In the 1970s Doctor Vladimir Nazarov, also a Russian Gymnast, discovered that if a muscle were stimulated in a very specific pattern and frequency it would react as though it had been flexed or exercised. Nazarov called this very specifc method of stimulation Bio-mechanical Muscular Stimulation or BMS.
The BMS pattern incorporated compression of the muscle fibers, extension, and then release. Nasarov created a device that stimulated muscles in this fashion and began using it successfully on elite athletes at the Moscow Gym. For the most part, Nasarov kept BMS a secret known only to elite athletes, and Olympians that he trained.
In fact, Nasarov was approached by the Russian Space program about using BMS to help cosmonauts retain muscle mass and bone density while in zero gravity. Fearing that his research would be buried in bureaucracy, he declined.
Around 1995 a friend of Ian Reinbott's came into possession of several of these BMS devices. Ian purchased ten of them and began using them in his successful chiropractic clinic in Australia. Later Ian retired and moved to the United States, he brought some of the devices with him for personal use.
After using the BMS devices on friends, he was encouraged to open a center in Franklin, TN. Ian decided to open a center that only used the BMS techniques which included both a handheld device and a larger machine affectionately called the “Grizzly.”
During a visit from a good friend named Dr. Ricardo Kauffmann, they had a discussion about how the grizzly was very limited because people had to be incredibly fit in order to use it properly.
The two innovators collaberated on how to build a table for people to lie on with a mechanism mounted underneath using the BMS motion developed by Dr. Nazarov. Dr. Kauffmann took their ideas to his research lab in Mexico and built a table with a mechanism that used the BMS pattern. In 2011, Dr. Kauffman brought the very first Rikian Exerciser from Mexico to Franklin, TN for Ian to test and develop.
For the next four years the two inventors refined their efforts and improved the design and functionality of the Rikian Exerciser. They were amazed at the benefits people received from regular use, and never dreamed that the device would prove to be so beneficial. By targeting the large group of muscles running parallel to your spine – paraspinals – the Rikian Exerciser offers a whole body workout in just 10 minutes.
