Teeter D12000 Dex II Decompression & Extension Mach (Open Box)

Since many people have well covered the great health benefits of inversion boards,this review focuses on the convenience aspect of this particular unit. If this unit will be used by multiple persons of varying sizes, they may find this unit inconvenient. One person will only have to adjust it for their height and thigh width once, but will likely find the lack of adjustment for the knee rolls to be the downside of this unit. There are three adjustments on this unit and thse are not the most user-friendly. You must first adjust the bar holding the padded knee rolls to accommodate the size of your thighs. This involves unscrewing the hand knob and sliding the bar forward or back to the appropriate hole-cut and turning the inch or so of screw back in. It sounds simple, but the piece fits tight so you must back the screw out almost completely,reposition, and back in the threading which seems to take forever when you do it every day. To accommodate your height, you have to loosen another knob slightly and then pull horizontally on a spring loaded rod to disengage the main platform. (This platform will be horizontal when in use and is where your thighs rest once you are in the inclined position.) This platform bar is heavy and you have to hold it up and giggle it slightly until the spring loaded rod engages the appropriate hole for the desired height position. This can be a bit challenging for one person. Snugging down the the holding knob in no problem. These adjustments are not too bad, but slightly awkward and again, inconvenient if you have to do these every time you use it because different size family members are sharing the unit. Adjusting the height of the platform allows you to mount the unit without hurting your groin. If you are tall and someone smaller used the unit last, you may be able to get away with not making this adjustment; after you incline, your arms will just drag the ground more. In the reverse, the shorter user has no choice but to make this adjustment, or he/she will find it impossible or dangerous to mount the unit. Similar to mounting a horse, you must lift your leg up and over the bar that holds the knee rolls. The knee pad is what you will use to brace yourself once inclined and it is supposed to hit you,surprise--behind the knees. Here is where Teeter made no provision to accommodate that people have different size thigh bones, and the platform is too long. Most people will be bracing against this roll with their calves. If you are shorter than six feet two inches or have a shorter thigh bone, the knee rolls will hit you somewhere below the knee. This will also be true if you have any amount of "muffin roll." You will have to move forward on the platform in order to hang optimally from just your pelvis, at a perfect 90 degree angle. The absence of a lever for adjusting the knee rolls after inclining is the downside of this unit. You will likely be bracing some of your weight with your calves. This will put some strain on the back of your thighs, calves, or both. It is probably still an improvement over hanging from your ankles if you have issues with this. Teeter did not make this unit adaptable where it is needed most or user friendly for multiple persons. At the very least, the knee bar should adjust to accommodate thigh lengths not just thigh widths. It would be a real plus if the adjustments were ratchet-type levers rather than awkward pulls or time consuming hand screws. Contouring the front of the platform a bit to accommodate the natural curve of the human body would seem a no-brainer. Otherwise, the unit is heavy duty and well made.