

It's been one month so I thought I would post an update. I still use the inversion table every day. I'm up to 8 mins, 2 - 4 X per day, and will probably hover around there. I'm not yet at full vertical. I think I'm around 70 degrees, but plan to progress to full vertical over time.

Pros:
- Reduced back pain
- Reduced sub occipital pain
- Stretches most (all?) the muscles in the torso and neck
- Taller back
- More symmetrical spine
- When partially inverted, can be used for a deep pec minor stretch

Cons:
- Some dizziness on returning to upright, though this diminishes over time
- Can be a little rough on the ankles where the clasp is made to hold you up
- Another thing to do on top of the other things I do (although worth it)

Sometimes I still have a kink in my back even after being stretched out. For that, I have found it useful to then lay on this:
http://www.amazon.com/Trueback-Non-p...dp/B0016L7DH0/

You can't see it from the photo, but there are two rows of support ridges that run along the side of the spine. These can dig into the muscle tissue and feel pretty good. You can also flip the unit so the tallest portion is under your t-spine. I use this as needed and often with a pillow.

Getting back to the inversion, if you try it, I have two recommendations:

1) Get a table that has built-in heat

2) Start slow, say 30 degrees for 1 minute, and build up from there. Use a timer.