Good or bad? I love them but my friend refuses to get one. He says it makes him realize his back is sore, I dont agree. So…what do you guys think?
Good, especially when done by an attractive “friend” of the opposite sex :D.
I agree 
but that’s not exactly what I was looking for. How bout does getting a back rub make your back feel worse because (to loosely quote my friend) “now you know what it feels like to not have a sore back”?
One possibility for what your friend experiences is this: stress and muscle tension, as well as lack of exercise, tend to let lactic acid accumulate in muscles. A good massage will stimulate circulation in the muscles enough to get some of the acid moving around. After this, the person will actually feel more sore, until the body filters the acid out of the bloodstream.
One other idea is that he might be so accustomed to feeling aches and pains in his back that he has effectively tuned it out. A massage, properly done, will bring awareness into the area being worked on. This could make him aware of the pain that he was previously ignoring.
Personally, I love a nice backrub. They turn me into a pile of mush. Mmmmmmmmm.
I used to give killer back rubs back in my collegiate days.
Can’t anymore. My hands cramp up too easily - they’ll cramp up just driving for more than about 20 minutes.
We would give eachother back rubs in chorus during warm-ups to help us relax our shoulders. Man I miss that class 
Becky, you said:
This is it exactly. See, IQ, my logic isn’t messed up!
Perhaps someone is rubbing someone else the wrong way
The way you present it it is So do you just lack exercise or have you tuned out the pain teppei dear?
The day I fell for a girlfriend in Synogogue Youth Group, it was during a sleep-over in shul. ( "Shul-Ins, they were called. 85 teenagers with sleeping bags. Oooooh the memories). I gave Rani a backrub that put her completely to sleep. NOT the desired result 
Seriously, one can go all the way from a light caress to Rolfing. I am a huge proponent of backrubs and caresses. Aside from the more"earthy" stimulation, the gentle caressing of the area around the spinal cord is a delightful thing. Perhaps just the right method needs to be found for your friend. A purely professional massage perhaps ( and, no filthy comments here, I do mean a thorough massage by a licensed therapist). Or, maybe something more intimate? It will almost surely feel good, if you can find the right method for him.
My .02 cents.
Cartooniverse
it’s not that I don’t realize backrubs feel good, I’m sure that they do. but, as becky stated, if you feel pain/soreness/tightness constantly, you become accustomed to it. One good backrub will ruin that years worth of effort, and you will find yourself longing for a backrub.
What’s wrong with wanting a back rub?
it distracts you. There are alot more important things to think about. And, most of thetime, people don’t care about how sore your back is.
teppei has a point. There is something to be said for being accustomed to the pain. It becomes a lot more bearable when you’re used to it. If you make it go away for a day or two, or maybe even a few hours, you realize it’s there much more when it comes back.
I do still like back rubs though, because the pleasure they bring outweighs the negative in my mind.
PeeQueue
I get a profession massage at least once a month. The first one hurt since I was carrying around years of tension in the muscles. But now they are always relaxing and I always feel better afterwards.
If you get “used to” holding tension and stress in your body & mind, and refuse to let go of it, over time it will degrade your immune system. You’ll be healthier, happier, and have a clearer mind if you let go of the tension – let someone massage it out, or do yoga relaxation or something. Once you break through to being clear of stress, you’ll be glad you did and wonder how you could have injured yourself going through life holding onto it.
I don’t think the back pain we’re talking about necessarily has anything to do with tension or stress. Medical science today is still not 100% sure what causes all back pain, and a lot of people are not willing to go through a big operation to fix something that they can live with, and which goes away after a few months most of the time.
A back rub doesn’t fix any real problems you may have with your back, it just feels good temporarily.
Also, you sounded a lot like some sort of mystic.
*Disclaimer: I like back rubs.
PeeQueue
Depends on the person and the technique - there are some people I know who give wonderful back-rubs. I feel wonderful for days, and by just remembering that back-rub, I can release the tension. There are some people, OTH, who, as well meaning as they are, will not get within a 1/2 mile radius of my back. Their touch is too light or too heavy (and yes, I do tell them) and I end up more stressed from being tickled or in more pain (neither of which appeals to me).
And, like wring, I can no longer reciprocate (and I was well-known for relaxing back-rubs). Ah, the glory days long past.
Crack yer knuckles, wring. I have the same problem, but cracking my knuckles seriously lessens the pain and cramping.
Sua