If your back pain has left you more knotted than a fishing net in a storm, these are the gadgets you need to help untangle your agony.
Counter position
Limiting yourself to treating back pain with stretching is like watching really old people smoke cigarettes because they have no regards for the rules of longevity, yet it still works. Well, stretching works to a degree. A paper in the >American Journal of Epidemiology did a systematic analysis of it and found the holy trinity for lowering lower back pain was aerobic exercise, stretching and strengthening. Do just one of these and you’re hoping for miracle where you don’t get lung cancer with a pack a day habit.
New science
Back pain has become about as common as breathing as up to 85% of people suffer from it at some point. Yoga is a a good option and is better than reading a self-care book on chronic lower back pain, although neither of them could surpass stretching classes which were the best at healing the hurts, says a paper in >JAMA and Archives Journals. A weekly yoga session is an excellent start, but you’re better off directing your stretching habits if you want to give pain the flick.
BackRight Lumber Relief Back Stretcher
You could hang from a bar or contort yourself around your foam roller or singe your eyeballs with YouTube yogis, but there’s something about using a dedicated back reliever to heal your ailments. This incredibly simple stretcher is small and lightweight and helps you relax and relieve back pain immediately, even while you binge watch Netflix. All you have to do it lay on the stretcher, arch side up and for five minutes, twice a day. You can choose between models that have 20 or 94 acupuncture nodes or simulators for either a deep-tissue massage or for increased circulation and relaxation. It works to restore the natural curvature of your back while improving flexibility in your shoulder and back muscles. At the same cost as you’d pay to visit a physiotherapist, it’s like a foam roller that doesn’t require you to move around quite as much.
DIY FIX
Upright Posture tracker
You’re not a victim of back pain, you’re probably causing it through poor posture and this gadget acts like your mom, telling you sit up straight when you slouch.
LIE DOWN
Spoonk Mat
With 6210 acupressure points, this uses acupressure to give you a Shiatsu massage for a fraction of the cost and promises to rebalance your body at the same time.
NEXT BEST
Solidback
This works like the BackRight but isn’t adjustable in the arch arc. Nevertheless, it offers the same brutality thanks to the little nodules that coat its surface.
SILENT ASSASSIN
Theragun G3pro
These massagers may heal muscles but normally you’ll need to buy ear muffs too, but not with this device which is whisper quiet.
