Rebuilder's Forum

[Dean]

Admin: This thread was started by Brad S. who asked if anyone had any thoughts about the True Back device he'd seen in an infomercial.

Unfortunately, Brad's original post and three replies were lost due to a software glitch. (Sorry Brad.) I've been able to recover the text of that message from a previous backup and I'm looking into how to manually restore it in the database. In the meantime, I've pasted it below so you can at least read it.


Brad S. wrote:

[Brad S]

Dean,
Thank you for your insight! That is a very good point that they don't provide the specific study results. Really, when I check out the website, it doesn't turn me on the product at all simply because there is hardly any information and just a few customer reviews that I guess anyone could've written.

However, the infomercial they have out is what really got me excited. There are so many real people sharing their experiences and you can really tell they're just ordinary folks (unless they're just really good actors). The thing that sparked my interest the most is how it's supposed to provide immediate results if you're having a particularly bad morning or whatever (which I think all of us around here know about that).

I completlely believe that the RYB book is the best thing out there for long term results and actually "fixing" your back problems, but I often struggle finding something that helps me get through the day when I'm flared up.

Like today for example... I must have over-done it at the gym or something, but after the car ride home my back was in bad shape. Now I can hardly get any work done because I have an Internet business which requires me to sit in a chair for several hours at a time, and sitting is pretty much the worst thing I can do when my back hurts. I've popped a couple of pills that will probably kick in here soon, but I don't particularly like doing that. It would be nice to know that it's possible to just lay down on this gadget for 10 minutes or whatever and go about my day.

Sure I have my doubts, but I think I might just go ahead and give it a shot since it does have a 90 money back guarantee. As long as you guys don't see any reason that is could possibly do more damage than good, I figure it can't hurt to check it out. If decide to order it, I'll definitely get on here immediately with my review.

[Bill]

Hi Brad,

Dateline did a piece on infomercials about a month ago that was a real eye opener. It you go to their website, the text of the show is still available online.

Dateline NBC: Infomercials: From the inside out

Several points they demonstrated is that infomercial producers are pros at getting you excited and convinced about a product regardless of what that product is. They DO NOT CARE if it is real or not.

They hire "wannabe" and "never made it" actors to make those testimonials and they coach them on what to say doing many takes and re-takes.

They were even able to get a respected medical doctor to lie on camera and endorse a phony product that she had never tried for $5,000. She didn't even know why she did it.

The actors when confronted said that they got so caught up in trying to please the show's producers that they just said whatever they wanted to hear.

Everyone needs to see that show. Hopefully, they'll repeat it or do an update in the future.

Bill

[randolph]

Hey Brad

I've got to agree with Bill's assessment of infomercials in general ... and Dean's concerns about True Back "cherry picking' the research seem to be valid ... see if you come to the same conclusions: I first went to TrueBack's commercial website; found the title/researcher name of the cited report (Effect of hypertension and the True Back, by Dr. Malcolm H. Pope, university of Iowa). Then I went to University of Iowa website to find out about the researcher. Turns out Dr Malcolm H. Pope was indeed the director of the U of I Spine Research Center 1994-98 and is now working at Univ of Aberdeen, Scotland. Now go to pubmed.gov and input "pope mh" and you'll see almost 200 research abstracts on some wonderful back pain research, including the report cited by TrueBack.

My reading of the half-dozen related abstracts gives this summary of what Dr Pope was researching. The idea is really pretty simple: lifting, sitting, and other stresses on the spine, and especially the lower back, reduce the spine length, and presumably, increase wear on the disc and weakening of back. Thus, any treatment that increases the spine length is presumed to increase health of back. Dr. Pope experimented by taking MRIs of the subjects' backs before and after various treatments, and measuring the spine length. He found that the use of the True Back passive stretch device (20 minutes the optimum period of use) did increase spine length more than a simple foam pad ... however, he also found that active exercising and stretching (standing and stretching up for instance) was more effective than using any passive device (isn't it nice when scientific research supports common sense).

If there's any merit to Dr Pope's assumption that stretching the spine increases spine health (it makes sense to my simple mind), anything that hyperextends the back is going to help. So the True Back, will help ... but for no money at all, it sounds like doing simple stretches like standing tall and reaching, and the RYB exercises will help more.

But by all means, please go to pubmed and see if I'm reading the abstracts correctly. Hope this helps, Brad.

Dr Pope also did some work that seems to validate using a backbelt while working. And he invalidates the popular notion that occupational driving is particularly harmful to backs. Like Dr. McGill, he says the problem isn't the driving per se, it's the too-long periods of maintaining any one stiff position, then quickly doing something stressful on the back without adequate warmup.
Dr Pope has done a lot of research on occupational and recreational stresses on the back, shoulder and knees (guess he's a ski bum - lots of work on what happens to joints like the knees during skiing - Eloise, hope you are reading)

Randolph

[Woodchuck]

I have a True Back on order. Should get it before New Years. Will report back with what I think about it.

I have lower back pain and sciatica in the right leg. Sometimes into the foot. I've used chiropractic off and on over the years, but this time it has not done the trick. In fact, I doubt that it did the trick the other times either, but rather, I got better despite the bone cracking. I will NOT use chiropractic again after reading about the possibe damage associated with it.

I just bought Dean's RYB ebook today and read it today. I am now excited about the prospects of full recovery!

Woodchuck

[shaunna]

Hey Woodchuck,
Did you ever get your "True Back" device? I am really curious about it and would love to hear from someone who has actually tried it.

