Back2Life Continuous Motion Massager

I've been suffering from chronic low back pain for 26 years. The nursing profession, wearing high heels in my 20's, being rear-ended by a drunk driver, other fender benders and poor posture have all contributed to this wretched condition of low back pain, that never goes away. Only yoga has worked for me, but if I don't go, the back pain returns. I decided to live with this pain instead of complaining. As middle age and extra weight have crept up on me, my low back pain has worsened. Yes, I'm overweight, yes, I haven't been back to yoga, yes, I don't stretch enough yada yada yada... So I decided to give Back2Life a try. It comes fully assembled. All you need to do is read the directions, adjust the height, plug it in, turn it on, and relax for 12 minutes. The instructions say that your buttocks are not supposed to lift off of the ground, this is a subtle, passive, gentle, rhythmic & repetitive movement that works over time and weeks. It's supposed to decompress the lower back, relieving pressure. The recommendation is to use it twice a day. The good thing is that it's pre-programmed for 12 minute sessions, so you don't have to do anything but lay there. After just 3 days of use, my lower back pain has improved significantly. The pain is not as intense, and I don't wake up stiff. I'm pretty impressed, and can feel the gentle decompression of those lower discs during the sessions. I do believe the manufacturer's recommendations- the repeated use, over time, done correctly, at your height, with patience, results will come. I will post an update in a few weeks, but so far so good. 5 stars from me!

My Dr. recommended this after Physical Therapy and muscle relaxants did not work. The next step was epidural injections into my spine for pain. What I really wanted was something to solve or at least offset what was causing the pain. He said alot of his patients had good results with this machine and it was worth a try. Of course, I thought could something from t.v or Bed Bath and Beyond (they sell them there too) really help this incredible pain? WELL, IT DID!!! It's simple spinal decompression---gently lifting and removing stress off the low spine. The first week I used it, I felt relief. the second week was even better, and the third week...Wow! Now maybe it was a fluke, butI really don't think so since my husband was curious and used it with the same results. Plus, the results were so obvious--much of the pain reduced (70%), I didnt' have to stuff towels/pillows under my back to sleep, and my hips are not tight. WORTH EVERY SINGLE PENNY! Here are my tips....I first set it according to my height as instructed, but found my rear not moving at all, so I set it a little higher, then it lifted slightly just fine. Now I set it much higher for a nicer effect. Also, if I hooked my legs over top and sort of "hung on" gently with my legs instead of doing absolutely nothing, I would get more of a stretch. For the folks on here who felt nothing, I bet they did not set it high enough, and did not "hang on" with their legs. I bought one for my sister, and my friend who got one is also experiencing relief. Please note that you must use very good body mechanics when getting down/up from the floor. Also..if you get down on the floor into position and the machine is too far away, do not be tempted to wiggle up to the machine....bring it towards you with your hands, then put your legs over top. Feel welcome to email me with any questions. I am so happy I found this!

OK, if you have some lower back pain, this WILL help. It will not FIX lower back pain but no device will. I can tell you what will fix it: 1) Don't be overweight, 2) Have a strong core and 3) Flexibility. If you meet those 3 requirements and STILL have lower back pain, you need surgery. Now having said all that, let me give a review. The device works great...I would have given it 5 stars but the darn thing squeaks pretty bad after only about 10 uses. I can deal with it but it is annoying. This will definitely give you some relief and is actually relaxing. I recommend doing some stretching before and after you do this to maximize the results. The pad that comes with it to lay on is too thin. Go to Academy and get you an inch or inch 1/2 thick pad - MUCH better. Also, if you want it to work, you MUST do it both in the morning and night. It is like any routine, work-out etc. If you do not do it diligently, the results will be minimal. Hope this helps!

This product is awful! I wasted $200 in an attempt to help my boyfriend's back problems. The only thing this product might do is lull someone to sleep, but it definitely does nothing for your back. When the product is on, it sounds like the gears are buckeling whenever you put your legs on it. I weigh less than 140 lbs and it still does it when I put my legs on the machine! Don't let the commercials fool you. It sounded too good to be true, so I went on several websites to check reviews on this thing and all I saw were bad ratings from people who had never even tried it before, however I did see some good ratings from people who did try it, so I decided to give it a shot--BIG MISTAKE! Save your money and buy a nice eurotop bed with memory foam. This thing isn't even worth a penny. I threw mine out when I moved to my new apartment, and I had only had it for a couple months! Save your money people! Don't be fooled like I was!

