Body Back Mini FSA Eligible - Handheld Neck and Shoulder Massager, Trigger Point Massage Tool, Pressure Point Pain Relief, Deep Tissue Self Massager

Great for working out knots from stress and over work. The large one has enough nodes and is big enough that you should be able to reach any point on your body. The smaller one is great for shoulders, upper back, and neck. The only con is the smaller one has a small point on the knob that sometimes makes really deep pressure painful. It is even painful for me and I have had neck problems for years and really crank massagers and other items into my neck and upper back. I have broken a handful of massagers from trying to put as much pressure into my neck/back as possible. I don't foresee being able to break the larger bar due to constant pressure because it is heavy duty plastic. I think the small point on the smaller item will prevent anyone from breaking it due to how painful the point can be. You may want to get a lotion or oil to put on whatever knob or node you choose so you can easily put pressure and move it along your body. The plastic without any lubricant makes icing the massager with pressure difficult. All around great product and worth what I paid for them.

This back massager is AMAZING! I first came across this type of product while strolling through my local Target store. I picked up a large sickle- shaped item from a shelf, confused about exactly what it was. After reading the packaging, I learned that it was a back massager. I didn't even know that this type of thing existed! And after trying it out, I knew that I needed one! After hitting Amazon.com to research this type of back massager, reading reviews, and comparing similar products, I settled on what I believe to be the Best product available! The Body Back Buddy Jr. is a phenomenal tool for difficult-to-reach spots that need attention! The BBB Jr. is solid, sturdy, and almost indestructible when used properly. In addition to the solid construction, what makes it a superior product are the nodes/bumps along the massager. The nodes/bumps mimic thumbs, elbows, and whatever else a masseuse uses! I have used it on my traps, shoulders, pecs, quads, hamstrings, upper and lower back, and even the soles of my feet. However, I wish that I had purchased the original BBB instead of the Jr. I have found the shorter-hooked end of the BBB Jr. to be useful for the soles of my feet, but little else so far. The original BBB has a much larger hooked end, making it a bit more versatile. Even with that said, the BBB Jr. is invaluable! The BBB mini, however, feels like a cheap toss in. it is constructed of a different material, making it flimsy. I have found no use for it, but my daughter uses it to mimic daddy when he uses his back massager.

I have scoliosis in my thoracic spine which causes a lot of stiffness and pain in my shoulder when I sit at my desk for long periods (and most any other time too). You are probably reading reviews for the Mini Body Back Buddy because you have some of the same concerns about buying this that I did. I'll try and address them. USE Use this tool to find and treat trigger points (places that hurt really bad with minimal pressure). You will know them when you find them! (but if you need help, there are pictures on the web if you google "trigger point therapy") From my understanding, trigger points are areas in the muscle tissue that are chronically tight and hurt directly and/or refer pain or numbness to other parts of the body. The theory is, if you loosen these tight areas, you increase circulation and range of motion so healing can begin and pain will lessen. If you can balance trigger point therapy to help heal the damage that has already been done by the stiffness while working to correct the original issue that caused the trigger point (injury, posture, or overuse), the muscle can be retrained and pain relief can be long term. I am working on the long term part, but I can say that trigger point therapy does provide at least short term relief. The mini back buddy is just one tool you can have in your pain fighting arsenal. It's small-ish size makes it easier to carry around with you or stash in in your desk at work. Oh yeah, and the blue nubby handle is perfect for scratching your back. CONSTRUCTION Not sure I get why some reviewers are saying this is poorly made and too flexible (unless the manufacturers have changed the materials they use-I got this March 2015). It is made of PDSP (pretty darn sturdy plastic) and feels solid. It does flex a little when I pull as hard as I can on it, but please remember this thing is supposed to be applied to trigger points. If you are flexing it to the point you feel like it's going to break, you are not using it on a trigger point...or else you would be on the floor in tears in the fetal position. Not to say that you CAN'T apply enough pressure with this thing to make you feel like you need to take such actions. You most certainly can. I have made bruises on my back and shoulders with this thing without ever feeling like I was going to break it. (Just a word of advice: if you do end up making bruises, give yourself some time to heal before you use it again). That being said, the amount of effort you need to use to really get into a trigger point with this tool is fairly slight (torque, physics, and other complicated stuff like fairy dust and unicorn hoof are to thank for this). The nubs at both ends of it are shaped the way they are because they need to be in order to provide TARGETED (and mainly static) pressure for 10-30 seconds at a time.. If you want a tool that can be used to MASSAGE a larger area, get something else. THIS IS NOT A BACK MASSAGER. WHY ONLY 4 STARS? It didn't come with any instructions what so ever and I was not able to find instructions specifically for this device online, so I'm left to guess at how to use it and hope I don't hurt myself in the process.

