STRETCH AWAY YOUR BACK PAIN

DAVID HAWKES, 72, who used to run a printing company, lives in Wendover, Buckinghamshire, with his wife, Ann. The grandfather of four developed a device for exercising the back after suffering a slipped disc. £299.95, backstation.co.uk

I NEVER fancied the idea of surgery so despite suffering back pain for 40 years — after I slipped a disc, lifting a consignment of paper — I put up with it. But in recent years the pain got worse. I’d get awful spasms three to four times a week that would hold me rigid until the pain passed.

Then six years ago I read a leaflet about something called inversion therapy, which suggested that having your back stretched while being held upside down eased pain.

It didn’t make sense: why be upside down? But I liked the idea of stretching the muscles and decompressing the spine from a supported standing position. I came up with the idea of a freestanding unit that lets you exercise as well as relieving stress and tension while you remain upright.

I sent some drawings to someone in China to make a steel prototype. You stand in it, strap in and do one movement only — bending your knees while a back sling supports you. I checked my design with a physiotherapist who agreed it could help.

Within five weeks of using it for five minutes twice a day, my spine started to feel better and the spasms began to dissipate. It was incredible. I still use it once or twice a week; I don’t complain of back pain and gained half an inch in height. It has changed my life.

EXPERT VERDICT: ‘There is evidence that traction will help offload the spine and decompress the back so there is a lot of merit in this device,’ says Tim Allardyce, a physiotherapist at Surrey Physio. ‘However it may not help everyone — you should be assessed before using it.’