North American Healthcare - Arched Back Stretcher - Great for Back Stretch and Usage as a Spine Board

Bought this product a few days ago from this company through Amazon. Delivery was quick, and price is great. There are a couple others I saw on Amazon that look similar, but appear to be constructed of bare metal, and are over three times the price of this one. This one's shape is similar, and it is padded and professionally upholstered. For 20 bucks, I figured I'd try it. The instructions are a little vague, you're supposed to lay on your back, with this device under your back, and stretch out with your hands over your head, yet it does not say what to do with your legs. (There is a picture that shows a woman with her legs outstretched as well) however, I found it fairly uncomfortable to have legs outstretched, almost seemed that legs should be bent at the knees slightly. Just lying and stretching out didn't seem to help me at all and at first, I was disappointed. (I had a dull pain on the lower right side of my back, which I often get, and after this first use, found no change in my back. This was early morning. An hour or so later, I decided to try it again. This time, I laid with the arch under my back and positioned the arch so that the pain in my back was in contact with where I felt the most comfortable pressure from the device. (You simply slide the device forward or backward to achieve this). Then, with a pillow positioned under my head, I stretched out like before (hands over head, but this time, after stretching out, I bent my knees, brought them up together towards my chest(like in a sitting position, except I was laying on my back on the floor), and then slowly lowered my legs and extended them out, and CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!, I could just feel the pops and cracks going down my spine. Repeated this a couple times, and then I got up. The dull lower back pain was gone and stayed gone rest of the day. Later in the evening, after some yard work, pain reoccurred, so I used it again and repeated the process, and again with the cracks and pops, and it felt great once again. Amazing to me. I do go to a chiropractor, and I love the results I get there, but it's expensive, and this seems to be great for in-between treatments, or hopefully to increase time between treatments.Either way, it's great to have something around the house to relieve the pain whenever I need it. Super deal, for the money, I highly recommend it.My experience so far has been only positive. I wrote such a lengthy review to detail the procedure I discovered that helped me, in the hopes that if others who purchase this product don't see results from simply stretching out like in the instructions, they might benefit from the method I described above. It helped me, I hope it helps you too. Good luck.

This item looked interesting so I thought I'd give it a try. It arrived in just a few days, and I pulled it out of the box along with the one-page instruction sheet. The instructions aren't too extensive, but give you a general idea of what to do. In a nutshell, you lay on it. :)So I put it on the floor and laid on it like in the picture. It really didn't look like it would do much, I guess because the arch didn't seem that high- but boy was I wrong- this thing really stretches your back! In fact its downright deceiving how much of a stretch one actually gets.But that's not the end of the story. I, like others, found several things out right away. First, you'll need a pillow to support your head. I don't know how the lady in the picture is able to tolerate that position- maybe its one of those CPR dolls you practice on? Without a pillow, your head tilts back and can make you a little dizzy. A therapist told me that this is because your vertebral arteries (which help get blood to your head) "thread" through your neck vertebrae, and in some people, when you tilt your head back too much/too long, they can get pinched somewhat which can decrease the flow of blood to your head and make you a little dizzy- so just be careful and grab a pillow before you lay down.The other thing I found out is that you have to "play around" with the positioning. For some people who are really tight, they'll just lay down and hit it right the first time- but this won't be everybody. Expect to spend a few minutes tinkering around with it (by sliding it up and down which is easy to do) to find your sweet spot- that being where its most comfortable/where you feel the best stretch. Those who just throw the thing on the floor and just lay on it expecting miracles to happen might be a little disappointed with the product.The back popping thing. A therapist also told me that this happens when the tiny joints in your back seperate a little- same as when you pop your knuckle. This is a good thing because the "pop" usually brings pain relief for a lot of people. And since the pop means that the joint has seperated a bit, that stretches the joint capsule (the tissue around the joint) and that means you're actually loosening things up as well. Probably the best way to get the pop is to bring your knees up towards your chest as you're laying on the extender, OR you can try laying on it, and get your feet/knees into the position like you're going to do a sit up, and then roll your knees together either to the left or right down to the floor. In any event, don't force anything, and some people's back are simply harder to pop than others depending on how/where they're tight. Either way you're still stretching out your back. And don't forget you can also lay on the extender ON YOUR SIDE too.A sturdy piece of equipment, and professionally upholstered in my opinion, Arched Back Lumbar Stretcher Extender, Model# 83-4866V should benefit many if used properly. One note though. The extender will stretch, relax your back, and make it more flexible- but it won't do anything to strengthen it. For that, suggest Treat Your Own Spinal Stenosis for some good back exercises.

I've used the whole stack-of-three-pillows-under-the-back approach for years but when I saw this on sale for so cheap I decided to go for it. My first impressions are very positive. It feels solid and the cushioning is perfect. It really stretches your back out and is pretty comfortable. It does seem to pop quite a bit when using, which makes you believe you're breaking it, but when I inspect it there is nothing wrong with it.The only thing I'll warn is DO NOT FALL ASLEEP when using. I fell asleep with it under me for a few hours and when I woke up my back was in SERIOUS PAIN. It hurt the whole next 24 hours. I asked my doctor about it, and he said that while laying like that for that amount of time was great for my spine, it makes your muscles cramp up like crazy. Which I was very happy to hear, because at first I thought I did something to my spine.All in all I'd recommend this product to someone else. It's great to stretch your spine and relieve pressure but don't use it as a doctor replacement. If your back is really hurting you, you should first go see your doctor.