- Value: 20/20
- Functionality: 18/20
- Quality/Ease of Use: 20/20
- Aesthetics: 20/20
- Back support: 19/20
TOTAL: 97/100
Back pain is this ubiquitous thing that everybody and their dad (definitely their dad) seems to suffer from. But it doesn’t quite resonate until you’re one leg into a pair of leggings as lightning bolts of agony coarse through your torso. Well, at least that’s what happened to me the morning of my first Covid vaccine shot. I could hardly put pressure on my left leg as I huffed and puffed down my apartment building’s four flights of stairs in anguish. Getting into the car was its own stiff gymnastics and every upcoming speed bump a terror. That day, I saw a physical therapist to no real relief. Sitting was painful. Lying down was painful. And oh, at that point I was late into my second trimester of pregnancy. So, of course everyone’s extremely helpful advice was the same damn stretch (which hurt my back even more) and simply: “It will go away when you have the baby.” Uh, thanks.
Over two weeks, the pain became all-encompassing—not only changing how I physically led my days, but also impacting my emotional and mental well-being. I officially had access to Grunting Dads with Back Pain Club. I tried the standing desk thing, but really, the only recourse that seemed to help me was this pressure-relief seat cushion by CushionLab. I’d take it from my desk to the couch and even to the bed with me—not ideal since it’s meant for a chair, not a bed, and staying on top of it during the night proved its own challenge. I began dreading going to bed and waking up from a bad night’s sleep