I have three herniated discs in my neck and I have suffered from almost constant upper back and neck pain for the last 15 years. I have tried literally everything out of desperation. Sure physical therapy works and strong pain killers do too, but I have to say that this massager has saved me a lot of money and tears. I does work, especially if you feel that your muscles are sore and a muscle spasm is about to come. You will need someone to do it for you though. It is heavy and it's impossible for me to use it on myself on my own. If you can get someone to massage the area (strong massage, just be strong and resist!) for about 10 minutes 3 times a day, in most cases the pain will go away. Jut make sure you do NOT use it directly on any bone or joint, only the muscle. Remember it will hurt, but in my case it makes the pain disappear in less than 24 hours. I think it is very effective if it is stress or tension related pain.
I use an ointment, "Penetrex" right after to help the healing. "Sciatica" oil can help as well.
It is NOT a good option if you are suffering a strong crisis and you are in excruciating pain.

I have owned this before and it was AWESOME! However, I had to reorder because the electric cord was ripped out by accident to my old one.(my fault) I received it in great time, but there is an issue with the speed button. If I roll it up to the highest power/speed of massage, it stays there until I place it on my shoulder or leg to massage and then it immediately goes down to the lowest speed. It will not stay in any speed other then low.Just bummed, I use this a lot. I have a disease and when my legs or shoulders ache it helps me get rid of the problems.

I don't know why I waited over three years to write this review but I probably forgot about it because I had some serious health issues going on back then. Anyway, this massager is awesome! It is somewhat large and heavy for me but it has the right weight when you use it over your should and need that extra heft to go along with the strong vibrations. Its like a jackhammer in a way because it has a strong tapping or "bobbing" action that works on super tight muscles. My shoulders get hard as rocks and nothing can soften them except this machine. Also, I get low back pain and pain deep in my glutes. If you've ever been to a massage therapist and laid face down on the table and had him/her use their elbow to massage out your hip and butt muscles, then you know what I am talking about. This device gets into the larger muscles that most massagers can't even deal with because they don't have the size and the weight. With smaller or inferior massagers (and more expensive I might add), you have to use a strong pressure. But not with this thing! This has its own action and weight to it to do most of the work.

Like some people said, there is the infrared on the back side of it which in a way, sort of makes it useless because you want the infrared and the massager to work as a one-step unit but unfortunately, it isn't. Personally, that aspect didn't bother me because I have bean bags, neck wraps, and other stuff I can use for the heat therapy part. Even without infrared, this massager is still worth it for me! And it is very inexpensive compared to the compact power you get out of it.

The other really good aspect other than its power, is that it has a scrolling action to increase or decrease the rate of vibration from very low to very high gradually so that you do not have to push a button multiple times to get the right rate. The "tapping" or "bobbing" ("jackhammer") effect does not diminish with the increase or decrease of vibration and remains constant.

I use the dome with the tip on my shoulders. The regular dome is okay but doesn't break through the hard shoulder muscles as easily in my opinion. For me, it cuts the session time in half because I don't have to work as hard or use my own strength to get the device to get into the muscles. I had two other massagers that were "light weight" compared to this and I threw them away because I was doing most of the work trying to get through the thick muscle tissues, especially trying to get to the hard to reach places on your back and shoulders. This thing can handle large muscle groups like quads (thighs), hamstrings, butt muscles, and shoulder muscles and had a big enough head end to cover a decent area. The attachment parts are made of hard plastic, not porous. They won't give like some massagers. This is a good thing if you need to deal with locked up muscles. It makes noise but not as much as you would think considering its power and size.

These are the pros! Now the cons, if you can call it that. The device has only three interchangeable heads. One is dome shaped. The other is dome shaped with a kind of nub at the top of the dome. And the third is a hard bristle end - which I suppose is useful if you want to rub all your skin off your scalp or body part to take it down to the bone. I mean, maybe I am missing something here but I think something more clever (for the ladies/) would be a better accessory to this "master blaster". The other con is that the cord could be longer. I measured the cord and it is 68 inches - about 5.5 feet or so long. And that is barely enough to reach a wall outlet and get to the sofa or chair and use it comfortably. I wish it had a battery operation option.

For me, this is a mighty powerful massager and worth every penny! I wish it had some additional attachments to make things more interesting but it is a beast when it comes to getting the knots and steel plates off your shoulders, back, and legs. Highly recommended!

This massager works OK for someone with strong arms, long reach, and high pain tolerance. Given that, it does relieve tight muscles quickly.

Unfortunately, I bought it for my Mother, who is an elderly woman with short arms, and who bruises easily. The unit is very heavy and it's hard to reach the entire back with it. Also, it beats up on you like a prize boxer. The lower setting does not make the hammer stroke any lighter, it just decreases the frequency. In some areas it's just too much. Using it on the neck feels downright dangerous - it shakes the whole head and feels like it might break it (the neck, that is). To my mind, a massager that cannot be used on the neck loses a lot of it's usefulness, since the neck is often the problem.

So it is useless for my Mother. I am not sure if I will keep it for myself. It does help my shoulders and upper back very well, and the heat option is good, but I would much prefer a unit that has gentle as well as hard options.

I can't recommend it, unfortunately.

I have had no issues. I love this thing. For some reason my back is always hurting and I find that when I use this, I actually need to use it less and less. It makes your back itch yes, but that's how you know its working. I often get professional massages for constant pain between my shoulder blades, and I can honestly say that this machine works better than the professional massage therapists (at least in for my chronic pain). It loosens up scar tissue to allow for more flexibility. I am happy with my purchase, no mechanical issues either.