Bodystance Backpod - Premium Device for Costochondritis & Tietze Syndrome | Physio Designed | NZ Made | Posture Corrector & Back Pain Relief

I love this product. I love the way Steve August (the inventor) figured out and explains costochondritis - it makes sense. It's about the ribs, not inflammation or nerve pain. I developed costo in 2006 after being prescribed lisinopril, which caused severe coughing, for months. This, in turn, froze up my back ribs and ligaments. At the beginning, my severe chest pain and trouble breathing led to several ER trips in an ambulance, siren on, taking corners on rails. But after all the doctors had done all their cardiac and lung tests, and found nothing, they simply sent me home, unable to explain my pain, and worse, unwilling to help me manage it. I suffered untreated for 2 years when we moved to a new state and I found a pain doctor there who explained I had costochondritis and did prescribe for me. The pain meds were the only thing that gave me any kind of relief. Tylenol didn't work, nor Advil. Over the next 13 years (15 years total), I've developed kidney failure, lung failure, diabetes I, epilepsy and a host of other complex and rare medical conditions. I've attributed so much of my immobility and pain moving to simply being on dialysis. I've attributed my shortness of breath to my lung problems. Enter the Backpod. I ordered this because I'm having a terrible time right now getting pain meds sorted out and I've come to the conclusion that the doctors are not going to help me. I have to help myself. So I reopened my research into this condition. As it turns out, the Backpod now exists - which was not true when I first got costo. This device works to open up spaces between your ribs and move the ligaments between them. I used it for 2 minutes on each side the first night I got it. The next morning I woke up pain-free. It was UNREAL! I haven't had a pain-free morning in over 15 years. I wake up every morning reaching out for my oxys, because I know I need them. My AM pain is always that bad. It's now Day 6 of using the Backpod, plus I've started physical therapy in hopes that the PTs can help me maximize my results and optimize my therapy, which they have so far been very good at. In just 6 days - still NO PAIN!! That first morning I woke up, I took a shower and realized I had so much more REACH in both shoulders, and the same when I was toweling off. So I did some shoulder rolls and I could just hear my upper rib bones crackling right down from the top to the bottom, so I could tell they were loosening up. It felt great! Costo is a horrible condition to try to live with. It limits you in so many ways - mobility, ability to do chores, cook, shop, spend time with loved ones, go out, sit up for any lengths of time - and for me, I'm realizing all of this disability was due to the costo, not my kidneys or lungs. I thought all this time I was just stuck with it. The Backpod is super easy to use. You just lay down on it. You can put it behind you while you lean back on a stack of pillows and watch TV in bed. Then you can move it around - up, down, more to the middle, wherever it feels the best is probably where you need it most. It doesn't require any batteries or charging, and only very little maintenance. My puppy did try to chew on it, but I caught him in time. The big dog just licks it. I don't mind, as long as they don't destroy the thing. Being on disability, a $68.00 cost is high for me, but I decided to go for it and see if I can get myself into a position to start tapering off my pain meds under medical supervision. I had my first narcotic free day yesterday, and I was shocked. I didn't even think about taking any meds. I would so much rather invest this money here and stop having to go to a pain doctor monthly, and stop having my energy and ability to focus be affected by my oxys than stay on pain meds and not have a solution. I never thought I'd ever get better from anything again - all of my medical issues are chronic, and some degenerative. But this one, I cured. I did it by myself, with the help of Steve August, and I did it in a matter of days, after 15 years of hell. If you're in hell from costo, the Backpod is your way out!!! I only wish Steve August's information would infiltrate the medical community here in the US. Doctors here are so stubborn about insisting on what they heard once upon a. time, and they don't do much research as they continue to treat you to see if they can find you a cure. We have to heal ourselves. Thank you to Steve August for paving the way for those of us with costochondritis to do that!!

Strange concept that actually works! Helps release knotted muscles. Interesting device which provides a unique stretch for the ribcage and sternum. While it is awkward, initially, your body does relax and give in to the pod. It feels like a reset. There are detailed instructions with the product. Once I figured it out, I really like this product.

