Improper use of the inversion machine may cause blindness. Doctor: Do not exceed 15 minutes

Modern people live under great pressure, have bad postures, and often suffer from back pain. Many people follow the trend of exercise and buy inversion machines to use at home to relieve muscle and bone discomfort. However, be careful that improper use of the inversion machine may cause blindness. Doctors remind people that they should consult a professional doctor before using the inversion machine, and the inversion time should not exceed 15 minutes each time.

People with glaucoma and peripheral retinal degeneration should not use the inversion machine to avoid accelerating the deterioration of eye diseases, which may lead to blindness in severe cases.

A man who was doing sit-ups on an inverted machine had high eye pressure and was in danger of going blind

Lyu Dawen, director of the ophthalmology department of the Tri-Service General Hospital, recently admitted a 30-year-old man with a history of hypertension. In order to relax his back muscles, he bought a handstand machine to use at home. He also practiced sit-ups while doing handstands. Unexpectedly, after using it twice, he suddenly felt blurred vision in his right eye and even had floaters. An eye examination revealed that the central retinal vein collaterals were ruptured and microvascular bleeding spread to the vitreous body. He almost went blind. Fortunately, he was finally able to recover his vision with medication.

Dr. Lu Dawen said that inversion will cause blood to flow backward instantly, leading to increased blood pressure, brain pressure and intraocular pressure, while sit-ups will increase abdominal pressure. Therefore, when doing sit-ups on an inversion machine, the venous return rate will be accelerated, blood pressure and intraocular pressure will be higher, and the risk of ruptured blood vessels in the eye and bleeding, and even blindness, will be higher.

Don't stand on your head for more than 15 minutes. High-risk groups should avoid it.

Headstand is also a common stress-relieving move in yoga. It is not completely impossible to do it, but healthy people should not stand on their heads for more than 15 minutes. If symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, and brain swelling occur, it means that the body has reached its limit and should stop immediately. In addition, if you have eye diseases, three high diseases, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, or spinal diseases, inversion poses a greater risk to your health. It is best not to use an inversion machine. If necessary, consult a professional medical staff before using it.

Dr. Lu Dawen said that in terms of eye diseases, for patients with glaucoma, standing upside down will cause intraocular pressure to rise faster, aggravating the eye disease; for people with retinal disease or peripheral retinal degeneration, once standing upside down, the changes in eye pressure and gravity may cause the vitreous body to involve the retina, which may lead to retinal detachment and blindness in severe cases.

Headstand may not necessarily relieve back pain. Improper movements may even worsen spinal diseases, so you must be careful.

Inversion machine ≠ relieve pain, stretching exercise is safer and more effective

Physical therapist Fang Liting said that patients with high blood pressure are at risk of blindness and stroke when doing handstands; patients with low blood pressure will quickly stand upright after doing handstands and repeat the action, which will cause their blood pressure to fluctuate and easily lead to dizziness and fainting.

As for improving back pain, physiotherapist Fang Liting mentioned that although using an inversion machine can relax the muscles and reduce spinal pressure, it "may" relieve the pain caused by a herniated disc or spondylolisthesis, the inversion process may still damage the spinal joints due to incorrect movements or too fast movements. In addition, if the low back pain is caused by sticking of the facet joints of the spine, it cannot be relieved by doing a handstand.

Physiotherapist Fang Liting emphasized that "handstand" has never been a formal physical therapy method. If you want to relieve pain, stretching and extension exercises can have a good relief effect. It is not recommended for people to use handstand, especially for the elderly over 50 years old, who have poor adaptability to changes in posture and are more likely to be dizzy, fall, and even suffer from fractures.