Why buy a massage chair?
Most people who think of getting a massage have mental images of immaculately kept rooms with lovely scents and soothing music. Although a traditional massage can be wonderful, it does have its drawbacks that a modern massage chair can help you avoid. First of all, making an appointment and going to visit a masseuse takes time. A massage chair is far more practical than a regular massage since it gives you the comfort and relaxation you desire whenever you want it, day or night. Also, even if the cost of a massage chair can be high, you won't have to keep paying a masseuse over and over again. Last but not least, as you will discover in this buying guide, modern massage chair technology can deliver a massage that surpasses even the best massage techniques we’re familiar with and love.
Are massage chairs good for your health?
A massage chair is an electronic chair with various features designed to provide the benefits of massage typically found only in massage parlors. Massage chairs have done this to a varying degree of effectiveness for many years, but over the last few years the technology has begun to mature in a few very important ways. The best massage chairs today can vary the speed of the massage within the same stroke, have sophisticated algorithms to respond to your body type, and provide a variety of advanced customization features to deliver a truly therapeutic massage. A massage chair has countless health and wellness benefits including:
-Reduces stress and tension
-Improves circulation and increases energy
-Reduces pain and muscle stiffness
-Lowers your heart rate and improves blood pressure
-Improves Immune function
-Increases flexibility
What are the different types of massage chairs?
There are a variety of massage chair roller systems to choose from with various capabilities. Depending on your needs, you may want a softer 2D chair with a more therapeutic feel or a 3D chair with more overall coverage that can deliver deep tissue massage therapy. And, if getting a good spinal decompression stretch is important, you may want to consider a Dual-Track chair.
2D Rollers: 2D massage chair rollers move up and down and side to side, but they don’t provide much pressure and cannot deliver a deep tissue massage.
3D Rollers: 3D massage chair rollers go up and down and side to side and can also move in and out to provide deep tissue massage.
4D Rollers: 4D rollers are exactly the same as 3D except they have smoother, more fluid movements for the most human-like feel.
S-Track Roller System: S-Track rollers follow the curvature of your spine by moving up and down a roller track that slides from your neck all the way down to your lower back.
L-Track Roller System: L-Track rollers not only follow the curvature of your spine, but they continue along an L-Shaped track to deliver massage to your glutes and hamstrings as well.
Dual Track/Split Track: A Dual-Track is the integration of an L-track merged together with an S-Track for superior stretch capabilities with two roller systems instead of just one for better overall coverage. There are rollers that will massage your back and glutes simultaneously.
What Massage Styles and Techniques do Massage Chairs Use?
There are various types of massage chairs that use different massage styles and techniques. The following are the main styles used in most massage chairs:
Shiatsu: Shiatsu is an ancient Japanese healing practice that uses targeted massage for specific pressure points to alleviate pain and tension
Kneading: Kneading is a massage technique in which deep pressure is applied to compresses the underlying muscles.
Tapping: Tapping is a percussion massage used for soft tissue pain and soreness with rapid, short-duration pulses or taps that reach deep into the soft tissues of the body.
Clapping: Clapping is a form of tapotement which is a Swedish massage style using fast rhythmic percussion.
Swedish: Swedish massage uses long kneading strokes combined with rhythmic tapping to target the uppermost layer of muscles and aims to relieve muscle tension.
Vibration: Vibration massage delivers a vibrating and shaking motion onto the muscles to ease tension and stimulate circulation.
