With improvements in technology over the last few decades, most of us don’t need to chase our food, work labor intensive jobs, and live a pretty comfortable life. Most of us spend at least 8 hours a day sitting in front of the computer, we drive home sitting down, and when we get home, we’re sitting around watching TV or just relaxing. It’s safe to say we spent a majority of our waking hour sitting down, hunched over a computer, or laid back on the couch.
This lifestyle seems very comfortable, but it’s also having adverse effects on our health. Thanks to hours in front of the computer, a lot of people develop neck, shoulder, and back pains. I know first hand, I have major neck and lower back issues thanks to spending 10+ hours in front of the computer.
There are solutions for these pains and aches, getting up and stretching once an hour or so, getting exercise, and getting massages seem to work great (at least for me). I usually go to a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) once a month, but I still feel neck pains between these visits, and for those minor aches, there’s a solution.
The solution is truMedic InstaShiatsu+ Neck & Back Massager with Heat. A couple of weeks ago I received one of these portable massage machines, I honestly wasn’t expecting too much from this machine. I’ve reviewed plenty of cars with so-called “massage” seats, which don’t really do much, so my expectations for the InstaShiatsu+ were pretty low.
Using it just for a few minutes, I was completely surprised, it actually worked pretty good for general soreness. I mean it’s no RMT, but for what it is, it’s really good. My neck gets quite sore on a daily basis, so I’ve been using the InstaShiatsu+ between my visits to the RMT to relax my neck muscles. After 10 minutes of use, my neck feels a lot looser and the aches go away.
The InstaShiatsu+ has been quite a hit with my other family members as well, whenever one of them visits, within minutes, I see someone making use of the massager. Everyone seems to like it and are surprised by the fact that it actually relieves their aches, a few of them are planning on getting their own InstaShiatsu massagers.
Using the truMedic InstaShiatsu+ is pretty easy, simply wrap it around your back or put it on your neck and put your arms through the loops and away you go. Pulling down on the loops increases the pressure where the machine is making contact, therefore giving a deeper massage. The machine comes with an on/off button, a button for changing the direction of the rotating “balls”, and an on/off button for the heat. Although the machine’s name says “neck and back massager”, you can actually use it on other parts of your body too, see image below.
The InstaShiatsu+ comes with a charging adapter and a bag. The materials on the bag and the massager are top quality and the massager’s surface is easy to clean. The massager comes with a built-in rechargeable battery pack, which takes about an hour and a half to charge and is able to operate for over an hour. It is recommended to use the machine for 20 minutes at a time and then give it a break, it’s also suggested not to massage over one area for more than 20 minutes.
Overall, I was very impressed with the truMedic InstaShiatsu+ massager, it works really well on the usual body aches and pain. Of course, if you have major aches/pains, you should see a doctor, but for general soreness, it’s a great companion and it’s portable and doesn’t take much room.
The truMedic InstaShiatsu+ is currently priced at $119.97 US (regularly $299.97) and in Canada it’s priced at $159.65 CAD, this price changes with the current exchange rate.