Thanks,
Shaunna

[Woodchuck]

[Jim in Utah]

[mikem33]

(Note from Admin: The following post is made by the promoter who (allegedly) made the infomercial. Keep in mind as you read it that -- if he is who he says he is -- he has more than a passing interest in making sure that his commercial continues to run. This is clearly a spam post... and should be viewed with the same skepticism that you would any advertisement.)

I saw the thread and couldn't resist posting. I made the infomercial. The negative first. I’ve been in the advertising business for 23 years and have never seen anything that works for all people. Only a liar would make that statement. Hence why I insist that my clients all offer 90-day money back guarantees. This particular product gets about a 6% return which means 6 out of 100 are not satisfied with it and return it for a refund. So the bottom line is that it does not work for everyone. On the other hand 94% keep it after receiving it.

(Admin: Of course, there's no way for us to verify these figures. Furthermore, even if they are accurate, it does not mean the thing actually works as advertised. All it means is that most people don't bother sending it back. In the post that follows this one, Woodchuck indicates that he ended up keeping his True Back even though it didn't work.)

When the client first called me I blew him off because I don’t like to market products I don’t believe in. He sent me one. The end result was as follows: I used to wake up every morning with lower back pain. After I started using it I no longer woke up with the lower back pain. I also used to wake up with a numb leg in the middle of the night and that also ceased. Bottom line is that it produced a great result for me. I’m lazy and don’t use it every day but only when my back starts acting up. If the product had not worked for me you never would have seen the infomercial, or at least not the version I produced.

(Admin: Could it be we've just discovered the world's first honest infomercial producer?)

By the way, I interviewed every person you saw on the infomercial. The segment you see at the end where you hear someone ask off camera, “Are you saying this because you are on camera or do you really mean it?” was me. These people are genuine and not actors, nor were they paid and I made them sign an affidavit swearing that they told the truth under penalty and pain of perjury.

(Admin: The people in Bill's aforementioned Dateline NBC program also insisted that they were being "truthful" until they were confronted afterwards with the fact that the miracle skincare pills they were endorsing contained nothing but Nestle Quik chocolate powder. It was only then that they reluctantly confessed to saying what they thought the producer wanted to hear.

It's also interesting to note they were only paid $50.00 and when asked why they were willing to work essentially for nothing... said that they didn't do it for the money... they did it for the exposure. They were hoping someone would see them and cast them in a movie or TV show.

No doubt they also had to sign some "legal papers" before making the commercial.)

It may not work for you but I saw some very heavy Sciatica cases that did get great results. I’m sure there are some it did not work for as well. If you decide to use it I hope it produces results as good as I got.

Regards,
Michael McGahee

Admin: When did Mr. McGahee actually "see" these "heavy Sciatica cases" he mentions?

Forgive me for being skeptical, but I missed the part where he received the medical degree that qualified him to diagnose patients. Furthermore, I missed the part where he followed those people through the treatment process that allegedly produced the so-called "great results."

The truth is the only people Mr. McGahee would have seen were people who showed up to make the commercial. The only basis he would have for determining that they were, in fact, "heavy Sciatica cases" would have been their say so. And yet, he presents this "evidence" as though he were giving eye-witness testimony.

I guess he's been making infomercials for so long that "spin" is just a habit he's fallen into.

Normally, I just delete obvious spam posts like this... but I decided not to in this case. Instead, just for fun, I decided to Google "Michael McGahee advertising" and see what I could find out about our "world's first honest infomercial producer."

A quick glance at his web site, excellentmarketingresults.com revealed something very interesting.

As it turns out, Mr. McGahee is the guy who created the now infamous campaign for "The Helsinki Formula" baldness cure. In case you don't remember that particular boondoggle, The Helsinki Formula was a bogus hair loss product that also claimed to have "scientific research" and "university studies" to back up its claims for regrowing hair. That infomercial also used paid actors... something McGahee wants us to believe he doesn't do.

I then did another search and found an old press release on "The Helsinki Formula" scam:

[Woodchuck]

[jimga3]

I'd like to know what this RYB ebook is and what is it intenede for as I have a bad back and am looking for some relief. Thanks.

Jim

[Dean]

Hi Jim,

Here are some pages that might help explain things:

The Back Pain Books for a complete description of my book, Rebuild Your Back.
Main Site Home page where you'll find articles on back pain related subjects.

And here's an article that you may find helpful:
Blueprint for a Bad Back.

Let us know if we can answer any other questions you have.

Dean

[Betina44]

Dean,

Perhaps I'm just getting old and cynical, but I agree with you. I don't believe for a minute that this infomercial guy came here with a pure heart as he would like everyone to believe. I think those people would say or do anything to sell their products. When I saw the commercial on TV they made it sound so good.... but I've been burned by TV ads before.... so that's why I started searching the internet and that's how I found your website. I've decided not to buy the True Back and I want to thank everyone here for helping me make that decision.

By the way, you have a very informative website. You make a lot more sense than anything else I've heard so far. I'm thinking seriously about trying your advice.

Keep up the good work,

Betina

[Callielou]

I saw the infomercial yesterday and was interested in purchasing it until reading the forum. I am more interested, however in the RYB book. Can someone please point me to this book?

[Steven]

Hi Callielou,

Welcome to the group.

Dean posted some links a couple of comments back that will get you to information about the book as well as other articles about rebuilding your back. Here's the main book page:

RYB book description page.

Also, be sure and check out the articles on this site about back and neck pain. Well worth the reading.

Good luck rebuilding and let us know how it goes.

Steven