Here you have it: your guide to finding that perfect massage chair you
always wish you had. That chair that is great for relaxing after a hard
day or removing tension after strenuous workouts. But before you dig in,
there is some basic information - and misinformation that you will need to
know.
There is no question, a massage chairs can
be one of the most critical and expensive consumer products in your home.
The right chair will help you to
relieve stress and back problems, while poor quality chairs will have
you gritting your teeth with more headaches after each break down.
Massage Chair Features and Benefits
Since we are going to help you
select the perfect massage chair for your needs, you might want to know a
little bit more about what they can do. This next part talks about the
different types of massages offered on your chair and how these features
differ.
All high priced massage chairs use the
latest technology to study the finger movements of professional massage
therapists and duplicate these motions.
Kneading (Shiatsu) Massage
The main advantage of the Kneading massage is that it both relaxes and
invigorates the body.
Kneading massage uses three complex movements.
1) Pressure is applied gently to an accupoint
2) The pressure is held allowing tension to transfer to the roller
3) Tension is then released allowing the pressure to leave the system
Rolling Massage
Rolling massage helps to stretch the spine by elongating the muscles that
support your back. This relieves pressure on the discs in your back.
Rollers massage up and down the spine. This helps to stimulate spinal
nerve roots and reduce muscular back pain. The greater the area covered
and greater the size of the rollers, the more optimal the massage becomes
for increasing overall blood circulation.
Tapping Massage
Tapping massage, simply stated, helps to improve your blood circulation.
This increased blood flow has the benefit of reducing muscular stiffness
and enhancing movement of oxygen and other vital nutrients through the
course of the body. After exercise, this function helps wring muscles free
of lactic acid, reducing the overall stiffness of the region being
massaged. Some massage chair technologies allow as many as five hundred
taps a minute! Sit back and let all the day's stiffness dissipate.
Six steps for finding the right gear for
you!
Now that we have talked about your Massage
Chair features and learned more about the massage functions, it's time to
follow these six steps to truly find you the best gear for you.
- Know Thyself - Know the nature of
massage you need: Do you have a neck problem, back problem, or lower
back problem? Do you need more concentrated massage or a combination
of kneading, rolling, or tapping?
- Durability or temporary solution: If
you need an urgent shiatsu massage,
there are cheap rollers for the back. If your priorities call for
durability and long term use, you will want a chair that can last at
least 5-10 years.
- Prioritize- Decide which styles and
features mean the most to you.
Rank those top features and styles and use those criteria to select
the products within your price range.
- Visit an online store and a showroom in
the mall. Some of the most popular chairs are displayed in malls and
if you have a chance, you should try them. Be patient in the
purchasing process. As a general rule malls will charge more than
online stores. Tax and shipping are involved as is the Mall's store
operating costs that have to be made up in your final price.
- Research, research, research. Contact
manufacturers for additional information on sizes, specifications, and
any other information. Study them closely, review tapes, talk to
friends, and other experts. Be careful about impulse buys and
non-durable electrical component units.
- Think about return policy. You may
think you will not return your massage chair purchase. But we have all
heard that 50% of marriages in America end in divorce. So falling in
love is wonderful. But make sure you have the option to return or
exchange, or you might end up with a case of buyer's remorse (or a
broken heart)!
Massage Chairs
When it comes to selecting the massage chair, forget about more features,
more rollers and special features that you do not need. The issues you
should consider are comfort, durability, stability, massage technique,
motors, quality, and warranty. The most important thing in buying chairs
is quality. You want a chair with the best shiatsu massage technique with
good quality motors. Motors are as important to your massage chair as an
engine is to your car.
Making Sense of Massage Chairs
Selecting your chairs based on your need is a great rule of thumb for
choosing your chair. However, the chair is not a cheap purchase and you
probably want it to last more than your average consumer electronic
product. Here is a primer on selecting chairs.
