Knowing Your Massage Chair

After a hard days work, sometimes you don’t have the luxury to go to a therapeutic masseuse to relieve aching muscles or stressed joints. But a good massage is available and waiting for you at home with a massage chair.

What is a massage chair? The massage chair is a comfortable leather or comparable chair that can massage your body from head to toe. Like a masseuse, the massage chair is capable of providing various massage techniques such as Shiatsu and Swedish massage.

Massage chairs are made of parts that can replicate hand motions of a masseuse. The heart of the massage chair is its motor. It serves as the power behind the nodes, rollers and adjustment functions. The motor must be running in order for the chair to massage you. For buyers, it’s important to have a good quality motor with a warranty. The life of your chair depends very much on the motor.

Besides the motor, there are other essential pieces to the chair. The nodes and rollers are the parts that emulate the hands. They vary in size and provide more of the pinpoint specifics of massage. They can even target parts of the back or other body parts.

Although the older models vibrate, today’s massage chairs provide more complex movements. A massage chair can knead, roll and recline. Kneading is a process of lifting tissue or pulling away of tissue. The kneading process for a massage chair is very similar. It replicates the hands rubbing the back and body.

The massage chair provides a rolling motion as well. The rollers are essentially small wheels moving up and down on the back and spine. Most massage chairs come with at least eight rollers; some high as 18 rollers, depending on how elaborate the chair is. However, the effectiveness ultimately comes down to the quality and motion of the wheels. The wheels and motion will determine the type of massage that one will get.

With newer models, seat adjustments are a standard. A person needs to feel comfortable first before he or she can enjoy the benefits of the massage. So the chair must be able to adjust to any shape and size to perform well. Moreover, chairs now have more joints and parts that can reach places on every part of your body like a real massage. Consider getting a massage chair with lots of different adjustments if you will have more people using the chair.

Newer massage chairs provide options beyond just adjusting the chair. Massage chairs come with a remote that will allow you to set the speed and intensity of the massage or dedicate a massage to a specific part of your body. If you’re looking for a harder massage with faster motion, you can simply change the settings on the remote. Having problems with your lower back? The settings of most new massage chairs will allow you to focus the massage at the lower back.

Massage chairs are complex pieces of machinery that can do a lot to replicate an actual massage. Since the chairs come in so many different forms, knowing how they work will help you find the right chair for you.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Massage Chair