Received my Flexguard Support back brace in a timely manner. Please allow me to address a few of the reviews I read before making my purchase.
1) "It had a rubbery smell." Of course it does. A brand new neoprene product should have a "rubbery smell." IT'S NEW. If it didn't smell, I'd suspect I'd received a returned item.
2) "It's uncomfortable." Actually, it's not uncomfortable. Adjust the straps and waist belt correctly, then sit and/or stand using correct posture and you'll hardly notice it's there. The most likely reason I can think of for the brace to be uncomfortable is that the wearer is still using poor posture. The brace isn't magic. It can't correct years of poor posture simply by putting it on. The wearer must supply the effort needed to correct their own posture. As soft and pliable as the brace is, it can only be a gentle reminder of correction needed.
Now, as far as my own usage is concerned. My only comment, and reason for the 4 vs 5 star rating, is that it would have been better (for me, at least) if the belt portion was wider.
That's it. I'm a happy customer.
Thank you. (And no, I was NOT compensated for this review.)

This is a good support system for a very reasonable price.. I injured my lower back (resulting in surgery) five months before buying this posture corrector. All my life I had less than optimal posture where I would hunch forward. This likely contributed to the overall weakness in my lower back and now results in lower back pain when I hunch forward for even short amounts of time. The product forces me to keep my back straight and shoulders back. resulting in me both sitting and standing straighter, even when not wearing the product. It really helps the lower back pain that results from sitting or standing with my upper body hunched forward.

Pros:
- Relatively comfortable and can be worn for longer and longer without undue fatigue
- The adjustable shoulder straps help you find the right amount of tension to keep your shoulders back
- Lightweight and easily work under t-shirts or dress shirts without anyone seeing externally

Opportunities for Improvement:
- The velcro loop patches on the waist belt could be better positioned and layered. I bought an XL size (I'm 6'1" tall, 215lbs and have a 35" waist) and it is a little big for my waist, requiring me to tighten it beyond the available velcro loop. The waist belt is a wide main belt with reinforcing straps on each side. The outer side of the main belt has a 6" swath of velcro loop, about 1.5" of space, and another 1" swath of velcro loop. The inner tip of the right side has about 2" of velcro hook. It would be better if there was simply a single swath of velcro loop that extended a few inches from where the 1" loop patch currently sits. This would allow me to tighten the main belt and put less strain on the reinforcing straps.

Regardless, If something happened to the belt I have, I'd buy another one of these.

There's a lot of things that you should be doing to reduce back pain. Good sleep, exercise, stretching, diet....that's all well and good but for some of us we are still sitting 10+ hours everyday for work. Nothing ventured nothing gained, I ordered the brace to see if it could help reduce my back pain. Does it work though?

In short, yes It took about 2 weeks for me to notice an improvement.

If this is correcting poor posture, what causes it? I knew before ordering that I wasn't in peak physical shape and that diet and exercise would probably reduce if not eliminate the pain. But I'm still doing a sitting marathon everyday at work. Sitting for that long has be hard on the body regardless of how fit you are. In my opinion if you are sitting for 8-10+ hours a day, even if you are in excellent shape, you can still benefit from a back brace like this. Again, just my opinion. I'm not a medical professional, just making observations based on experience and my own research.

My only complaint, which I think is worth knocking off a star for, is the sizes. I am just over 190 and got the XL...it's a bit too large. Please make a size inbetween L and XL..maybe between 170 and 200?

I work at a desk for hours a day and have terrible sitting posture. this brace seems to be helping so far, but it runs pretty big. I gained some weight due to back issues, and am a bit bigger than i'd like to be, so I went with the Xl, thinking i will go down in size once i shed my pounds, but I think a large would have been much better. the arm holes won't go as small as i need them to be and i have to cinch it pretty low on my body to get it to pull my shoulders back which is a little uncomfortable.

Horrible cheap material. Don't waste your money. And they charge for shipping on returns. Go figure, I bet people return this item a lot