Very good high quality product that works well for costochondritis and back pain/stiffness

I am a heavy computer user and currently 50 yrs old. Masseuses call my shoulders rocks. One week into a big project, I developed back pain in the upper right area. Nothing new, but was surprised at how quickly it developed. Decided to be more proactive about fixing the issue with my back and spine (hump), so did some research online and came across the backpod. Week 1: Did two short sessions morning and night (~30 min each). The constant pain was relieved quite a bit after a couple of days. Showed obvious improvement in photo on day 7. Worked areas per instructions. Week 2: Evolved into one longer session (1.5hrs +). Spent more time around shoulder blades where I have persistent knots that developed over the years. Recall starting to have them in my 20s. Week 3: Continued to be diligent with daily use of the backpod though some sessions may only have been an hour. Started working from lower back where I have tightness and up spine, also spending considerable time around shoulder blades. Elongation of the spine can be seen in day 21. Week 4: From loosening areas on back, started feeling other areas that were still tight. Now I sometimes also carefully work around the whole back and even the ribcage at the sides/front. Week 5: Pretty much the chronic recurring pain and knots I have felt in the past has resolved. Back has loosened quite a bit. Week 6-7: Started skipping days and require less time using it. Graduated to using backpod at the sharper angle, horizontally. Focusing more on hump area. Day 60: Continuing progress is still happening but has been more gradual. Starting week 2, the time I spend each day using the backpod is quite a bit. I use it while watching/listening to tv shows and track time spent on each spot by doing a 10 count on each finger up to 10 fingers. Since I tend to count fast that ends up being somewhere over a minute on each spot. Low tech but does the trick. Covering a large area, I mostly don't repeat working on spots. Like with massages, it is a good to drink water afterwards to help flush out toxins released from the muscles. The big thing to note is that my initial results might be atypical or came quicker for the following reason: I prefer deep tissue massages that work through knots. The backpod allows me to do it on my own in a targeted fashion. So I work through the uncomfortable at times painful spots. You have control over how deeply you use the backpod. So it can be used in a gradual less painful way. Development after the first couple of weeks has become slower. It has been 60 days since I started using backpod. I have been skipping the occasional day and spending less time using the backpod. Due to the amount I work, it is more maintenance at the moment. At this point, I decided to start using a product that will work deeper into the my shoulders than the backpod, the Twin Block Pro by MassageBlocks. The backpod has been great to get me started. Now the rocks that are my shoulders need deeper work. My 84 year old father has had chronic back pain for a while and his spine has been curving from old age. Sent him a backpod, though wasn't sure he would use it. He uses it every few days and is getting better as well. Only taking a star off for the price going down to $69.99, when I bought two not so long ago for $84.99 each. But considering that it is price of one massage, still not bad. Tip: google "how to get rid of a neck hump" It is how I found backpod and you may find other helpful info / exercises. started using backpod 07.30.19. edited 09.28.19.

I hardly ever feel compelled to write a review (although, selfishly, I wouldn't be able to buy anything or eat anywhere without them!) but I do feel the need to share my support for this product. This was my second bout of costochondritis -- my first happened sometime two years ago, when my doctor diagnosed costochondritis after I had this nagging, lingering chest pain after a bad respiratory infection. I don't remember being told to do anything for it except take ibuprofen and wait it out for 6-8 weeks. I wasn't terribly active back then, the pain wasn't necessarily holding me back from any activity, and so I did as I was told, which was basically nothing. And eventually, it did go away. (Lucky, I know.) Since then I've become an avid surfer, surfing just about every day. I really consider it instrumental for my mental and emotional health. And so when this episode of costochondritis descended upon me, it hurt like hell to paddle or pop up, no matter how many Motrins I took before and after. That's when I began to do my research, and came to the conclusion that if I didn't give myself a chance to heal (by taking a break from surfing) then this costo could linger on for months or years. I forced myself to take a break, and let me tell you, between the chest pain and not surfing, was a painfully depressing period. I swear I needed to go back to therapy, take antidepressants again, something -- and it had only been a week!! One night, I watched a whole bunch of costo videos on youtube, trying to figure out how the heck I can exercise without aggravating my chest, and I came across a few helpful ones. One video detailed a good door jamb stretch for costo sufferers (with arms raised above head level); a few others led me to purchase this Backpod and a jar of Penetrex. So starting the very next day, I did that door jamb stretch several times a day, basically every time I could remember. And when the Backpod arrived, I would use it once in the morning and once in the evening. It was uncomfortable -- NOT painful, nor should it be -- but at the same time, relaxing? Somehow it just felt very therapeutic to lie on this oblong plastic contraption. I rubbed on the Penetrex 3-4x a day, as per directions, on my chest and along the spine of the affected side. Within as little three days, I felt a very significant improvement in my costo pain, so much that by the fifth day I dared to get back in the water (taking it easy of course). It's been a little over a week since I've owned this and I would say I'm 95% back to normal. I think the combination of rest (ugh), the stretches and the Backpod -- and maybe the Penetrex? -- truly worked for me, and I was able to avoid a much lengthier period of suffering. This will be my go-to prescription should I be so unfortunate to have it reoccur. I really sympathize with those that have been suffering with costochondritis for any significant amount of time. For something that isn't life-threatening, it can really be downright life-depleting. If you're on this sinking ship, and deliberating if you should purchase the Backpod, please just do it! With that and a little extra TLC you might just find the relief you're looking for.