I'm a tremendous fan of the full size Body Back Buddy. I recommend it to many of my patients. I thought I'd try the mini. It's certainly portable. It's hollow plastic, with two halves brought together. They shift as I grip the handle and try to use it. The curve is pretty tight. I'm not a big guy, 5'7" and 178 lbs. I can use it on my neck, but it won't work even on posterior aspect of trapezius. It won't fit around my shoulder to get at infraspinatus. It definitely won't reach the paraspinals. It can be used on the lower leg's tibialis anterior and other pretibial mm. It can be used on the gastrocs, soleus, fibularis mm. I could get it to work on biceps femoris and the medial hamstrings, but the leverage isn't great. But I never thought the leverage would be. It's supposed to be portable. But overall, it's less effective than what I had hoped. Recommendation to the Back Buddy crew: Make a Back Buddy that has only one curve, rather than the double curve of the large one. And make it with the more conical node rather than the round node. Otherwise it'd be just like a theracane. If it could fit into check in luggage, that'd be perfect. It doesn't need to be as small as this mini. I find the conical nodes of the Back Buddy superior to the theracane's round nodes for getting specifically discrete into myofascial trigger points and tweezing muscle fibers apart.

These work exceptionally well; I wish I'd purchased them sooner. My husband has a hard time finding trigger points on me. My fingers and hands tire so easily working on his. This allows each of us to do our own work and not need help. It's probably not the same as a therapist, but finding a qualified one isn't easy, you often need to work on them when there is no therapist available, and it can be pricey to use a therapist frequently. The small one isn't very good for mid-back trigger points, but works very well on the neck and top of the shoulders. The Jr is excellent for me, though my husband found one the knob on the middle of it to poke his front when he was working on his mid-back trigger points. I will probably end up buying the standard version to see if he prefers it. I imagine I will prefer this one as it seems near perfect to me. We have a different model in a S-shape with wooden balls on the ends of the metal curve. Both of us prefer the Jr over it by a wide margin. The Jr seems easier to use and get leverage. Even though the Jr is the same length, for some reason both of us perceive the Jr as being smaller and easier to use. If you're purchasing this and do not know much about myofascial trigger points, it would be helpful to read up on them; there are several websites that explain them and there are several books, too, all available here at Amazon. It's nice to have a book that has a map of where they commonly bother people. I've found those to help me resolve problems. I was missing a few points that were referring pain until I saw a map of the problem areas.

I have the large Back Buddy, which I like, but it is cumbersome and difficult to take with me. I can easily take this little tool anywhere I go, and can use it while sitting at my desk, reading, etc. The previous reviewer mentioned that it she thought it might break, but it seems to me to be very sturdy. I have no fear of it breaking from normal use, and I press down pretty hard with it at times. If you find relief from pressing pressure points, and don't want to have to bother with a huge tool, order this little one. You'll find it both effective and handy to use and take with you. The only con I find is that the knob is pointed rather than rounded. It's still effective, but I think I'd prefer a rounded knob, like is on its big brother. An extra bonus to this little gadget is the back scratcher at the other end, which is very effective in relieving an itchy back. :)

I had regularly used a full size Back buddy I had borrowed from a friend and finally needed to buy my own. But being the cheapster I am I thought I would save money and buy this smaller/cheaper one instead. It doesn't compare to the full size at all! It "bends" when you try and really push it into a knot, almost like it could snap. Also, it just doesn't have the reach to get any of the knots you actually need worked on. I found it to only be good for my traps. Which is only a small percentage of the muscles I need work on. Lastly, the "point" on the end of the ball actually hurts! It is not needed, i.e. it doesn't make this product work better, it just feels like someone is taking a ball point pen and stabbing you with it. Don't waste your money on this smaller version, buy the full size one. The full size one is so much sturdier and works SO MUCH BETTER.

- This is a great little travel wand, for those shoulder/neck/back muscles, medium pressure (based on how much leverage it provides) - The pointy “nub” on the end is super annoying if you favor deep massages (vs just a shallow pressure point). However it was easy enough to saw it off and then use a nail file to smooth over the face to make it a normal ball like other massage wands. However that nub was clearly in the product listing, so just my personal option about whether I like that design feature. - The “seam” down the middle is a little uncomfortable directly on the skin (scratch plastic edge), but easy enough to file smooth with a regular nail file - For under $10, these flaws are acceptable and easy enough to modify for someone with handy skills

I would be absolutely lost without this wand I use it on my shoulder and I use it on my sciatic nerve in my hip it relieves the pain in both almost immediately!! It's the perfect size to get into my shoulder the tip of it has an action just like getting reflexology or pressure point. It's made very sturdy that would not snap you can put quite a bit of pressure I'm 130 pounds and I have used as much pressure as I possibly can with this wand and I am quite strong as I work out with weights.

Probably the best money I have spent all year! I get persistent back and shoulder (around the blade) tension and it was impossible to get with just my fingers. This little beauty gets them all! I actually shaved off the point as I found that too painful and not I do not travel anywhere without it. If only it was a different color as because of the size and shape you get some really odd looks! :)

Body Back Buddy Jr est parfait, fait de plastique solide il ne plie pas du tout. Je fais 110 lbs et 5' 3'' et il est amplement grand. (J'avais le Body Back Buddy bleu standard avant et il faisait très bien, mais prenait de la place pour rien, mais il était parfait pr les gens de 200lbs et +). J'aime moins le Mini Bundle, il n'est pas fait du même plastique, il plie un peu et je le trouve glissant.

I have constant neck and shoulder pain and have a regular size Thera Cane at home. It is too big to put into my luggage so I purchased this handy dandy one. This will be good to travel with to loosen some knots. It does feel a little sharp in some areas but works okay.

I have seen similar bigger products and felt like trying one. This had the perfect size. I am not excited with the results but still, it is an easy when when you don't have a spare pair of hands available!