Motors
Your massage chair motor is the engine of your car. Motors in the chair
are important since they carry out the massage. If your massage chair
breaks down, the chair becomes useless. You need to investigate the
quality- who made it, where was it manufactured and how long it can last.
Companies usually outsource the motor. Look for the few companies that
make their own motors. Other companies are well known motor makers that
make other products with motors such as vacuum cleaners or fans.
Motors manufactured in Japan are known for their durability. These motors
also produce less noise than motors made in other countries. You might
want to investigate the number of motors in the massage chair. When the
chair has independent motors that concentrate on kneading, rolling, and
tapping, you will receive a more effective and powerful massage.
Furthermore, a chair with more motors can allocate the workload necessary
to produce a therapeutic massage. This produces less wear on each motor,
allowing the motors to rest while the active motor provides you the
specified shiatsu massage function. When a single motor provides all
kneading, rolling, and tapping functions, it becomes more likely to
burnout from overuse. The result is a shortened life span for a singular
motor over a chair with several motors.
Rollers
There are chairs with 16, 12, 10 or 8 rollers. Is it really "the more
the better?" This general rule does not accurately apply to rollers.
The more rollers you have cause the size of each roller to get smaller. If
a single motor of the chair is tasked with moving 16 rollers it cannot do
so efficiently.
It is the quality, size and type of material rollers are made of that
determine the massage you will get. Some rollers allow themselves to curve
along the body and form up to 50 degree to fit the shoulders, back and
other areas. Other do not allow for the curves of your body. Thus, a
roller that has the flexibility to suit all body types allows for a better
massage than a larger quantity of inflexible rollers.
Adjustments
The massage chair needs to adjust to an individual in order to optimize
performance for the individual user. A critical factor in your massage
chair is the height adjustment. People come in all shapes and sizes. Some
chairs have height adjustment for the rollers range of movement. This
allows your rollers to better cover the shoulder, neck and lower back
region.
The speed of your massage rollers is an important factor for shiatsu
massage. A proper massage entails strong and fast massage movements. At
other times your back craves relaxing, soft movements.
Some chairs offer strength adjustments for varying intensity. If the
chair's initial massage is too strong, we recommend you put more padding
in between the roller and the back cover. That process is easy to do.
Usually the company you purchase from has an extra back pad for sale and
it often costs less than $30. The chair offering you a stronger massage is
no problem since you can add padding. As times goes by most owners want to
increase the intensity since the body gets accustomed to the current
massage
technique and intensity. This process is similar to increasing weight on
workout equipment in a gym. There is a problem with a chair producing a
softer massage. There is no way to increase the intensity. In other words,
there are no means to increase intensity when your body needs a stronger
massage.
Neck adjustment can be a critical factor in the enjoyment of your chair.
Many people have neck problems. This is especially true for people working
in the computer field who are in front of their terminal all day long.
Some brands offer you a better neck massage than others, which is why it
is so important to try before you buy; or to have the ability to exchange
the chair.
Features
There are chairs with speed control but no
intensity control. Conversely, there are chairs with intensity control
without speed control. Different features can include air massage or
roller massage. Air massage involves squeezing the muscle and as a result
is not as effective as the better roller massages. Roller massage provides
you the best massage technique for shiatsu massage. Cheaper chairs have
vibration, or disk rollers instead of large rollers that provide a more
therapeutic shiatsu massage. Leather chair or non-leather chair is also an
issue. Generally, leather chairs are expensive to produce and less
enticing for long-term use for massage chairs due to special care for
roller movement. If the user does not use leather care oils, the rollers
can crack the leather from the repetitive stress. For this reason, leather
chairs provide less of an advantage over synthetic leather. This situation
is similar to outdoor gear for camping where cotton is not as functional
as nylon or Gore-Tex. Cotton is great for home use but not for the intense
conditions of the outdoors. Similarly, synthetic leather massage chairs
last longer than leather massage chairs because of the exposure to the
repetitive wear and tear of the rollers.