Two months ago I slipped on the wet grass getting off of my zero turn lawn mower. The lever to raise and lower the mowing deck hit me in my right back ribs/shoulder blade. For the next month and a half or so I was somewhat fine with only soreness in the impact area and pain between the ribs. Then I decorated the Christmas tree and began to feel pressure in my right side chest and started not being able to get a satisfying deep breath. The pain was not bad but the breathing issue was starting to panic me. So I went to the ER and they checked everything and found nothing and sent me home with a diagnosis of Costochondritis. I started researching on line and came across the BackPod. Based upon the reviews I ordered it immediately. I received it last evening. Thank God because I was getting close to going to the ER again because I still couldn't get a deep breath. I am (was before I fell) redecorating one of the bedrooms and had a bed foundation which is hard and easy to get on and off because it is elevated and made a perfect treatment table. I placed the pod between my spine and shoulder blade on the painful side and laid back on the table. I felt and heard maybe three little snaps and after moving around a bit on the Pod decided that that was enough for the first try. When I stood up, I felt like my back was sturdy again. I came out of the room and I told my husband that something big just happened and that I felt like I was back together again. The next morning I was better and the main thing was that my breathing was 80% better. I wasn't panicking anymore. I repeated the right side placement of the backpod this morning and again feel better. I mean I am here at the computer writing this review. As of this afternoon. I am still sore between the ribs but feel so much better. I'm not even worried about my breathing because I can breath. I didn't have a painful case of Costo, but the breathing made it horrifying. Tonight I plan to do a treatment again and can't wait to see how I am in the morning. I plan to use the back pod as a normal part of my routine. I also plan to show it to my doctor next week when I see her as a routine followup because I was in the ER. I would like to show it to the ER doctor as well. My only question was if I did the correct thing by using it only on my affected side first or if I should have started in the middle on my spine and then moved it to the injured side. 6 January Update: I am progressing very well. I emailed Steve August, the inventor, and he reminded me to do the the stretches that he demonstrates on his youtube videos. These are helping as well. For me the other BIG thing was icing the sore areas. Ice Ice Ice. The ice in addition to everything else has made a fast difference. I still feel some restriction when I take a deep breath BUT I CAN TAKE A DEEP BREATH. That was the scariest part for me...not being able to take a deep breath. I will keep doing the program forever. Thank you Steve- You and your Back pod are truly life savers!

Well, I used it for about 2 weeks off and on days, usually in the morning. I got it for costchrondroitis around my breast bone due to lifting weights. This device seemed to help a bit with that. Moderate pain and tenderness relief. A secondary and much better benefit was how it opened up my chest for better breathing. My wheezing has gone down dramatically. I thought I was going to have to live with that forever due to asthma. Maybe it was just bad posture all these years since I work at a desk. this was an amazing benefit, I must say. However, there are some downsides. It does hurt, a lot. I used it on the bed to cushion but it still hurt. I moved it around my back after 30 seconds or so like they tell you. I sort of got used to it after the 2 weeks but still painful. And i guess the give you a warning that it's only for the upper back, but I sort of went all over, until I read that warning. Also, I developed a huge boil on the middle of my back. Golf ball sized, literally. Finally getting over it now after draining and antibiotics. Not sure if it was from this device, or from using a back roller, or from sweating a lot at the gym or some combination of all that. I have since stopped using the Backpod. My posture is still good and my wheezing is still gone and my costochrondroitis is still relieved. Its been 2 months since I used it. So buyer beware. Be careful.

This device is interesting. At first, it did not seem to help me at all. In fact, It made my condition worse, and had a lot of bruises on my back. After trying it several more times, my rib pain started to decrease. I am still getting used to it, however it is somewhat helping my condition. I will try it for a few more weeks.