A new product in the back pain relief category is picking up a lot of positive attention in the Amazon marketplace. The $32 Body Back Buddy: The Sport Pain Reliever Self Massage Tool has received 4.6/5 stars and more than fifty glowing reviews.

Very few people have any qualms with this unique-looking device, which works using trigger points, much like massage or acupuncture, to unlock the body's natural endorphins and pain relievers. Why take prescription discomfort medication when you can encourage the body to do its job better -- and cheaper?

Paul Nash, designer of the Body Back Buddy: The Sport Pain Reliever Self Massage Tool says he was looking for "lightweight, versatile, affordable, and simple" pain relief products while in massage school. The 27-inch tool comes in an S-shaped cane, with 11 trigger point knobs and an easy-to-grip handle.

You'll get a 12-page instruction booklet with your purchase, although the basic gist is that you position a therapy knob over the painful area on your back and hold the tool by the handle or frame. You then push away from your body with your lower hand, while using your other hand to guide the therapy knob.

The makers say you can use the healing pressure on your legs, arms, feet, chest and hips. You can use it sitting, standing, lying down or with a partner. "Pressure preferences vary from one person to another; deep and intense or gentle and relaxing," the company website says, so you will need to play around with the tool to see what feels best for you.

Consumers report using the Body Back Buddy: The Sport Pain Reliever Self Massage Tool for chronic back discomfort, fibromyalgia, muscle spasms, work-related tension, painful muscle knots, shoulder aches and overexertion. "After 10 years of considering back pain to be a constant in my life, a chiropractor virtually ended my discomfort using trigger point therapy. I hadn't realized how much life I was giving up due to back pain until the discomfort was gone," writes M.

Wisinewski, who adds: "Now whenever I get tense, painful knots in my back, I am able to message them out myself with the Body Back Buddy Classic. I find this device to save me much time, money and pain." Many people say that this device is a wonderful answer between expensive massage appointments and chiropractor visits.

Some reviewers lament that the Body Back Buddy: The Sport Pain Reliever Self Massage Tool isn't just a little bit smaller and more portable to stuff in gym bags or briefcases, as it's such an effective self-massager. Other people admit that it was a little tricky to find the best methods of self-massage in the beginning or mention the Clair Davies trigger point workbook as an excellent companion to this product. Many critics say they respond to foam rollers or plastic balls better than this odd-looking massager.