Physical Health Guide

Investigate A Massage Chair
Make Your Life Better

It’s just not practical for the majority of people to give up the $15,600 a year to have a professional massage 5 days a week. Even so,some people have extreme stress, circulation problems, and recurring pain who really would get a healing benefit from regular massage. Now, engineering provides a technological solution in the form of robotic massage chairs.

Many manufacturers claim to sell massage chairs. Two of them should be avoidedfor purchase. The first of these are the devices that slip over an existing chair and provide simple vibration or what they call “shiatsu” massage. The second are chairs that only have a vibration function. Both of these types of devices have very little therapeuticvalue.

The massage chairs that have real value are like recliners on steroids. There are a wide variety of brands and models of these robotic chairs, and the important thing is to get the chair that’s dead on for you. The most expensive chairs with stereo speakers built in are actually more than you need. Focus on the therapeutic features and not the bling.

You are also likely to be disappointed if you spend extra money buying a built in heating feature. You will get much better results by buying a specialized heating pad used for massage or chiropractic.

Good robotic chairs mimic the techniques of a trained massage therapist. Kneading mimics the thumbs of a massage therapist rotating in a circular motion to stimulate and stretch the muscles on either side of the spine. Knocking feels similar to having a Chinese Tuina therapist gently tapping on your back. It gets rid of both stiffness and muscle fatigue. Rolling feels like the hands of a Swedish massage therapist rubbing their hands on either side of your spine. The chair you select should allow you to control the speed and/or pressure of these simulated movements.

More expensive chairs have a back scanning feature that scans the rollers up and down your back at the start of each massage to determine the precise shape of your spine. This allows the chair to impart you a massage custom fit to your particular needs. This is a great feature, especially for people with constant back troubles. Back scanning chairs often have an “over the shoulder” feature that works well for eliminating tensions induced from sitting in front of a computer all day.

Despite claims to the contrary, robotic chairs actually don’t give a realistic Shiatsu massage. Even so, what is advertised as the Shiatsu feature in most robotic chairs does provide exceptional stimulation and energy flow to the spine. That is very therapeutic… just don’t expect the same massage you would receive from a skilled Shiatsu therapist.

The best massage technology for the lower legs comes from sequentially inflating and deflating airbags that feel like the hands of a massage therapist rubbing in a direction toward your heart. The secret here is that the more airbags, the better the simulation. Check to see that airbags are on both sides of your leg. A common cost cutting technique is to put airbags only on the outside of the leg. When they inflate they squeeze the leg against a cushioned board. They are a poor second place.

Airbags are also used to massage the feet, thighs, and rear end. To lower the price, some chairs omit these air bags to save on cost, but they are crucial for anyone with leg circulation problems. You will be sorry if you omit air bags for the thighs and bottom. The feet air bags are excellent, but should be considered optional.

Robotic chairs have built in massage cycles and you will see that one of the sales points of many chairs are the number of built in massage sequences. Really, though, the number of build in massages isn’t so important. What is crucial is the ability to set up your own programs and store them in the chair’s controller. That means that you can create custom cycles to tune in to your unique problems. Chairs with 10 storable programs are first class. That is usually enough for the whole family.

Good robotic chairs usually weigh 250-300 pounds, so you may want to buy a chair on rollers. This is a great convenience when it comes time to vacuum.

A final important consideration is that health insurance may reimburse you for the cost of the chair if you have a real medical problem and your doctor will write a prescription for the chair.

Speaking of cost, expect a retail price of $3,000 to $6,000 for a good robotic chair. Online prices can be as low as $1,300 to $$2,000. Getting the right chair will provide you and your family with years of great massages.