DO IT!
Also get a huge rubber ball and lay on it and stretch your back.
Lay one it on your back AND on your stomach- it shows you how out of shape your stomach muscles are.
But those decompression (hanging upside down) devices are the best thing I ever did for my back.
Getting back into strengthening your stomach muscles helps tremendously too.
Your mileage may vary.
get a chart of the vertebrae/nerve bundle and muscle/tactile interactions. (saw one while on a jury trial) that will tell you the specific vertebra involved. An inversion table will likely give some temporary relief, but to truly get long term relief your going to need some of the bone to be remove to take the pressure off the nerve bundle. You could try how ever to while your on an inversion table, adding weight to your head to stretch your neck. after you find some relief add weights and then lift your head, think sit ups with just your head. strengthening your neck muscles should help stabilize the vertebrae and if nothing else prevent further damage. Take it slow. If your only having neck pain you might want to try hanging your self by a helmet. just be careful.