Selecting A Massage Chair
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It’s just not practical for most people to spend the $15,600 a year to have a professional massage 5 days a week. Even so,there are people with too much stress, circulation troubles, and continual aches who really would get a therapeutic benefit from frequent massage. Now, engineering provides an electronic solution in the form of robotic massage chairs.

There are many devices that are called massage chairs. Two of them should be avoidedfor purchase. The first of these are the devices that slip over an existing chair and provide simple vibration or what they call “shiatsu-like” massage. The second are chairs that just have a vibration function. Both of these types of devices have very little therapeuticvalue.

The massage chairs that have real value are like super-recliners. There are a wide variety of brands and models of these computerized chairs, and the essential thing is to purchase the chair that’s dead on for you. The most expensive chairs with stereo built in are actually more than you need. Focus on the massage features and not the bling.

You are also likely to be disappointed if you spend additional money getting a built in heating feature. You will get much better results by getting a high quality heating pad used for massage or chiropractic.

High-quality robotic chairs simulate the techniques of a skilled massage therapist. Kneading mimics the thumbs of a massage therapist moving in a circular motion to stimulate and stretch the muscles on either side of the spine. Knocking feels similar to having someone gently tapping on your back. It gets rid of both stiffness and muscle fatigue. Rolling feels like the hands of a Swedish massage therapist moving their hands on either side of your spine. Your chair should permit you to control the speed and/or pressure of these simulated movements.

Higher end chairs have a back scanning feature that scans the rollers up and down your back at the start of each massage to determine the exact form of your spine. This enables the chair to give you a massage custom fit to your particular needs. This is a terrific feature, especially for people with continual back pain. Back scanning chairs often have an “over the shoulder” feature that works well for eliminating tensions induced from looking at a computer monitor all day.

Despite claims to the contrary, robotic chairs actually don’t give a lifelike Shiatsu massage. Even so, what is called the Shiatsu feature in most massage chairs does provide excellent stimulation and energy flow to the spine. That’s very therapeutic… but don’t expect the same massage you would receive from a skilled Shiatsu therapist.

The ideal massage technology for the calves involves sequentially inflating and deflating airbags that simulate the hands of a massage therapist moving toward your heart. The trick here is that the more airbags, the better the simulation. Be sure that airbags are on both sides of your leg. A common cost cutting technique is to put airbags only on the outside of the leg. When they inflate they squeeze the leg against a cushioned board. They are a poor second place.

In better chairs, airbags are also used to massage the feet, thighs, and butt. To lower the price, some chairs omit these air bags to save on cost, but they are crucial for anyone with leg circulation problems. You will be sorry if you omit air bags for the thighs and bottom. The feet air bags are great, but should be thought of as optional.

Robotic chairs have pre-programmed massage sequences and you’ll find out that many chairs emphasize the number of pre-programmed massage sequences. Really, though, the number of build in massages isn’t so important. What is valuable is the ability to design your own programs and save them in the chair’s controller. That means that you can create customized programs to tune in to your particular problems. Chairs with 10 storable programs are great. That is usually enough for the whole family.

High quality robotic chairs weigh 250-300 pounds, so you may want to purchase a chair on rollers. This is a great feature when it comes time to vacuum.

A final important consideration is that health insurance may reimburse you for the cost of the chair if you have a genuine medical problem and your doctor will write a prescription for the chair.

Speaking of cost, expect a retail price of $3,000 to $6,000 for a good robotic chair. Web shopping prices can be as low as $1,300 to $$2,000. Getting the right chair will provide you and your family with years of wonderful massages.