Top positive review
227 people found this helpful
Works Great For My Sciatica
By John A. Sorrentino on Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2018
This is doing the same thing for my compressed discs as the expensive decompression treatments from the chiropractor. I put a pillow under my head and a big soft pillow under my knees. But locking my feet in the foot pads was a bit uncomfortable so I bought a weight lifters belt used for hanging weights and put it around my waist just above my hips. There were other belts available that could be used for this purpose but they were expensive, one was $200! This one from Iron Bull Strength is well made and works for me and I bought it on Amazon for $40. It’s called an Advanced Dip Belt. There are three ‘D’ rings so to avoid laying on the center one I just cut it off. The strap that comes with the belt will probably be too short so you might need an additional strap and some carabiners to complete your setup. We had them laying around the house but you can get what you need at Home Depot or Menards or even Amazon for $10-$20. Don’t let this discourage you; it’s simpler than it sounds here and well worth the effort. With the belt the stretch is isolated to my spine instead of my legs. My back pain is gone and I don’t have the sciatica leg pains anymore. I use mine about 3 times a week or more often if I feel the need. The chiropractic therapy was not covered by my insurance and just too expensive to maintain. One last word of advice. When you are finished with a decompressing session release the stretch by sliding your arms away from or over the arm pads rather than by using the release on the ratchet handle. Doing so will release the stretch more gently than using the ratchet. If you are benefiting from decompression at the chiropractor give this bench a try. Also, it only takes about 5 minutes to set it up or take it down. I store mine in a closet. Hope this helps someone!
Top critical review
32 people found this helpful
This seriously hurt my back.
By Dan Berdoo on Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2022
Background: ruptured a low back disc in 2016. Went through traction therapy with 2 different doctors, and different machines, dozens of times, over the course of 5 months. I’m familiar with traction/decompression. My back was aching after a strenuous job for several months. I thought this may be an option to spending $50 per session. I sincerely wish I had never considered it. I assembled the back stretch bench in the living room, as my wife looked on, and we chatted about how nice it would be if I could use this while traveling for work, as well. Once it was completely assembled, I set it for my height, and put my feet between the rollers, and the upper cushions under my armpits. Used the ratcheting mechanism to slowly extend the machine, and allow a moderate stretch, pulling at my ankles, and resisting with the cushions under my arms. But. When I released the tension, by pushing the ratcheting mechanism all the way down, the machine SNAPPED back to the original position! Think about a ratchet strap, pulled taut, then suddenly released. It was NOT smooth, gentle, or acceptable. “Oh! Ouch. Oof! That was rough!” My wife’s eyes were huge “Oh my god! Are you alright?” It was obvious that it was bad. My back and hip were sore immediately. I spent the rest of the evening on the floor, on ice and heat. The next day it was worse, and the day after that, I could hardly walk. That was almost 2 months ago, I’ve had terrible sciatica nerve pain down my left leg, in my thigh and the front of my shin ever since that night. It’s bad enough that I’ve decided to take a couple weeks off work to focus on healing, since it’s not getting better with time and chiropractic sessions. I tried to return it, but maybe the returns window closed already. Either way, there’s no option to return. Which means I’ve been injured, and I’m out the price of this product, I’ve had to pay for numerous chiropractic sessions in an attempt to solve the injury, AND I’m about to lose thousands of dollars because I need to take time off work. This item is Painful, leading to very expensive costs to offset its use.
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