Body Back Buddy - USA Made - Classic Buddy & Mini Bundle, Fully Body Massage & Stress Relief Tools (Blue)

I bought this to use in my office at lunch and while sitting on the phone. I also had first the Theracane and Trigger Point Therapy book that was very helpful/successful in treating a few problem painful areas. But with all therapy, the more you practice it, the more successful, hence I bought this to keep and use at work. (My review will also compare it to the Theracane, or TC, along the way...) It is very sturdy in construction. More so then the TC. When plying to massage a back area, it has no give/flex to it. It also has a pointier end knob that the TC doesn't on one end. It may be better or just a wash as compared to the ball the the ends of the TC. It definitely has more knobs and arms to use, though I haven't explored using them all. The ones I use are pretty standard for my shoulders, hips, and back. The size of this one is a bit more unwieldy as it has dual hook ends vs. the simple cane style of the TC. If space is not an issue, such as lying on the floor to use, no biggie. But for confined space like I have in an office, it makes it a bit more tricky to maneuver/administer. I'm going to switch this to home use and that should take care of that issue. The manual isn't too helpful as they really don't show specific ways to treat an area, but give general tips of using it. The TC's was a bit more helpful. But no matter, since I highly recommend Claire Davis' Trigger Point Therapy book and that has it all. Using either of these 2 products with that book is dynamic recipe for successful self-therapy. I found the TC a bit more to my liking, but just bit. You can't go wrong using the back buddy for sure and some might prefer this one too. As a note, I got the mini one with my order. I was disappointed in that though. It is a little flimsy and cannot apply as much pressure as I'd like to.. plus only works a limited number of areas. Big one - yes, but mini - not recommended. But I am more broad shouldered and thick chested, so for a smaller framed person, it might work a whole lot better.

In a nutshell: This product is strong and durable and should last me a long time and will save my hands from self massage. Additionally it has a ton of extra pressure knobs in order for the user to be infinitely creative in their self treatment. I have used the competitors products and they are both great! The extra knobs are worth choosing this one due to the ability to get to so many other muscles and additional leverage. P.s. It came in a HUGE box. I'm constantly self massaging my neck and shoulders due to poor posture and working habits compounding with stress. I recognize that postural correction including postural strengthening and neuromuscular control would be of most benefit for improving my tight, stressed, and overworked muscles however sometimes I just need to alleviate an aggravated muscle with self massage. This tool is the solution! Self massage can be very difficult and sometimes may even work against you. It is important to relax a muscle during massage and this tool was designed to allow the user to apply pinpoint pressure to almost anywhere on the body while maintaining a relaxed position with relaxed muscles. More pressure isn't better with a massage regardless of what some people may believe. It's neuromuscular science, not metal working. A muscle knot is not something that can only be squeezed or wrenched out (often times this can create more tissue damage). Accurate and appropriate pressure is infinitely better to use for massage. - Find a knot or trigger point aka: palpable taught band in the muscle (sometime you need to use your hands to find them or pinpoint your target) - slowly sink into the tissue so as to increase pressure moderately without allowing the knot to slip out from under the pressure - maintain moderate pressure and palpate (aka feel) around the taught band in order to get an idea of size and shape of the knot (visualize the knot as you treat it) - pressure should be firm but not uncomfortable, the goal is to relax the target muscle while applying accurate pressure to the knot - an alternative technique would be to do the same as above but slowly lengthen and shorten the muscle while applying the pressure to the taught band - a relaxed muscle with moderate/firm pressure on a trigger point or knot is able to neuromuscularly (kinda made that word up) decrease the resting tension of the muscle or "reset" to a more normal resting tension (this can take up to 90 seconds with continuous and accurate pressure) - Visualizing the muscle while you treat it and relaxing make a huge difference (anatomy pictures are worth looking at) - Periodically palate with your hand to reassess the size and shape of the knot - experiment with the vector direction of the force to find a different angle to treat the same muscle with - some knots or trigger points will seem to melt away with accurate and appropriate pressure, others with twitch and relax - some will seem to melt away from pressure and move to where you push them... follow the muscle and it's tension, it will tell you where to go next - some knots will feel big and general, explore these and find the most sensitive point of the muscle - some will refer pain to other areas of the body

