What is a massage?

It is the action of pressing, rubbing and kneading applied to the muscles, skin and tendons, either with the hands, elbows, feet or mechanical aids to release stress and tension and promote relaxation and well-being. It is an ancient practice among most Eastern and many European civilizations that is believed to have been in practice before recorded history.

why massage

Studies on the effects of massage have shown it to be beneficial in many ways, including reducing stress, pain, and muscle tension. It may also be directly responsible for relieving insomnia, headaches, fibromyalgia, anxiety, digestive disorders, and a number of localized stress-related syndromes.

massage chairs

The massage can be given on a massage table, massage chair on the floor on a mat. Massage chairs are designed for massage while sitting. Non-robotic ‘traditional’ massage chairs allow the masseur easy access to the recipient’s shoulders, back, neck, head, arms and hands. They are also portable. This makes it easy to deliver massages to the recipient on site. This makes them popular at trade conferences and business offices in the corporate world, because an office environment is considered stressful and a relaxing massage is the cure-all. The massage chair now generally refers to the robotic one, which was introduced in the late 1980s with the intention of matching the movements and techniques of a real masseuse, with the goal of relieving stress and back pain. The idea slowly caught on and more manufacturers entered the market to search for more effective features.

massage chair techniques

The massage techniques that today’s chairs are able to offer effectively are

Shiatsu: through rocking, rotating, pressing, sweeping and patting movements. The Shiatsu technique focuses on releasing tension in specific places in the body.

Swedish: It consists of kneading and sliding long movements and the objective is to promote better circulation in the body.

The main components of a massage chair.

Nodes and Rollers to emulate fingers and hands! They come in various sizes, the largest for general pressure and the smallest for spot action.

Motors: They drive the nodes and rollers to move and act on different parts of the body and control of these motors is provided on the chair’s control panels. The motor also helps in the adjustment of the seat back.

Computer Aided Adjustability – This important feature automatically adjusts the seat and its massaging components for the user’s height, width, and weight.

How to choose the best massage chair

The following points must be taken into account:

Check the range of heights available in the chairs, to accommodate yours.

Check out the range of massages on offer – apart from Shiatsu and Swedish, are there more?

You would like different massages at different times depending on the need.

· Warranty

Price – Be prepared to literally pay a high price for the benefits you are about to receive. But priced as it is, financing options are available with retailers.