StretchMate Orthopedic Back Stretcher by U.S. Jaclean

It gives a decent stretch, but the plastic ridges can really dig in the the spinal muscles, which doesn't seem at all necessary for a stretching tool. I use only the steepest side for the most effect possible on my two herniated disks. It can help a bad flare up and it's cheap enough to be worth trying it. I've had every other treatment known over the 12 years of my back problem, and this is actually one piece that can help. I'll lay on it for about 10 minutes at a time and couple days a week. The last rung on the ladder so to speak, can sometimes dig into the pelvis bone a bit, so it's not real comfy, but it can help chronic conditions like mine. Just as an fyi, I'm 37 years old, 6'1" and I weigh 205 lbs. The most effective treatments I've found are nutrition and exercise, hydration, vicodine, never lifting anything of the floor again, and drinking until it doesn't matter...which hurts hydration. This item, and a massage chair (or professional massage if you can afford it) and chiropractic can help too. Everything else is just crap designed to take your money.

I was excited to try out my new Stretch Mate Orthopedic Back Stretcher, and as I carefully followed instructions (Do not step or sit on the stretcher), and laid across it positioning my mid back exactly where it was supposed to be, I heard a loud crack, and it turned out that the stretcher had broken in half as I was laying across it.I know that I'm a big guy, but this was ridiculous!Oh well, good luck to the next person who tries this out.Of course, Amazon was great with its return policy, so I just packed it up and send it right on back.

I was skeptical about the reviews I read since they lacked substance. I don't know that all of these back stretchers break as easily as mine did, but after a day of use my back stretcher fell apart. The weakness of the design are the three blue back support bars that are screwed into the black frames (easy to see in the pictures of the device). They didn't exactly shatter, but the blue support bars did break at or near the point where they screwed into the black frame. Oddly enough one broke on the left side of the back stretcher, one on the right, and one did not break at all. If they were to fix this little design flaw I would give this item 5 starts in a heart beat. It works so well that I was willing to give it three stars even though it broke on the first day - that should tell you something about how well it works.Even broken, the device works perfectly but if you pick it up too quickly the blue support bars will fall out. I reassembled the back stretcher, used a little dab of epoxy, and clamped it together for an hour and now it is stronger than ever. I put a little epoxy on the unbroken screw joints to reinforce them, just in case.The poor construction aside, this item does a fantastic job stretching my middle and upper middle back like I have never been able to before. Many of these reviews do not mention them breaking so I have to believe at least some of these are built better than others. If you have some epoxy and know how to use it I think you will be in good shape and your back will be in even better shape. Just my two cents.

At first I was worried that this was not going to help my lower back. I have to say just one use and my back felt a little better. Over a weeks time I laid down and used this to stretch my back out. I only used it for about 5 minutes a day. It helped the muscles relax and also help put my back into alignment.The first time it hurt. but my back was so inflamed that no matter what I did it was going to hurt. just the little bit of pressure was helping my lower back.

This will stretch your back. I use it every morning and night for two minutes.We humans are always hunched over our computers, phones, etc.