Phil: How BackHug Helped Save His Career and Social Life from Chronic Back Pain

Can you tell us about yourself and when your back problems started?

I'm Phil, I'm 23 years old, currently live in Greater London, and I have an office job working in financial services. I've actually struggled with back pain since I was about 18, around the time I was revising for my exams. It's really been a struggle to sit down for long periods of time—after 4 hours or so I've struggled with quite intense pain in my lower back and then just felt really stiff afterwards. So it's been quite a big hindrance really in my studies at college, university and then moving onto work, and was almost getting to the point where I needed to reconsider my career.

Have you been able to find out what's causing it?

I've had MRIs on my joints and they say there's nothing structural, so there's something in my muscles that are imbalanced. But I've been to physios, I've been to chiropractors, and they've all given me the same stretches without really having anything that works. I've found a combination of different things can keep me sort of level, but nothing that's been able to fix it. No one's really been able to tell me why.

I was active, I played football and I went to the gym when I was quite young. So I think if I had to say, it might have been poor technique at the gym, too young an age. But I think having had it drag on so long, it's difficult to say that that's the trigger because I would have been able to reverse that by now. So it could be that there's something genetic or something which just hasn't been found.

How did starting work affect your back?

When I started work, it was a bit of a shock to my body because at uni I was more free with my time so I could do a few hours, take a break, do a few hours. But with working at a desk, you're locked into a far longer time of sitting down. So the first few months I felt like it was just on this downward spiral. It was super tight after work, I'd have to spend hours stretching or going to the physio, going to the chiropractor, and it just felt like it was deteriorating.

I was looking everywhere really for a new solution because I wanted to continue what I'm doing now. I like my job so I wanted to do this desk job, but for the first few months it looked like that might not be possible.

What was your routine like before BackHug?

I mean, I'd finished work and my back could be a mess, so I'd spend at least an hour doing some form of stretches, doing yoga, and then I'd still be in pain. So I'd probably spend the next half an hour trying to relax or do things at home that would also help my back and set myself up for the next day. So in terms of a social life or the ability to do anything after work was basically non-existent.

I was probably getting treatment two or three times a week. So whether that be two physios and one chiropractor or the other way round, about three treatments a week to maintain it. And then each treatment was costing around £50. So yeah, it was not really easy to save money or really have much of a social life because it just felt like maintenance.

How did you find out about BackHug?

I actually came into contact with one of the employees at BackHug who was telling me about it. He said he worked for this company that have this back pain solution and obviously immediately my ears perked up—something that's very interesting to me. I'm always keen to see if there's something new that I can try and he told me about the machine that they used, and I was automatically interested because I was spending this much money on treatment each week.

I was thinking "Well, if I can get a machine to do that treatment for me, I don't have to drive". Saves an hour and a half a day, really, just in travelling to the treatment place and then obviously saves a decent amount of money as well. So thought I'd give it a go with nothing to lose really, and signed up basically the next day.

Were you hesitant to try it?

Not really, to be honest. I've always been quite inquisitive with trying new things, so I saw this as absolutely got nothing to lose. I was a bit hesitant to sign up for a long contract, but they gave me a one month trial period, so that just tipped me over. I've got absolutely nothing to lose. If it helps me within that first month, then I'll continue. If it doesn't, I'll give the machine back. So it was a no brainer for me, really.

What was it like using BackHug for the first time?

The first time is a bit of an unusual feeling, I guess. You got these fingers protruding through and they rest right on the muscles alongside the spine and you're almost being sort of contorted by the machine thinking this is very strange, but within I'd say 10 minutes I was quite comfortable with it.

And the machine allows you to use different settings as well. So I started on quite a low intensity and then as I got more comfortable with the machine, increased the strength of the treatment and kind of got used to it that way.

How does the customization work?

It's broken down into four segments. You've got your lower back, your mid back, your upper back and your neck, and you can switch any of those completely off or turn them up to what's really quite a high strength. So if, for example, you've only got tightness in your upper back, you can shut everything else off and have it just treat your upper back. Or if you're more sensitive, for example, in your lower back, then you can turn it down to a lower setting there and have it more intense in your upper back.

How often do you use BackHug?

About six months now, I think. It varies, but I'd say probably about four times a week, and I definitely notice the weeks where I'm using it regularly I'm in significantly less pain, so I try to structure a way of using it after work most days now.

What makes BackHug different from other things you've tried?

Everything else I've tried has really only been able to target one specific area, at absolute most. So whether that's a massage gun where you can massage one area of your muscle or some form of ball which you can do soft tissue work with in your upper back, it's all very isolated to one area and the act of using it, you often have to get into an unrelaxed position where you're using some of these muscles in your back. So it just doesn't seem to be effective.

Whereas BackHug, the position that you are in on the machine fully elongates your spine and pushes you into this relaxed position and the machine is then able to treat you whilst you don't have to worry about angling round to reach this position. And I've found that to be far more effective.

When your legs are up in the air, that just takes all of the pressure out of your back. So all of the hip flexors are in a relaxed position when you've got your legs in the air. So it allows your back to be completely relaxed and then the machine can get to work.

How has BackHug helped with stress and breathing?

I graduated university with a degree and also being an almost expert in the world of back pain and understanding how the whole system hangs together. There's not just purely muscular issues—there's also things in your spinal alignment and your joints and your stress levels which really affect how much pain you're in your back.

And one thing I found is that if I have a stressful day sitting or just prolonged sitting, my back would hunch over and I'll almost get stuck in my upper back. And what that does is it causes me to breathe more from my upper chest, which in turn leads to higher stress levels.

BackHug helps me to relax whilst I'm actually on the machine, but the more important thing is it frees up the joint. And then afterwards, I notice that the breathing shifts from my upper chest to more in my lower stomach through my diaphragm.

What difference has BackHug made to your life?

It's really helped me actually. It's massively saved the amount of treatment I have to get. I don't have to go to get any treatment every week—I've spaced it out and get occasional top ups once, maybe twice a month. So it's saved me a huge amount of money, saved me a huge amount of time. And generally I'm in less pain day to day if I use it regularly. I can sit for a whole day basically, and I'll notice that I'm in discomfort a little bit, but compared to what it was, it's night and day.

Before I had the machine I was on this downwards progression, slowly getting more and more pain, and it's starting to reverse that process. More than anything, just that my back isn't limiting me in my career or in my personal life.

What about your social life and free time?

It's freed up a lot of time for me in the sense that every day I was either doing hours of stretches or going to get treatment, and I now have this 2 hours of my day unlocked. So I use that and quite often go to the gym and do exercises which are designed to strengthen my glutes or strengthen my core and hopefully will build towards a longer term solution.

It helps me go to the pub or finish work not in excruciating pain, knowing that I've got a solution which will set me up for the next day as well. So yeah, it's brought me back to a normal way of life. In terms of how much I was spending on treatment before I got the machine to how much I spend on treatment now with the machine, I'm in profit.

What would you say to others considering BackHug?

I mean, anyone who's really suffering, I'd recommend them to give it a try. I've often said to friends who've tweaked something at the gym or feel tight after having some heavy gym sessions, come round and use it for an hour, see if it helps because it does really free up a lot of tension in your back.

So if that is you and you come back and you just sit on the sofa and you're tweaking because you can't quite get comfortable, it could be a solution. It does just free up stress, stress from your back.