Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Buy it! I am 43. 235 pounds. 6 feet. Had spent the last two months with wicked sciatica up and down my right leg. I am relatively active, I think. I do cardio three to five times a week, play golf once a week, chase my kids and dog and keep on keepin' on, but this sciatica had me crippled. I tried to fight through it (former wrestler that I am), but, when I started to regularly turn in golf scores that were 7-10 strokes higher than normal, I knew I had a problem! After a day at my desk, I literally had to drag my right foot behind me since the glute and hamstring were so tight I couldn't extend them and the nerve pain when I tried to do so was intense. This thing arrived ten days ago. I had to unpack it and move it piece by piece into my house because I was in so much pain I couldn't move the box. It's heavy - 80 pounds or so - but I would normally pick something like this up and move it myself. If it wasn't for the pain, the assembly would have been a breeze. Took about 45 minutes, but I was seriously hobbled. I'm relatively handy, but you don't need to be to put this together. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. The machine is big and some of its parts are bulky and somewhat heavy, but if you're the size person that needs one this big, you'll be fine. Assembled, I got on, took my time getting fully inverted and - POP! - something slid back in to place and my entire body felt lighter. I walked into the next room and my wife was shocked to see me upright and walking normally. I did a couple deep knee bends and started laughing. Now, this sciatica has been digging in for a long couple months and so it didn't go away permanently. It still persists but to a much lesser degree than before and it is improving every day. I do five minutes fully inverted in the morning and five in the evening when I get home from work. Add in stretching and a heating pad off and on while sitting, and I am functional again after 10 days. I can walk heel to toe, and fully extend my right hamstring when I walk now. I can swing a golf club again. Throughout this process, I've done lots of massage, stretching and heat. The inversion table is what made the difference. Maybe it wouldn't have without all the other activities, but I can't say for sure. I can say that after ten days I feel much better. Not 100% but getting there. This thing is solid and works well. The ankle sleeves are comfortable enough. I'm ready to be done at five minutes, but it's not painful. I've tried others that were painful. These cuffs are adjustable on the front and back and playing with that helps. The plunger/ratchet mechanism to lock the feet in is fantastic. The other type of pin mechanism would be agony if you have trouble bending over, which you probably do if you're looking at this. Functional, sturdy, sized-right for a big guy, and a reasonable price. Buy it now and feel better soon. Good luck. Update (Nov 2, 2015): I've been using this table five mornings a week for about 7 weeks now. Initially, because my sciatica was so bad, I was doing a morning and evening session, but that only lasted for two weeks. My pain disappeared and so there was no need for two-a-days. 7 weeks in, this thing is still great and sturdy. I've long since gotten used to the ankle clamps. As long as I have sneakers on, there's no pain there. I have size 13 feet, so I have to shimmy my feet in and out, but it takes two seconds and I have a very secure fit. The tighter you can ratchet the clamp into position, the more comfortable you'll be. I go back and forth with the lumbar pad. I think I prefer it without it. In addition to this machine, I've been doing yoga usually about 4 mornings a week, with a significant focus on hamstring, glute, hip flexibility, core strength and lower back stretch/strength. I had been doing the yoga for about a month prior to buying this machine and I wasn't really getting any sciatica relief except for a couple hours after the yoga. Then I had some super strength NSAIDS from my doctor. Still nothing even close to partial or complete relief. This machine made the difference. Two or three weeks of regular use and I stopped using the NSAIDS. I'm back to playing and practicing golf regularly, sitting, standing and walking without pain and with complete range of motion, achieving significantly deeper stretches while doing yoga, doing regular cardio work, house DIY chores, etc. I'm back to normal, and, if anything, I'm now stronger and more flexible. It is now a permanent part of my routine. Whatever exercise I do in the morning, I finish with 6 minutes on this table. If you have sciatica, you know how crippling it can be. While I don't know if this table would be a magic bullet all by itself, I have found it to be an invaluable part of a multi-prong strategy to combat the sciatica and I found this table to be the activity that put me over the top. Good luck.