I've been using this as instructed for about a week and it is helping me. Don't expect lightening fast results, just use it twice a day as instructed. I am improving each day. Some things to consider: * This works the very base of the spine. If you have back issues higher up I can't see where this would be helpful. * You need to be able to lie flat on the floor (with your head on a pillow) and then get back on your feet after each 12-minute session. Try doing that with your legs up on a chair a few times if you intend to use this alone. When your back is misbehaving this isn't as easy as it sounds. * Mine came with ankle weights which are useless as far as I can tell. The machine is doing all the lifting so all ankle weights do is make the motor work harder. Others apparently come with an exercise mat and/or a small pillow ("a $99 value" for a lousy pillow? Puhleeze!). * Mine came from a vendor called Planet Stuff, LLC. Today Amazon's vendor is Back In Five, LLC. When I wrote the mfgr to inquire about extended warranties, customer support wrote back to say that Planet Stuff isn't an authorized retailer and that my warranty may be honored if I register with them, but they couldn't guarantee that. I'm going to assume that I don't have a warranty but mine does appear to be working just fine. * Don't be put off by the horrendous website. This is the cheesiest of cheesy marketing and it makes you want to run away screaming and covering your eyes. Every page insults your intelligence. If someone I trust hadn't strongly recommended this to me I would have dropped it from consideration after the first two minutes of viewing the site. It is truly cringe-worthy. However, if it works, it works and for me it is working. Day-to-day improvements are modest but when I compare my pain and mobility levels after one week of use twice a day, the difference is pretty dramatic. At this point I'd recommend it. I'll post more after another couple of weeks. UPDATE 3/31/2012 For me, this is a solid 5 stars. The product website is SO bad I almost feel like I have to apologize for a positive review, but there it is. Over the past weeks I've found myself feeling less and less inclined to use it, telling myself "well, I'll do it later" where before when my back was hurting I wouldn't even think about it...it was a must. What happened was that my motivation (that would be lower back pain) had gradually subsided to the point that I'm not aware of it any more. That's very, very good outcome. I am not kidding myself. I have been living with periodic episodes of lower back pain for ~20 years after my initial injury in a gym and I'm pretty sure the problem will be with me for the rest of my life. I'm not about to sell this thing; it has just joined my heating pad, wedge pillow, pricey mattress and support belt as another tool for managing the condition. This isn't a cure, but if you have a lower back problem like mine it is definitely worth a try. I liked another reviewer's suggestion that Brookstone stores offer it with a 30-day return policy that may be stronger than the manufacturer's.

The Back2Life Continuous Motion Massager does not do what I expected it to do. My lower back was injured many years ago in Viet Nam and occasionally it will shift and cause pain. I have had massages and chiropratic treatment that does a short term relief. I was tired of making the trip to the "store to get the fix." The machine looks SILLY, so I ordered the model that was advertised as coming with an instructional DVD to fully demonstrate how it works. What I received was a unit that had NO DVD, but a set of 5 pound leg weights. I wondered what would be the purpose of wearing leg weights while using a machine that GENTLY lifts you. Was the weights designed to make it more difficult for the machine to work properly? Perhaps the DVD would have explained, but there was no instructional DVD. I contacted the vendor TWICE and got no response. Now about the Massager: I am 6'1" so I set the machine to 6'4" tried it AND NOTHING. I lay there on the floor for 12 minites and wondered what I was doing wrong because the machine did not LIFT any portion of my body off the floor. So I set it to 6'6" and again notihing, but this time the machine would cut itself off and I had to wiggle to get it to come back on. My wife who has nearly constant low level back pains, is 5'2", she tried it and what she got was a numbness in her legs and feet, but no relief of her back pain. But I kept the faith and tried again. I noticed that the height of the lift at 6'4" is the exact same as 6'6". I decided to do an experiment. I lay on the floor with my legs on the end of the bed and my head on a comfortable pillow for 12 minutes, and the results were the EXACT same as with the Back2Life Continuous Motion Massager. I felt a very slight relaxation in the S-region of the lower spine, but nothing as wonderful as promised by the glowing reviews. Perhaps, there is a secret on the instructional DVD that greatly contributes to the wonder of the machine, but remember, I did not get the promised DVD. Maybe, just maybe I received a model with a "lazy" motor that refused to actually lift your lower back off the floor, don't know. What I do know is that the end of bed experiment achieves the same results as this machine and the bed is free. So with hopes shattered, I must return the Back2Life Continuous Motion Massager with a message that says, "Wish you worked." Hope that helps.

I had seen Back2Life in a medical magazine and was seriously considering purchasing it when I saw an infomercial on it. My husband was "dozing" when the infomercial started and actually woke up to watch it! We both had car accidents that caused neck and back problems and are still seeing a chiropractor each month. My husband's lower back is worse than mine, so when I found he was interested, I went to the Back2life website, the searched the Internet for it. Amazon had the best price, even better than eBay and I trust them, too. I always receive my orders very quickly from Amazon and Back2Life arrived in 3 days--without paying for express shipping! And Back2Life? WOW--the first time I used it, I felt NOTHING in my lower back--when you constantly have aches and/or pains and then they are gone, you just feel FANTASTIC and my husband's back felt much better, too. I also have a friend who bought it and she LOVES it! Our backs are now in better shape--this machine is very gentle and actually relaxes you, which helps your whole body. It takes ONLY 12 minutes once or twice a day--the machine runs for 10 minutes and you stretch out your legs to relax another 2 minutes and you feel much better for it! And Amazon? Needless to say, I am looking for a couple more items and Amazon has the best price, so I'll be leaving here to place my order! Thanks, Back2Life and Amazon!!! Back2Life Continuous Motion Massager

When you watch the video, it says that your butt should be lifted each time the machine goes up. The first several times I just rested my legs on it and mine did not lift. Neither did my husbands or daughter, when they tried it. Tried different height levels, and then one day as I was trying different techniques, finally my butt started to be lifted and when I was doing it correctly, it did a great job. But you do need to keep focused on keeping the legs firmly on the leg rest in order for your butt to rise otherwise, it will stay on the ground and not do such a good job. Also, in the instruction booklet it says that your butt does not have to leave the ground, but the video says it does. Oh well, I stuck to it and it does help my back. One thing, my legs start to go to sleep and tingle if I go beyond the first 10 min. Wish that didn't happen. Hope this helps. :)