You actually CAN feel someone kicking the back of a lie-flat seat...
I had a rather unpleasant experience in a 757-200 business seat last night. The guy behind me was doing leg-presses (or something) in the footwell or my seatback. I always thought the shell of the lie-flat seat insulates you from that.
Clearly I was wrong. The 5-hour flight was like a mechanical bull ride. So, think of the person in front of you before you do that.....