I tried Therabody’s new gadget for my lower back and now my whole family loves it

I’ve suffered from an achy lower back for as long as I can remember; I work at a desk and do heavy weightlifting four times a week, so it doesn’t come as a massive shock.

Usually, I’d type away at my desk with a hot water bottle stuffed behind my back to offer some temporary relief, that was until I was given the chance to try the new ThermBack LED from Therabody. Not only has it significantly reduced my lower back pain, but my family is hooked on it too.

What is the Therabody ThermBack?

The device looks a bit gimmicky, but it’s essentially this big belt that you strap on which delivers four types of science-backed treatments: LED light therapy, heat therapy, vibration therapy and far infrared. According to Therabody, these are meant to work together to help relieve lower back pain, speed up recovery, and even improve mobility.

It has three heat and vibration levels so that you can customise it, depending on the treatment intensity you need. After 20 minutes, the belt will automatically turn off and it has a full run time of 180 minutes. The belt is also fully adjustable so that it can fit various body types, and stay in place with everyday movements.

How I found the ThermBack

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly skeptical about the ThermBack at first. But since it arrived on my doorstep last week, I’ve been using it every day for around 40 minutes, and my lower back has never felt better, genuinely.

I think what I like about it the most is that not only is it convenient—you simply strap it on and can continue with whatever task you're doing—but combining the four therapies makes it extremely effective, with Therabody claiming it’s actually the most advanced therapeutic back wrap on the market.

It’s not just me who rates it. My sister, who had a bad back over the weekend, tried it and by Monday texted asking, ‘What was the name of that product again?’. Then my dad, who had an MRI scan last year showing disc damage in his lower back, decided to try it too. A tough critic, he thought it’d be useless, but was surprised by how much less pain he felt getting up in the morning or after sitting for long periods.

I’ve not just been using it on my lower back either, I’ve strapped it up near my shoulder and around the middle of my back, to get more of a full-rounded treatment, and found this works just as well. My only gripe is that it takes two hours to fully charge which is pretty long, especially as I keep draining the battery with how regularly I’m using it.

As with anything Therabody, the ThermBack isn’t cheap and costs £219.99. But, in all honesty, I think this is very reasonable. While it is currently sold out on Therabody in the UK—which I think is a testament to how good it is— you can buy it at John Lewis (and save some money off), and it's still available on the US site and Australian site.

It will be a sad day when I have to hand it back over, but Dad has already said if it continues to work he’ll be buying one, so looks like I’ll just be stealing his for the foreseeable.