An Ohio woman who got stuck hanging upside on an inversion table at the gym had to call 911 to have the police come and help get her back on her feet.
Christine Faulds told CNN she was at the gym at 3 a.m. when her world turned upside down due to being unable to right herself.
The inversion table is a physical therapy tool meant to relieve the nerves and spine from the pressure of gravity.
Faulds said there was only one other person in the gym at the time but that individual was in another room when she found herself hanging around.
When she found no other option to get out of her ordeal, she called 911.
You can watch the CNN news report of the incident, here.
Faulds posted a series of TikTok videos starting from the moment she found herself stuck to when the police arrived for the easiest rescue scenario.
She said the moment was all caught on film because she and her friends often record and share their workouts as a way to mutually encourage each other.
In part 1, she wrote in the text overlay:
"When you have to call 9-1-1 because you get stuck on the inversion thing at 3am at the gym."
People were sympathetic, but amused.
@cfaulds20/TikTok
@cfaulds20/TikTok
@cfaulds20/TikTok
The next video showed the moment she realized she wasn't going anywhere soon.
The text overlay for part 2 read:
"Since ya'll have been asking...here's when I knew I was STUCK..."
You can watch her start squirming to no avail and calling out to "Jason."
People theorized where Jason was.
@cfaulds20/TikTok
@cfaulds20/TikTok
@cfaulds20/TikTok
In part 3, she is seen dialing 911 and explaining her unique state of emergency to the operator.
@cfaulds20/TikTok
@cfaulds20/TikTok
Faulds explained in the follow-up Q&A video Jason was a fellow gymgoer with whom she became acquainted as they work out around the same early morning hours.
She also mentioned the staff is not at the gym during those hours and members use a keycard for access into the facility.
She said Jason totally would've come to assist her had she had his number.
"I'm gonna ask for it now for situations like these," she laughed.
She filmed the Q&A from inside her car after finishing a hit class, which she said was probably not a good idea given the fact her head still felt "heavy" from the incident.
"I'm not good at slowing down and resting," she admitted.
TikTokers were glad she was okay and she maintained her sense of humor.
@cfaulds20/TikTok
The Cleveland Clinic suggested the jury was out on the effectiveness of inversion therapy.
Dr. Haren Bodepudi, a pain management specialist at the Cleveland Clinic said:
"Some studies have found it can provide relief for some patients, but others haven’t found any benefit."
Bodepudi recommends those using the inversion table should start out 30-45 seconds at a time and work their way up to five minutes.
While we don't know how often Faulds uses the therapy contraption or for how long at a time, she said she was stuck upside down for 12 minutes until police arrived.
In spite of her predicament, she came away being a good sport and even laughed at herself.
She told the news station:
“People are saying why would you post that, so embarrassing, but I’m like sometimes you got to laugh at yourself and move on."
And when asked if she would ever use the inversion table again, Faulds said she would under the condition she has a friend nearby.
Good call.
Speaking of which, make sure you get Jason's number, Christine!
