Homedics Back and Neck Massager, Portable Shiatsu All Body Massage Pillow with Heat, Targets Upper and Lower Back, Neck and Shoulders. Lightweight for Travel

This massage machine works very well. For my lower back, I sit in a recliner, place it up about 2 or 3 inches above the seat, lean back some, and turn it on. It has three settings: massage, vibrate, and both, plus a separate button for heat. I put it on the third setting and add the heat (which is not hard when doing the lower back). I lean back just a little because the muscles want to strain at first. As my muscles relax, I lean the chair back more, and finally after my back is relaxed enough, I am all the way leaning on it. It lasts about 15 minutes, and the directions say to not use it longer than that because it can damage the machine, so I wait at least an hour to do any further massage.The upper back and neck are harder, because it tends to slip down when I recline the chair or lean back. I usually have someone help me put it in place, but I use the same technique to lean back. I find that my back is always at least 50% better, with less pain and more mobility, after the massage is over for either the lower or upper back. This pain relief lasts most of a day, so if I use it two times a day, it is very helpful. My pain is from arthritis, so I don't know how it would help other problems, but I believe it would be useful to anyone with back pain. I bought another one for my daughter, who also has back pain, and she loves it.I think if someone just leans all the way on the machine right away, it would be more painful, so I recommend leaning slowly while you get used to the massage.I also have the foot massage machine from the same company, and it works even better, so I have around 70% less pain after use with it.

It's awesome to have, after so many uses and having it for a few years it finally quit massaging except for the vibrating part still works so I'll be having to buy another one, some of those other ones never have lasted as long as this one, heats up nice, you can use it on a flat surface, in a chair or couch or on bed, just wish there was a intense selectable but the one speed is fine

I had an old version of this pillow and honestly i liked my old one better. It lasted such a long time i think i had it for 7-8 years before it stopped working. This pillow does get pretty deep in the muscles i use it on my lower back and shoulders/neck and it works amazing. The only negative is it does shut off after maybe 10 minutes or less so you have to keep restarting. The buttons are also surprisingly sensitive I can barely lean on it and it changes the settings. The settings are massage, heat, vibrate, and vibrate while massaging. I don’t care much for the vibrating. I got my old pillow for $20 and it was a lot better quality. I wish they still had that design but I’d still give it 4 stars bc it does work for muscle knots.

I read many reviews and was very hesitant. People saying the motor isn't as strong, saying the vibrating feature quitting and several other weaknesses (compared to the older model) made me hold off buying it. We had the old model and absolutely loved it.Well?Our opinion: this unit works fantastic. Neither my wife nor I care about the vibration feature, so I can't speak to that but - the motor is plenty strong enough to do the job. Thing is, if you press your sore muscles too hard on these, you will bruise the muscle - very counterproductive to helping it to relax. Brusing is inflammation! She has used it on her low back with great results, we've both used it on our necks - again, great results.We've only had it a couple of weeks so can't speak to the durability, but so far, we are both very impressed.

I received the Homedics Back and Neck massager a week ago, which was great. I've used it 4 or 5 times and it worked wonderfully, and I love that it has a self timer for 15 minutes. But, when I got it out yesterday to use it, it's controls were not working properly. The on/off button didn't work at all, and the heat button would turn it off/on sometimes, also turning on the heat function sometimes.This could be a very good product if it was more reliable. Sadly, I will be returning it.

Pretty GoodDurableThe Heat Is PerfectAuto Shuts Off After 15 Minutes

Rarely do I write Amazon reviews, but I felt the need to write this one. I purchased this for my chronic pain per a friend’s recommendation and it has helped—when it’s actually worked.Unfortunately, after a few uses of the massager, vibration button stopped working; only the heat and massage/rotation portion would work *sometimes*. I used this while laying on a wedge pillow, laying on my adjustable bed while reclined, and while laying flat on the floor with some pillows for neck support. To get the vibration to work again, I had to jiggle the pillow and push the buttons around to get it to work, as if the wires were disconnected or faulty. I ended up having to unzip the case to adjust the motor of the vibration component and it was VERY hard to zip back up, plus all of the memory foam was flaking apart and getting everywhere. When I got it to actually work again, the vibration was extremely weak compared to when my initial use of the pillow. Overall, I feel very disappointed with this purchase given the price vs lack of durability and functionality. I will look for an alternative.

Wrench my back a few weeks ago!!! This is outstanding!! heat massage, and vibrator! I LOVE IT!!