The massage chair was first made available on the consumer market in the 1980’s, aiming to replace the masseuse and allow consumers a masaagae on demand and in the privacy of their own homes. While price primarily governs the quality and comfort of the many chairs available, all chairs have a few things in common:
- Rollers and nodes – These may vary in size and shape from chair to chair but in essence, they are designed to mimic the masseuse’s hands and fingers. While larger rollers and nodes allow for more general muscle relaxation, smaller rollers and nodes mean more specific positions are stimulated.
- Adjustability – Most decent massage chairs on the market incorporate a computer-based adjustment feature so that when someone sits on the chair, based on the pressure that they exert on the chair, the chair is able to adjust itself to match the user’s weight, height and width. It is very important that a massage chair be able to do this effectively, for it is through this adjustment that the chair can locate specific anatomical areas of the back, and massage accordingly.
So assuming that your massage chair has reasonably good quality rollers and nodes, and an effecive adjustability system, the question arises: does the chair really work? Can a amssage chair provide all the ebenfits of a “real” massage delivered by a masseuse? Has the massues really become obsolete?
The truthful answer of course is that, as great as a chair may be, it really never can replace the natural touch of a human. Humans afterall can communicate with you to adjust exactly to your needs, while a massage chair can’t quite do that yet. But there are also many benefits specific to a massage chair that a human cannot provide.
Massage chairs defintily do deleiver on pain relief, general relaxation, muscle relaxation, improved blood crculation and lymph drainage, improved posture and spinal alignment, as do massages delivered by humans. However, owning your very own massage chair provides some additional benefits too. First and foremost, a massage chair means you can have your massage on demand, whenenevr you like, and in the privacy of your own home. This alleviates the stress of making and keeping appointments and having to travel to your massage therapist. It may also mean alleviating the stress of undressing in front of a stranger, and the stress of making sure your tipping correctly based on your massage satisfaction. But more importantly, the fact that a massage chair, and only a massage chair, gives you a super consistent massage each and every time you sit on it means that you can really undo those knots and built up pressure in all the right spots. Additionally, a therapist might have only one or two specialites while a chair is designed to have many variabilities and so you can get a wider range of amssages!
So next time you think, “is this investment really worth it, do massage chairs really work?” you know that the answer is “YES!”