Massage is one of the best ways to relax after a long day at work. However, most of the time, people get out of work too late to get a massage. One way they can get a massage in the comfort of their home is by buying a massage chair. That way, they can enjoy a massage as they watch their favorite movie, have their favorite drink, read their favorite book, or relax.
The first massage chair was introduced into the market during the late 1980s. The people who introduced it made it to emulate techniques and motions of a professional masseuse, to alleviate back pain and relieve tension and stress. While they were hard to incorporate at first, developing technology has seen people develop better and more effective massage chairs.
Massage chairs work by using vibrations and rollers that emulate the movement of a human’s hands. In some chairs, the rollers move in different motions, different directions, and different intensities.
Medical Benefits Of Massage Chairs
Massage chairs focus on different body parts, including the neck, shoulders, lower back, upper back, hands, arms, and legs. Some of the health benefits people get from using massage chairs include:
- Protection from injuries and reduces pain - Using a massage chair regularly helps relieve pain and tension from different body parts. It helps relax tight muscles and also increases blood, nutrient, and oxygen flow to injured muscles. Massage chairs also help faster elimination of lactic acid, which ensures faster recovery from workouts.
- Improves posture - People who have a job that requires them to stay in one position for a long time are prone to having bad postures. A lot of pressure is exerted on the spine and back muscles, which affect a person’s posture. Using a massage chair helps relieve the pressure, relaxes the muscles plus spine, and increases blood circulation to the muscles, which helps improve posture.
- Fewer headaches - Most people who suffer from headaches suffer tension headaches, which mainly result from a lot of tension and pain in the shoulders and upper back muscles. Using a massage chair helps relieve the pressure, tension, and pain from those muscles, which reduces the occurrence and severity of the headaches.
Features Of A Good Massage Chair
- A good massage chair is something which has a lot of good features. If the massage chair you are looking at lacks them, then you may want to look elsewhere.
- Adjustability - This is one of the most important features. Massage chairs can adjust to a person's desired height, weight, and width. This also allows the chair to adjust some of its other features like rollers and nodes.
- Rollers - These emulate a person’s fingers and hands, and they come in different shapes and sizes. Some are big and focus on massaging a person’s whole body, while others are small and focus on massaging specific areas of the body. People should consider not only the size but also the range of motion of the chairs and the intensity of their movements.
- Airbags - These are small pouches on the back, sides, and legs of the massage chair filled with pressurized air to help relieve stiffness and tension. When inflated, the airbags compress the target muscles, which stimulates blood flow, offering relief.
- Heat Function - The heat helps offer relief from pain, soreness, and tension and increases blood flow to different muscles. This is an important feature for people who suffer from inflammation, arthritis, deep tissue pain, or muscle stiffness.
Popular Massage Chair Models
There’s many massage chairs out on the market. Some of the very best ones out there include:
- Real Relax Massage Chair - This chair has 50 airbags that work on all body parts, eight massage rollers, and six auto modes for people to enjoy. The chair also has heat therapy and vibrations. People who prefer a certain technique of massage intensity can manually customize the rollers' strength and speed. There are also arm clips for arm support and massage.
- Relaxonchair MK-II Plus - These chairs have L-track massage nodes, which allow people to focus on their lower backs. There are three zero gravity modes to choose from, which means that not only can users recline, but they can also lay flat to take off all the tension and pressure from the body. The chairs have airbags all around and body scanning features, which allows it to tailor the massage depending on the users’ height.
- Osaki OS-4D Escape Massage Chair - Unlike other massage chairs, this one has a hood that has chemotherapy lighting for added relaxation. Its rollers are 4D, and they work in an ergonomic S-track which allows them to map the back curvature with precision.
It also has airbags on the shoulders and arms, a footrest, heating settings, two zero gravity modes, and aromatherapy.
