Benepod Review
The makers of the Benepod sent mine to me for free in exchange for my feedback and honest review.
Spring is always a rough time for me. The constant barrage of storms brings intense joint pain, especially around my knees. Thankfully, this year, I have the Benepod.
You may remember Lady Gaga sharing how she alternates hot and cold quickly for her chronic pain. That’s what this product does, albeit on a smaller scale.
The underside of the device has a red ring that heads up as well as a blue circle that cools down when plugged in. This leads to Thermal Grill Stimulus – something that can’t fully be explained yet. While we don’t know why it works, it can help mask or ease someone’s pain.
One of the coolest parts of using the Benepod is that there is no medication to take or topicals to apply. We really don’t have to worry about side effects like with other pain treatments. I don’t have to resort to extra NSAIDs that upset my IBS or the few muscle relaxers I have that make me woozy.
To use it, you plug the device in. A green blinking light will go solid once the device is ready to use. It’s good for twenty minutes which doesn’t sound like a long time but somehow is. If you want more time, you simply unplug the device, plug it back in, and wait for your solid green light.
It is a little small, so moving it can get a little cumbersome for my crippy arthritis hands. Thankfully, Saringer is already working on things like a strap to hold the device in place to make it even more accessible.
This doesn’t completely get rid of my pain. To be honest, I don’t think there’s any one thing out there that would. What Benepod does, though, is take my pain from a seven or eight out of ten to somewhere between three and five. As much as I loathe those medieval pain scales, they’re at least good to show progress in pain reduction.
With how many storms we’re having lately, I’ve been heavily relying on the Benepod to help me get through the nights. There aren’t many things I feel the need to always have close by, but this is one of them for sure.
Do I have to be near an outlet?
No! The fact this uses a USB cord makes it super easy to use a portable charger to power the pod. The cord is so long, too, that I’m easily able to use it in bed while plugged into a USB hub.
Is this affordable?
Look, I’ve reviewed some things that cost several hundred dollars. I’m happy to say this only costs $99! You can snag it on Amazon, too, which means you could use gift cards and get it quickly.
Is it worth it?
Completely. There are nights that I struggle to sleep because my knee pain is so bad. When I make time to use the Benepod before bed, I actually get a few hours of restful sleep.
I am totally going to have to look into that. I’ve never heard of the hot and cold treatment for pain except — as a migraine treatment sitting in an ice cold tub while running hot water on my neck is surprisingly helpful. Are you supposed to keep it in one spot for the whole 20 min or move it around?
From what the instructions said, you should move it around. So, if your knee hurts, you’d want to move it around your knee. I have let it sit for a minute or two while having to use my hands for something like typing, but that can get a little uncomfortable.