Top positive review
5 people found this helpful
If you have lower back problems, just buy it!
By Barbara on Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2025
I don’t usually write reviews, but I’m doing this one to help others. I have a myriad of back problems including scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, and flat back. It has gotten so bad if I stand for any length of time, the pain running down the back of my leg is excruciating. It seems I can’t sleep in a bed anymore because the pain and stiffness in the morning is unbearable. I have a Tempurpedic which I don’t recommend. I’ve tried various other beds and nope. I haven’t tried everything out there, but not super excited to spend $5K plus on a new bed. While searching for chair supports, I ran into this. Seemed kinda speedy for foam, but I was desperate. It has been worth every penny. I use the zero gravity set up to sleep and while I still have a bit of pain in the morning, it’s NOTHING like sleeping in a bed. I can actually stand up without much pain in the morning. It takes all of the pressure off my lower back. My bad has a chance to unclench and actually relax and rest. I also use a memory foam lumbar support cushion because the lumbar bump on the Backmax isn’t much and the extra support cushion really helps. I am a 6’ tall, about 175 lbs, woman. I bought the 28” and while my shoulders fit, they lay flat on the back piece which causes me dull pain. I use bed pillows on both sides to support my arms which is much better. I wish there were zipper-on arms. Speaking of which…spend the extra money…you want this one with zippers. I don’t see how separate pieces would work. I’m sure they’d come apart, plus, in my sleep I’d probably push them away and turn on my side. I am so comfortable on this that I don’t move around and it keeps me from being able to turn over anyway. I tried using the system on top of my bed, but I found it lost support. I keep it on the floor with a rug underneath. When you first sit down you’ll feel the hard floor under your behind, but once you lie back you kind of lift up and don’t feel the floor nor any weight on your behind. It’s awkward to to get off of it because of the shape, so you may struggle a little bit if you have limited mobility getting up off the ground. I sort of flip/roll off to the side, get to my knees then up from there. While I am plenty comfortable on this without a pillow and sometimes prefer that, it comes with an extra, softer neck pillow which isn’t bad. I tried a contour pillow, but due to the angle and firmness of the back cushion, it pushed my head up too much. As far as length goes, at 6 feet with a 34 inch inseam, with the expandable section between the the back and knee piece, I just make it. I’m too tall for using the foot cushion flipped forward, so I fold it back on the knee section and my feet are at the end without hanging off. You could just remove that part, but I don’t find it comfortable with my feet down and I think it takes away from the zero gravity. I think that if you are shorter than maybe 5’5, the proportions might be too long, and if you have an inseam longer than 34”, possibly too short, but I’d suggest trying it. As I write this, I’m visiting my mother. I ordered a second Backmax for her house, but, unfortunately, it didn’t arrive until the second day. I spent the night in the guest bed and all I can say is thank God I ordered the second one and it got here! If you are in pain and struggle to sleep because you need more lower back support and keep your spine straight, buy this thing!!!! The $250 is pennies compared to the relief I feel. Best wishes that you feel better!
Top critical review
67 people found this helpful
Comfortable but too short and moves a part
By Terry on Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2022
I am 6' 2" male with a bad back. I must sleep reclined at an angle and the angle the back pillow portion is too shallow for me. I need to prop it up further but if I turn it around to the sitting up position it is too high for sleeping. It is not possible to keep the two main wedges right next to each other where you get in that zero gravity position they talk about. The two move a part each time but the zippered and stretch material keep them from separating too far a part. There is this zero pillow area at that point though so you really can not lay this on the floor without any pillows or mattress under it at least where your butt lands. I do not really like the memory foam and prefer it be a little more supportive than what it is but it is solid and you don't really push into it. I just don't like the memory foam feel. The little pillow is directional which they don't show in the pictures so you have to reverse it turning it around if the wrong end is facing your head and neck. Which you have to do by feel of course because I am not going to get up to turn it around. I use a similar type of material blanket and put over the sleep system instead of laying directly on the attached cover. Good luck getting that off and on if you need to wash it. It really does not smell coming out of the box but after you unroll it removing it from the tightly compressed vacuum suctioned wrapping. Good luck returning this if you had to. You will NEVER get it back into that compressed state again. It does fold up into a cube and you can use it as a little table if you wanted to. The foot thing that is suppose to fold up to support your full legs and feet. It keeps moving away and falling down the back so your legs are NOT as shown in the picture for the FULL recline position. I used to use pillows to extend out for my calves and feet but that was actually annoying after awhile because the pillows are much softer and less support than the sleep system material and it just feels weird laying out and your feet are in softer pillow than the rest of you, I don't like that feeling so I don't use the pillows anymore to extend out the feet part. Because of my back I can't really lay on this for an entire sleep cycle. Most I can do is around 6 hours then I have to get up and lay in my recliner. This is comfortable but I need it more angled up for the back support, I used various things from boxes to yoga support blocks to raise the back up and it works but is pain to set it up each night and if you don't have enough support under the back when you do this I can see it breaking at the pressure points your weight put on it. I don't get the zero gravity triangle wedge you can place yourself into with this. Because at that point where your butt hits the ground. It HURTS if you have no pillows under there. The two wedges separate moving apart. That whole we have this rough bottom that prevents it from moving is a LIE!. It does move. UNLESS you are short and not very heavy. I am TALL and heavy, the pillows move apart. If they were not zippered together they would move across the room from each other leaving me on the floor. Tried it. If you are going to do the zero gravity and you are TALL and heavy you need to put the back pillow UNDER the leg wedge portion where your upper leg and butt are supported by pillow and not directly on the floor. This may break or damage the wedges over time, I don't know. It is the only way I can do the Zero Gravity position but the problem is these two sections slide a part. AND when you do this you are shortening the length of the system so your legs hang over the bottom of the system even more. Not very comfortably. After experiencing the Zero Gravity and the regular position. I don't get it. Not really much of a difference to me. The idea sounds comfortable the reality is the system is too short to really do this well if you are over 6' tall. There is no smell to it. Right out the box there is a smell but it fades over hours, days. Is more a boxing smell than a product smell that lasts and lasts. There is warning messages all over the wrapping to not use a sharp instrument to cut the wrapper or plastic it is wrapped in. You don't really need a knife or scissors other than opening the box. The plastic wrapper slides or rolls off so no need to cut anything other than the box to open it. I was sleeping on it 6 hours after taking it out of the box and letting it puff up. It still needed to puff up more but I was tired so I slept on it, as is, at the 6 hour mark. Then over the next week it filled out 100%. I wasn't paying attention to how long it took. It was more days than a week. If you put this on a bed I can see you falling off the bed if you roll. If you are a slide sleeper, do not get this product. I can't get comfortable on my side with this. You are forced into a back only position. If you unzip or do not zip the pieces they will move a part on you when you are laying on them as shown in the pictures. If you are short and or do not weigh very much this may not happen. I am keeping this but it does need adjustment to fit me personally for both angle of back to make it higher and for length. They designed this for short people in length and tall people for back and butt wedge but neither for keeping it together and the anti-slip material on the bottom needs a different kind of material to actually keeping it from moving on carpet and non-carpeted floors it slides like no other.
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