I had a Sunbeam electric massager, the kind with a dimpled rotating ball attached to the end of a wand, but it started getting noisy after a few decades of use and I lent to someone whom I’d as soon not speak to again, so I’m in the market. I mostly use to work on my my lower back (I used to lie on top of the ball and fidget around until I hit the right spot) and I can’t seem to find a similiar design.
Anyone use one that works well?
I highly recommend the Hitachi Magic Wand. Though I’ve gotten many years of use out of it, I have never used it on my back, but I have used it on my husband’s. He said it works well.
Seconded (by my wife). It’s very powerful. Wink wink nudge nudge say no more say no more.
Joe
Above post says:
> Wink wink nudge nudge say no more say no more.
I WILL say more!
There is NO subsitute for a massage done by live hands and fingers, in particular if said hands and fingers are even moderately skilled at it!
And, of course, if you are comfortable with the person attached to said hands and fingers, be that person a friend (or something more 
) or a bona-fide professional. (This might tend to exclude most of those free massage offers on Craigslist, but hey, you never know.) :eek:
Not always an option, though…
Joe
The hitachi magic wand is pretty widely agreed to be the best massager on the market in terms of reliability, durability, and price (it hovers around $50, though you can find it on sale in the low $40 range if you’re patient). If you’re actually looking to rub your back with it, it’s great. If you’re looking to rub your genitals with it, it’s great. The only complaint I’ve read is that its low speed is higher than most massagers’ high speeds. If you need it to go lower than its native low speed, though, you can always buy one of those inline sliders. Plug the wand into the slider, and plug the slider into the wall. Then it can go as low as nothing and as high as “insanely strong.” Just for a reference point, I use it on high when I’m massaging my face with it (to relieve jaw tension and drain my sinuses while lying down). But I almost always keep it on low below the belt. On high, it’s a freaking madhouse.
Also, it gets warm after 30 minutes of continuous use. I suppose technically it could overheat, but that’s never happened to me. If you need to use it for more than a half-hour at a go, I’d recommend buying two.
It looks like the Hitachi magic wand is the massager of choice. What’s an inline slider?
I don’t know the technical term for it. It’s a dongle that you plug electric stuff into that makes it into a continuously-variable slider.
I love my shiatsu pillow…
Bed, Bath and Beyond for around 40 bucks!
Something like this?
For massage purposes, I own something like this, though the one I have was about 40 bucks at Bed Bath and Beyond. I don’t love it for use on the back, but when I was still trying to be medication-free for my RLS, I used to use it to pound my legs into submission.
I don’t believe I’d recommend it for any other, um, below-the-waist purposes :eek:.