Guide
How We Research Every Page
Inversion tables sit on the line between gym equipment and health care, so the way a page is made matters as much as what it says. This page shows our method, step by step, so you can check any claim we make. For who runs the site and why, see the About page.
How We Check Specifications
The Manufacturer Is the Only Source
Weight capacity, height range, angle settings, warranty and dimensions come from the maker’s own documents: its product page, its owner’s manual, or an official registration. We do not take specs from retail listings, other review sites, or the questions and answers under a listing.
“Not Stated” When the Maker Is Silent
If a manufacturer does not publish a figure, our tables say “Not stated.” We never estimate it, round it, or borrow it from a listing.
When Sources Disagree, We Say Where
Listings and manufacturers contradict each other more often than you would expect. Two examples from our own pages:
- Weight capacity. A retail listing we recorded for the Innova ITX9600 quoted 350 lb. Innova’s manual and product page both say 300 lb, so we publish 300 and tell you about the gap in our ITX9600 review. On a table that holds you upside down, the lower number from the maker is the one to plan around.
- Angle settings. Innova’s product page sells the ITX9600 with a “six-position” pin and gives no degrees. The owner’s manual names five settings: 15°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 85° (Innova). The degrees exist only in the manual, so that is where we took them from, and we point out that the maker contradicts itself.
How We Handle Health Claims
Every Claim Has a Named Source
Each health statement on this site links to a specific study, guideline or record, with the year it was published. The source types we use are:
- Studies, found through PubMed and Europe PMC, read in full where the full text is open and from the abstract where it is not.
- Cochrane reviews, which pool many trials on one question.
- Clinical guidelines, such as those from NICE in the UK, the North American Spine Society (NASS) and the American College of Physicians (ACP).
- Government records: FDA 510(k) clearances and CPSC recall notices.
- Manufacturer manuals and product pages, for warnings and contraindication lists, always labeled as the maker’s caution rather than research.
We never lean on vague phrases about what unnamed researchers or experts think. We tell you who said it, and when.
Limits Stay In
A study’s limits are part of the finding, so we keep them in the sentence. Three examples of how that looks on our pages:
- In a clinical study published in 1984, eye pressure rose from 16.8 to 32.9 mmHg in normal eyes after five minutes fully inverted (Weinreb, 1984). We also report that the authors found no change in visual fields, because the concern is the temporary rise, not measured damage.
- A Cochrane review published in 2013 pooled 32 trials with 2,762 people and found traction had “little or no impact” on back pain (Wegner, 2013). We say every time that it covers traction in general, and most of those trials did not use inversion tables.
- The FDA cleared Teeter’s manual inversion table through the 510(k) process under number K162702 in 2016, as “substantially equivalent” to a device already on the market (FDA, 2016). We explain that a 510(k) is a regulatory status, not proof that inversion works.
When a source is a case report, we say it cannot tell you how common a problem is. When a study used yoga poses instead of an inversion table, we say that too.
“No Study Found” Is an Answer
Some questions have no research behind them. When we searched and found nothing, the page says so plainly, as our page on who should not use an inversion table does for pregnancy and blood thinners. We do not fill the gap with a guess in either direction.
How We Choose Products
The Rule
The pick is the cheapest table that meets the need of the reader the page is written for. We only move up a price tier when a specification justifies it: a higher published weight limit, a feature the reader needs, a longer warranty. You can see the rule applied in our guide to the best inversion tables.
Entry Filters We Use but Do Not Publish
Before a table can be considered, we check buyer signals internally, to exclude products that very few people have bought. Those signals only decide what gets in, and they never rank one table above another.
Out of Stock Is Not a Pick
A table that is out of stock cannot be a pick. If a pick sells out, we replace it or stop linking to it until it is back.
What We Do Not Do
- We have not tested these tables on people. There is no lab and no panel of testers. What we offer is careful reading of manufacturers’ documents and published research.
- We are not doctors. Nothing here is medical advice. Take the sources we cite to your own physician.
- We do not accept free products or payment for placement. No one can pay to be listed or ranked higher.
- A commission never decides the order. How we earn money is explained on our affiliate disclosure page.
Corrections and Updates
Every page shows the date it was last updated, under the title. We re-check specs and availability and update the date when a page changes. When a manufacturer revises a spec, a product goes out of stock, or a new study changes the picture, the page changes and so does the date.
We do not publish prices, because retailers change them daily. We describe tables as budget, mid-range or premium instead, and you should always confirm the current price on the retailer’s page.
4 sources used for this guide
Each linked to the original. Citations in the text jump here.
View sources
Innova. ITX9600 Heavy Duty Deluxe Inversion Therapy Table, Owner's Manual (version 1709AJJ). Innova Products Inc., owner's manual.
Weinreb RN, Cook J, Friberg TR. Effect of inverted body position on intraocular pressure. American Journal of Ophthalmology 1984;98(6):784-787.
Wegner I, Widyahening IS, van Tulder MW et al. Traction for low-back pain with or without sciatica. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, CD003010.
FDA. 510(k) Premarket Notification K162702: Teeter Manual Inversion Table. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 510(k) database, decision date December 30, 2016.