I have scoliosis in my thoracic spine which causes a lot of stiffness and pain in my shoulder when I sit at my desk for long periods (and most any other time too). You are probably reading reviews for the Mini Body Back Buddy because you have some of the same concerns about buying this that I did. I'll try and address them. USE Use this tool to find and treat trigger points (places that hurt really bad with minimal pressure). You will know them when you find them! (but if you need help, there are pictures on the web if you google "trigger point therapy") From my understanding, trigger points are areas in the muscle tissue that are chronically tight and hurt directly and/or refer pain or numbness to other parts of the body. The theory is, if you loosen these tight areas, you increase circulation and range of motion so healing can begin and pain will lessen. If you can balance trigger point therapy to help heal the damage that has already been done by the stiffness while working to correct the original issue that caused the trigger point (injury, posture, or overuse), the muscle can be retrained and pain relief can be long term. I am working on the long term part, but I can say that trigger point therapy does provide at least short term relief. The mini back buddy is just one tool you can have in your pain fighting arsenal. It's small-ish size makes it easier to carry around with you or stash in in your desk at work. Oh yeah, and the blue nubby handle is perfect for scratching your back. CONSTRUCTION Not sure I get why some reviewers are saying this is poorly made and too flexible (unless the manufacturers have changed the materials they use-I got this March 2015). It is made of PDSP (pretty darn sturdy plastic) and feels solid. It does flex a little when I pull as hard as I can on it, but please remember this thing is supposed to be applied to trigger points. If you are flexing it to the point you feel like it's going to break, you are not using it on a trigger point...or else you would be on the floor in tears in the fetal position. Not to say that you CAN'T apply enough pressure with this thing to make you feel like you need to take such actions. You most certainly can. I have made bruises on my back and shoulders with this thing without ever feeling like I was going to break it. (Just a word of advice: if you do end up making bruises, give yourself some time to heal before you use it again). That being said, the amount of effort you need to use to really get into a trigger point with this tool is fairly slight (torque, physics, and other complicated stuff like fairy dust and unicorn hoof are to thank for this). The nubs at both ends of it are shaped the way they are because they need to be in order to provide TARGETED (and mainly static) pressure for 10-30 seconds at a time.. If you want a tool that can be used to MASSAGE a larger area, get something else. THIS IS NOT A BACK MASSAGER. WHY ONLY 4 STARS? It didn't come with any instructions what so ever and I was not able to find instructions specifically for this device online, so I'm left to guess at how to use it and hope I don't hurt myself in the process.

I wasn't sure how this would work for me (and it came with no instructions). As a massager, I was hoping it would help with my stiff neck and shoulder muscles. I also wanted it to serve as a back-scratcher. What I found was that it doesn't work well at both jobs. Just as it is, it makes a good back-scratcher, but when I used it on my muscles I found that the "bird beak" on the business end was painful to use—too hard, too small, and too pointy. Think about the massage tools we all came equipped with: fingertips, knuckles, and so on—they're all cushioned to some extent and they're much broader and more rounded. I filed the beak off, and now it's comfortable to use for pressing on my sore muscles. It's got reach and plenty of leverage, though I find myself choking up on the handle a lot, that is, grasping it further along the handle toward the bend. Having removed the beak, it's no longer very effective as a back-scratcher. The handle is very uncomfortable. I assumed from the photo of the product that the handle would be typical of the overmolded soft-rubber handles on tools of all kinds these days. No such luck (or luxury)—it's just a different color of the same hard plastic as the rest of it, and the little knobs make it worse; they dig into your hands and hurt. I'm planning to fix that with a coating of Lexel, but I think a thick layer of tape would work, at the risk of getting adhesive gunk on your hands. They really should redesign the handle and make it soft and comfortable and to extend further up the shaft. I bought this because it was cheap and looked durable. I'd have given it two and a half stars if that were possible. Now that I've modded it, it works okay for me, but I still need to rework the handgrip. This is okay for the money if you can modify it.

Soooooo ... I have a big plastic bin in the living room ... my MOBILITY TOOLBOX! Cue dramatic music!! Balls of all shapes, sizes and materials ... foam rollers (smooth and textured) ... resistance bands ... 'voodoo' flossing bands ... a 'stick' roller ... an 'edge' type tool for IASTM ... even an acupressure mat. I didn't really 'need' another tool. Saw a guy at the gym with a version of one of these. Small enough to fit in a gym bag. He liked it, but wished he had a larger version for greater leverage. Had I not seen it in action right in front of me, I probably wouldn't have ever considered a tool like this. I'd seen them before but they seemed pricey and unnecessary ... and I already had a big box of mobility wonders. Still, I liked what I was seeing, and after talking to him, I decided to get a similar tool. I liked the look of the Body Back Buddy, and got the set with the regular tool and the Mini. Bliss! Pain! More Bliss! More Pain! You know the pain I'm talking about!! If you don't, well, maybe this tool isn't for you. This thing is AWESOME. Wish I had gotten one much sooner! Absolutely superior for back and shoulders! Precise, pinpoint pressure! Really lets you dig in to areas that other tools don't reach. Did I mention it hurts? But in a good way? I heard someone use the analogy of a mechanic's toolbox ... you don't have just one tool to fix a car. It's a good analogy ... no one tool is going to solve your problems with pain/mobility. This is not the ultimate, end-all, be-all tool. Foam rollers and lacrosse balls work wonders (and are so much cheaper). However, note the five star rating! If you have any interest in self massage in any form (ok, any clean and socially acceptable form that you can do while the wife and kids are around), this is a great tool! The specific PROs: -pinpoint pressure -well thought out ergonomic design -no wall or floor required -use standing or sitting -versatile -plenty of youtube type videos to give you ideas The CONs: -can't do it all, obviously -one more tool for your collection -the full size one isn't portable and the portable one isn't versatile -not always obvious how to use it ... but check out youtube for ideas The Mini ... hey, keep your hands at 10 and 2 while driving! Eyes on the road! Buuuuuuuut if you happen to be driving long distances, and your shoulders and back are sore from being hunched over the steering wheel ... I'm not going to tell you how to live, but I will mention that the Mini lives in my car and makes me a much happier driver during extended road trips. Or not so extended ones. Good stuff ... but be careful! Or just throw it in your gym bag like the guy I met! Hurts soooooooo good! I love it!

