Firstly I NEVER write reviews like this. But this little thing needs one. I’m a 28 year old female that has had ongoing costochondritis for at LEAST 7 years, reaching peak pain levels just this past year. It’s been so long I genuinely don’t remember living without costo. It started in university likely due to my terrible posture and being hunched over for hours on end.. and over the years got worse. This last year, after I had a brutal chest cough that lasted months, it’s gotten to the worst it’s ever been. I had not found a way to properly stretch or recover my shoulder blades or ribs, even after multiple back massagers, rollers or exercises. I basically just accepted and tuned out the achy pain years ago. However, a couple weeks ago I woke up with extreme tightness in my sternum probably due to my sleeping position. (I’m a tragic arms curled in side sleeper.) Coughing or sneezing would be extremely painful and causing cracking in my sternum. It is by far the worst my costo has ever been. My entire upper body felt locked. I have had no upper body mobility in weeks. A sit-up or push up would’ve been torture. I was terrified to exercise, it ruined my sleep, and I wanted to just lie down and do absolutely nothing to prevent it from triggering. Until I tried this little thing. I nearly cried after using this ONE TIME. I felt noticeable improvement within 5 minutes of using this. After searching for remedies for years and my doctor telling me to just use heat and rest it off, I nearly gave up. This was my last attempt after reading a couple stories about the backpod on Reddit. It was a bit odd at first, especially if you’re used to rollers. Definitely read the instructions a couple times. It feels goofy with all the pillows, and it’s kinda like you’re laying on a football or something LOL. It’s not uncomfortable to lay on, but it’s definitely awkward. But holy crap it works. It released the stiffness in my sternum immediately. I couldn’t believe it. The moment I sat up it was gone. GONE. It’s still a bit tender, but it didn’t hurt to cough anymore, didn’t crack, and I didn’t feel locked up. I regained enough mobility where I felt confident enough to twist without feeling achy. You can feel a massive stretching sensation after using this in the middle of your shoulders. It feels like someone took two hands on the back of your spine and gave each side a big outwards pull across the back of your rib cage. I’ve used this 2 or 3 times now and I cannot believe the difference. I’ve had ongoing costo for at least seven years. That is SEVEN YEARS of pain and locked sore muscles just DELETED in 10-15 minutes. I cannot imagine how I’m going to feel after even just a couple weeks. I was not expecting results this quick, I read it worked, but figured it’d take a mix of time and diligence to finally notice an improvement in pain and mobility-- no. It’s instant. Years of pain has nearly evaporated, and I’ve regained more upper body mobility using the backpod for 5 minutes than I have with massage guns or rollers in 5 years. If you’re like me and have tried everything under the sun for your costo with no results, try this. I cannot express enough how shook I was when I sceptically sat up and realized it actually worked. Worth every penny.
