I had moderate back pain for many years that jumped to severe pain over two years. I tried over the counter medication and physical therapy with no relief. A pain management specialist gave me prescriptions for muscle relaxers, pain killers, and prescription-strength naproxen (same ingredient in Aleve, just more potent). All the medications helped to relieve my pain, but to the point where my mental capacity was hindered by the pain killers. Plus, the muscle relaxers literally put me to sleep for a very, very long time. I couldn’t sit at a desk without the medications and I couldn’t function mentally with them. I had to leave a job that I loved, working for the same company for 21 years.
It has become a matter of learning what I can or cannot do to prevent strikes of sharp pain, like learning that I would be in pain if I walked or stood for more than 20 minutes. Lots of life changing experiences ensued as I found more and more things that I could no longer do without experiencing intense pain. Because I changed my way of living, eventually I was able to get off the pain killers and muscle relaxers, but I still needed to take naproxen daily for the pain. And I still cannot walk, stand, or sit at a desk for very long.
Long term use of naproxen, an NSAID, can increase the likelihood of stroke or heart attack (for which I have a family history), and can cause stomach and intestinal bleeding. I want to get off naproxen, so when I saw a television ad for the Back2Life, it caught and held my attention. Maybe this machine could alleviate my pain. I was torn on whether to purchase the machine or shrug it off as another gimmick. The infomercial’s claims for pain relief with use of the machine were so compelling though. On the other hand, the old adage, “a fool is soon parted from his money”, came to mind. I was desperate to get rid of this pain that was controlling my life. I can imagine how those American farmers in the Dust Bowl region of the country must have felt when someone tried to sell them on a scheme to make it rain. You think it can’t work, but yet, you feel you just have to try. This Back2Life infomercial said within 30 days of using the machine, you could get your money back (minus shipping and handling) if you weren’t satisfied, so I jumped on the bandwagon and bought a Back2Life machine.
The Back2Life machine was designed to help people with lower back pain by gently flexing and stretching the spine to loosen tight muscles and release pressure between vertebrae. The claim is that use of the machine will help to restore motion, reduce swelling, and subsequently reduce or eliminate pain.
WHAT YOU GET
The machine, which costs $199.75, is made of durable plastic and weighs 12 pounds. It comes in four pieces: a core where the electric portion is housed, two legs to hold the machine upright, and a horizontal piece with two cupped sections where you rest your legs. The pieces are easy to snap together; no tools needed.
There’s a control on the front of the machine to adjust it to your height, between 4′ 8″ to 6′ 6″. That adjustment moves the leg rest, increasing or decreasing the distance between hip and knee. If you are taller than 6’6″, they suggest elevating the device. On the lower left side of the machine is a button to turn the machine on and off. The included power cord plugs into the back of the machine.
Included with the package is a manual that explains how to assemble and use the machine. There’s even a CD-ROM with the same detailed information. You can also get the same information on their website at www.getback2life.com.
HOW IT WORKS
You lie on a padded mat on the floor with your buttocks against the machine and your knees over the top of the machine. When the machine is turned on, the legs are pulled very slightly up and inward (toward you), lifting the hip area. The cycle continues, pulling the legs slightly out, and then the legs are brought back to the starting position. The machine does all the work completing that oval motion. This is what they call “continuous passive motion.” You don’t have to do anything but lie there, relaxed, and wait for the machine to finish its 12-minute cycle. The machine shuts off by itself. They suggest that you remain lying down for an additional two minutes. They even tell you how to get up since a person with back pain will find rising from the floor the most difficult part of this therapy.
The manual recommends you complete two 12-minutes sessions a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. If you have very severe pain, or desire to expedite the process, you can use the machine more often or raise the height of the leg rest using the button specifically for that purpose.
NOT RECOMMENDED FOR …
Use of the machine is not recommended if “you had back surgery, including spinal fusion in the last year or thigh surgery in the last six months; if you suffer from grade 2 or higher Listhesis (spinal misalignment); in cases where there is central pressure on the spinal cord with the following symptoms: poor balance, urinary problems and numbness in both legs; or if you are pregnant.
In addition, the machine has a maximum weight limit for use of 300 pounds.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
The manual offers no definitive answer on how long it will take to reduce or eliminate your pain, which is understandable given that the level of pain and response to the machine’s continuous passive motion will vary from individual to individual. They do say that people who have had severe, moderate, and mild pain have seen fantastic to very good results. They also say that it works for 90% of patients who use it; and you should expect to see improvement within two weeks, but to continue for 30 days to see improvement if you started with severe back pain.
The manual also says the “Back2Life is designed for gentle, long term use.
MY RESULTS WITH THE BACK2LIFE MACHINE
I think it’s important to establish current level of pain to more readily determine improvement. Taking only naproxen daily, my level of pain fluctuates between 3 and 5 on a pain scale of 10 (see “how to describe your level of pain”). The day I started using the Back2Life machine, my pain was at a 3, a “good day” for me. Note: that’s a level of 3 while taking naproxen.
The first day I used the Back2Life machine, I actually felt discomfort, worse back pain, and the manual said that’s not unusual. The most difficult part in using the machine is getting up and down from floor level. I even considered placing the machine on the dining room table, thinking it would be easier to get on and off the table, but something told me that just wasn’t right.
Rising from a chair used to be painful, causing me to walk slightly bent over for a few steps until I could stretch upright. By day 14, I could stand upright immediately from a sitting position. Even getting down to and up from floor level to use the machine is less difficult.
I continued to use the machine twice a day as directed. By the end of 30 days, I felt my back pain was less widespread. Instead of spanning from my buttocks up to mid-back, and from side to side, the pain was isolated to about half that area around my lower spine. I still rise each morning with back pain, but the expanse of the pain is far less than when I started using the machine. I’ve switched from naproxen to regular Tylenol to handle the pain. Using the machine has not only reduced my back pain, it has released me from my dependency on naproxen to handle the pain.
The manual that comes with the machine does not indicate how long to continue using the machine other than the “Back2Life is designed for gentle, long term use. I plan on continuing a twice daily routine and will drop one session periodically to see how I feel. Though the machine has not completely eliminated my pain, because it has reduced my pain, I feel comfortable in recommending this machine. Even a reduction in pain is a good thing!