I am writing specifically for the large Body Back Buddy. (The mini one did NOTHING for me. it's stuffed away unused) The BLUE, STANDARD SIZE BODY BACK BUDDY is a real life-saver for me. I am over 50, I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalsia and I live alone. The most painful part of my body is my shoulder blades where I cannot reach to massage. There are days that my back & neck and shoulder blades are just SCREAMING to be touched and massaged to relieve the pain and tightness. I have stood in the doorway, trying to rub my shoulder blades on the door jams, anything to relieve the pain & pressure. I cannot afford to get a massage as often as I would like (which being translated means I can rarely get a massage) and I don't want to be a bother to my grown child and friends who have their own busy lives and ask them to rub my neck and shoulders/shoulder blades for me. THIS...THING...WORKS. I've had it for months now and there are times when i find myself in so much pain that I just want to go back to bed (and sometimes cry) but after using this for just a few minutes, not only using it to push on the pressure points on my shoulder blades but also to use the little knobs to rub up and down my back, I can absolutely say that it makes all the positive difference in the world. (The double "knobby things" fit great along the back of the neck, too!) I will not give you false expectations and tell you that it removes ALL of the pain and that I'm suddenly pain free. I will absolutely testify that it relieves a tremendous amount of pain and I feel like a different person and it allows me to carry on and go through my day, when I would not have been able to otherwise. It makes the pain more than bearable....it actually gets rid of a great deal of the pain, stiffness and tightness. I was extremely and pleasantly surprised how effective it is as well as most GRATEFUL to whomever developed this really wonderful tool. Excellent product.

I ordered this back buddy at 3 am in the morning because I was in so much pain I couldn't sleep. I have fibromyalgia and suffer from extreme back pain. Mornings are very hard for me because of how stiff I am when I first wake up. It sometimes takes me half an hour to get out of bed. To add to it, I am a little top heavy, if you know what I mean, so I tend to get a lot of pain in my upper back. I always get knots right in between my two shoulder blades. There are TONS of products for LOWER back pain, but I have a hard time finding anything for UPPER back pain. I've tried a TON of things: Rolling a tennis ball against your back - doesn't work because it isn't hard enough to work out my knots. Hand held vibrating massagers - doesn't work out knots Hand held self messagers - I had one that looked like a hand that you push against like the tennis ball concept. It was too hard to get it positioned right against the knots in my back and it didn't have the pointed knobs that the back buddy has. My boyfriend even spent $100 on one of those massage chairs, while it was pretty good for lower back, it's sitting in my closet right now because it didn't give enough pointed pressure for the knots and didn't reach my upper back very well. The back buddy is the ONLY thing I've found that works for the upper back and works out knots! This morning I got up and was feeling a lot of back pain. I took out the big back buddy and worked it against my back knots. In a couple of minutes I was feeling so much better and was able to get going. The short white back buddy is AWESOME. I took it to work with me and when I'm in pain while at work I push it against the knots in my upper back. The great thing about the back buddys are you don't have to wait for an appointment with a massage therapist, you take it out and get immediate results. It's also a lot cheaper.

- This is a great little travel wand, for those shoulder/neck/back muscles, medium pressure (based on how much leverage it provides) - The pointy “nub” on the end is super annoying if you favor deep massages (vs just a shallow pressure point). However it was easy enough to saw it off and then use a nail file to smooth over the face to make it a normal ball like other massage wands. However that nub was clearly in the product listing, so just my personal option about whether I like that design feature. - The “seam” down the middle is a little uncomfortable directly on the skin (scratch plastic edge), but easy enough to file smooth with a regular nail file - For under $10, these flaws are acceptable and easy enough to modify for someone with handy skills