Back pain and traction/inversion tables

I used to have an inversion table, found it at Costco for a couple hundred bucks. I got some relief out of it, temporarily, even though I only went about 5-10 degrees past horizontal. I could set it to go completely upside down, but that would have taken things too far. It was fairly easy to get in and out of, but I never used it without anyone else at home for safety reasons. It was easy to pull myself back upright, pretty well balanced, And once the muscle spasms stopped, the traction on my back felt really good, until my hips started hurting, then it was time to get off. But then we moved from an apartment into a house, and we ended up losing a critical piece. Bummer.

Anyone else use one of these devices and had any luck with them?

When I was a lot younger, like in my mid to late teens, I used to hang upside down on the monkey bars to stretch my back and decompress my spine. It felt great and was a lot cheaper than seeing a chiropractor.

I bought one from ebay a few years ago -- didn't really do anything for me.

It made my hip worse -- and since my spinal issues are from C4-T4, not enough force pulling on them since it would come only from the weight of my head. I do know people who find it much more helpful for low back issues.