“The BackBadger® is one of the first times in my career that I’ve felt like I’m truly having an impact on peoples’ lives.” –Seth
They say that necessity is the mother of all invention. For BackBadger® co-creator Seth Heltsley, that necessity was getting rid of a huge pain in the neck.
Struggling with neck, shoulder, and upper back pain for years, Seth would find his life upended for weeks just trying to resolve the discomfort so he could return to his daily life. His flare ups would last a week or two at a time. His work and personal life were constantly interrupted – booking expensive massages, trying out posture-correcting devices that didn’t work, and anything else he thought might relieve the pain.
But when Seth discovered percussive massage guns, he found the closest thing he could to instant relief. The one downside is, they're hard to control without help (unless you're a professional contortionist).
With his background in product design, Seth saw a way to put control of his massage gun into his own hands, and created the BackBadger® – a universal massage gun handle – to achieve that goal.
“Before the BackBadger®, my flare-ups were like a week or two long. Over the first couple days, my muscles would seize up, I’d get limited range of motion and fairly constant pain. I would do things like take muscle relaxants and get massages. Eventually, I’d work through it. The difference with the BackBadger® is probably three 5-minute sessions over the span of as many days, and I’m back to normal.
“Having a way to be able to self-administer that treatment, whenever I needed it and without bothering other people, and just being in control of it? That was something that I wanted, and I saw a way to do it.
“There are a lot of people out there who could benefit from percussive massage on the back side of their body. Anyone who wants to have control over their own treatment.” –Seth
The BackBadger's ergonomic design creates a pivot point when held by one arm against the body. The other hand guides the handle, which is aligned perfectly with the massage gun's tip. Pushing forward on the handle is essentially the same as pushing directly on the back of the massage gun. This lets you apply pressure precisely where needed, with maximum control and with minimal stress.
Even though Seth created the BackBadger® with his own pain in mind, what gets Seth out of bed today is improving the product, so that it can help others free themselves from their own chronic pain.
“The BackBadger® is one of the first times — especially the first time that I’ve owned the product of my work — where I’ve felt like I’m truly starting to have an impact on people’s lives.
“Helping someone to free themselves from pain is really huge. Having that personal experience with chronic pain, and knowing I’ve had a hand in helping someone get out of that is just really rewarding. That keeps me going.” –Seth