BODY TOOLS Maxi Backsie Roller 1 Unit

For context, I am female, 5'3", weigh approximately 235 pounds, and have a 13 month old boy who weighs about 24 pounds, and I am his primary caregiver, as he is still nursing. I have him on me or within reach pretty much 24/7.About two months ago I woke up one morning with an excruciating knot in my back, just about where the bra-band hits. I didn't fall, I don't remember picking the baby up at an odd angle, I don't recall any one thing that caused the injury, it just happened. And it didn't go away. For two months I have been in constant pain, varying from a 3 (notable ouch but functional) to an 8 (I can't stand, sit, walk, or hold my son without wanting to scream, and my hands are numb). Note: 9 is childbirth, 10 is I just broke a major bone, just to give y'all an idea of my thresholds. So it's been a bad several weeks, 2x daily hot baths and maxing out otc pain killers around the clock just so I can move. Getting in to a doctor sans appointment has proven impossible, and the ER in the heart of cold & flu season is not something I'm chancing with a toddler at home.Yesterday, my Maxi Roller arrived. It was bigger than I had pictured, and took a few tries to get it positioned correctly and figure out how to use my feet to move it down the spine, but the very first time I laid over it, a knot in my lower back popped, before I'd even really settled. First run from neck down released the kink that was pinching a nerve and leaving me barely able to function. Second run a few hours later released more. A third before bed meant I slept pain-free for the first time in two months, and when I woke up at 3:30 (hubby's alarm for work) to nurse the baby, I knew I wasn't doomed to a day with the ouch I felt... as soon as my son was back to sleep, I went out to the living room and took another little siesta on the Roller.I'm still dealing with residual muscle soreness, but that's to be expected when my back muscles have been compensating for a pinched nerve for two months. I expect to be making frequent use of the roller for several days until my spine figures out that it's not a pretzel anymore. Each time I use it, I am able to take it more slowly and relax further into the massage, getting more and deeper kinks out of the muscles surrounding the spine.This roller saved me trying to figure out how to pay for a chiropractor I can't afford, the frustration of pleading with our family doctor for an appointment, and the emotional trauma of trying to care for a very cuddly little boy without being able to cuddle him. It's like getting a deep (DEEP) tissue massage any time I want with the added bonus of straightening out those little kinks you pick up during your day.Fair warning though, it does indeed go deep. If you wuss out on a deep tissue massage, I highly suggest a long soak in hot bath before you use the Maxi, as it gets into the deep muscle tissue using your own body weight. Go as slowly as you can, breathe deeply and slowly and distract yourself with television or conversation if possible. Give it time to work on each sore spot and point of tension.$22 VERY well spent. I'd have paid twice that for such incredible and immediate results.

This thing reaches muscle tissue in my back that massage therapists can only dream of reaching.I've used foam rollers and although good for some areas, they just don't get deep enough. I've used tennis balls, soft balls, and baseballs. They were ok, but still didn't do it for me. I've had massages, although relaxing, I leave their office feeling unsatisfied. I've had chiropractors adjust and place muscle stimulators on my back to no avail. I needed something or someone that would dig deep into the sides of my spine in my lower back and shoulder blade area. And this, my friends, is everything I've been looking for. I had this back roller on my Watch List for over a year. I was reluctant to buy it. It looked kind of small. I didn't think it would work. But I was desperate to try anything. I pulled the trigger and a few day later this magical marvelous creation arrived at my front door as if a stork dropped off a beautiful newborn baby. (I know that's not how you get babies)I've had this for 3 weeks now. The first day I tried it, I placed it under my lower back. (For years I've had constant tightness on the left side and pain after a day of sports, especially basketball. It would take me a week of recovery to where I can play again.) As my weight pushed down, it sent waves of tingling through my hip flexor and down the front of my quads of my left side. The more I used it, the less I felt that. I'm not saying it has cured me completely, but it has helped out immensely. I played b-ball twice this week and still feel good enough to play again.I feel, for me, the roller works well on my lumbar and thoracic, but as I reach the upper back and cervical, it's harder to get that full tension. Maybe not enough weight to push down. Lifting my hips off the floor helps a bit. If the roller was a bit taller it may work better for that area. Then again, it's not called the Neck Roller. It also works well for those tiny muscles in the back of my head. Now I just need something for my neck and shoulders.I know this review may sound like one of those that you get a free product for. It's not that at all. I'm just extremely happy about this purchase.

I travel a lot for work, and the more I sit at a computer, the more I end up with some rhomboid/scapula/traps that get tight and don't want to release. When I'm home I often go to massage for this but when I'm traveling in the US and abroad that's just not realistic. Others call this your personal chiropractor, I would choose to call it my own personal massage therapist.I've been using these for years, and recently left mine overseas and had to order a replacement. This is identical to the one I had, and I am just as pleased with this one as the ones I've had in the past. One of the key features that is useful is the black rubber around the edges. This keeps it from slipping out from under you when you're rolling around on it, especially on a hard floor. This is important to keep you from hurting yourself.I sometimes roll on it neck to lower spine. At other times I throw it under my scapula (wing area as some lovingly refer to it) at an angle up toward my neck to find specific muscles that I need to put pressure on to get them to "let go". It's amazing to feel this happening. Other times I rest the bottom of my skull/top of my neck on it to release neck muscles.It's really versatile, but don't be surprised if you think that it is painful at first. It's a tool, and you have to learn how to use it. This is not hard to do, but be patient. Move it. Lean on it. Roll it. If you're patient enough you will figure it out and from then on it will be your best friend.