BackHug Robotic Back Therapy
2 products
2 products
New to this therapy? Use code FEELGOOD for 50% off your first session. Applies to bookings or gift purchases.
Your shoulders are up round your ears. Your lower back has spent the week in a desk chair, a car seat or on the sofa. You keep meaning to book a massage and never quite do. This is the shortcut.
BackHug is the robotic back therapy bed that recovery clubs, gyms and sports teams are installing, and it is now at PURE Lothian Road in Edinburgh. You lie back fully clothed. Twenty-six robotic fingers press and roll their way up your spine, from your neck to your lower back. Your legs float up on a zero-gravity rest. The bed warms beneath you. And you hold the controls.
An hour later you stand up taller, looser and lighter than you have felt in weeks.
The robot back therapist everyone is talking about
BackHug was built in Edinburgh by Pacla Medical, a company founded by physiotherapist and engineer Chongsu Lee. His idea was simple: put the feel of skilled hands-on back work into a bed that anyone can lie on, any day of the week.
It worked. BackHug now goes into wellness spaces, gyms, sports teams and workplaces, and its named partner is Upgrade Labs, the US recovery and biohacking club. T3 called it "the world's first robot therapist". On Trustpilot, BackHug holds a 4.9 TrustScore, with 93% of reviewers giving it five stars.
The tech the recovery crowd raves about is now a short session away in the centre of Edinburgh.
What happens on the bed
Twenty-six robotic fingers. Human-sized fingers sit beneath the padded surface. They work the joints and muscles either side of your spine, from the neck and upper back down to the lower back, and round the shoulder blades. Firm, rolling, rhythmic pressure, exactly where your back holds the week.
A back scan first. Before the fingers start, BackHug scans your back and maps the shape of your spine, so every pass follows you, not a template.
Zero-gravity legs. A 90° leg rest lifts your knees and calves, so your lower back sinks into the bed and lets go.
Warmth from below. The surface heats up and stays warm the whole way through. Heat plus pressure is the combination that makes a stiff back melt.
You are in charge. The BackHug app lets you set strength, speed, heat and the areas you want to focus on, with more than 2,000 combinations. There is even a setting that keeps one side gentler than the other. Want it firmer between the shoulder blades? Tap. Want more warmth? Tap.
Fully clothed, hands-free. No robe, no oil, no small talk. Only the neck section touches bare skin, and no one touches you at all.
How your session goes
- Arrive in comfy clothes. Anything you can lie down in. You are shown to a quiet private room.
- Lie back and lift your legs. Settle onto the bed and let the leg rest take your weight while BackHug scans your back.
- Dial it in. Start on a gentle setting and turn it up as your back warms and loosens.
- Switch off. The fingers roll up and down your spine while the heat builds. Most people close their eyes and drift.
- Rise slowly and enjoy it. That first stretch when you stand up is the best bit.
Sessions of 60 minutes or longer include 60 minutes of spa and wellness facilities. Facilities vary by spa, so visit our spa page for details.
Who books BackHug
- Desk and laptop workers who carry the week between their shoulder blades.
- People who lift for a living. Nurses, carers, tradespeople and parents of small children.
- Gym-goers, runners and golfers who want a back that feels ready for the next session.
- Drivers, commuters and frequent flyers who spend hours in a seat.
- Anyone who wants the feel of massage without the fuss. You stay dressed, nobody touches you and you set the pressure yourself.
- Gift buyers. A robot back therapist beats another candle every time.
Why heat and hands-on work feel this good
BackHug puts two of the best-loved back rituals into one bed: warmth and firm, hands-on pressure.
A Cochrane review of 25 trials and 3,096 people found that massage left backs feeling and working better in the short term. A separate Cochrane review found that warmth on the lower back from a heat wrap helped people feel and move better too. The NHS suggests heat to ease stiff joints and muscle spasms.
BackHug gives you both at once, for a whole session, set exactly how you like it.
Make it part of your week
The people who love BackHug most come back. One session a day is the rhythm, and a regular slot fits neatly around the gym, a long week at the desk or a run of long drives. Many regulars pair it with walking and stretching to keep that loose, lifted feeling going.
Prices
| Session | Price |
|---|---|
| BackHug, 60 min | £75 |
| BackHug, 90 min | £90 |
PURE Lothian Road is open 7 days a week and late, so you can fit it in before work, after the gym or on your way home.
Build your own recovery hour
- Compression boots, 30 min £35. Also at Lothian Road. Back first, then legs: you walk out feeling brand new from neck to toes.
- Hyperbaric oxygen, 60 min £85. A quiet, reclined hour breathing 90–95% oxygen at Lothian Road. The perfect wind-down after BackHug.
- Deep tissue, sports or hot stone massage, from £72. When you want a specialist therapist's hands as well as the robot's.
- Infrared sauna. Warm up first, then let BackHug get to work.
Stiff back, tight shoulders, long week? Lie down, warm up and let 26 robotic fingers do the rest.
Pregnant or under medical care? Have a quick word with your GP before you book.
A wellness experience, not a medical treatment.
Everything you need to know about BackHug robotic back therapy at PURE
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