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By Alan Weidner
The massage chair recliner has fast become a great substitute
for traditional therapy that most folks will consider when
suffering from back pain, neck pain, buttock pain, headaches,
and even leg pain and stress.
The vast majority of folks that are looking for a massage
chair
are experiencing all or some of these symptoms. Massage chairs
have been proven to do wonders for each one of these
conditions. As a matter of fact, many of my patients that have
purchased a massage chair have needed our clinic less and less
for treatment of these common maladies.
Some folks just want a nice massage chair that looks good in
their living room or office so that they can relax and just
listen to their surround sound movie or music system. That's
great too!
But if you are considering investing in a massage chair
recliner, there are some things you need to consider before
buying. What I'm about to tell you will give you exactly what
you need and want to know. It's not just as simple as sitting
in a chair to know if a model is good or not. There are a lot
of "behind the scenes" things that this report will point out
to you that will help make your buying decision easier. You've
thought of some of them, like price and looks, but I will
cover
a bunch of things that have probably never occurred to you.
This
article is designed to make things clearer for you before
shelling out your hard-earned money.
So, what do you absolutely need to know before buying a chair?
Since they cover quite a lot of information, we will only
discuss the first 2 things that you will need to consider.
#3-10 will be discussed in Part II of this topic.
#1. Features - The old massage chairs only provided vibration.
Well, today's chairs should offer the following:
Kneading – also known as "shiatsu", kneading rolls outward
from
the spine and feels much like 2 hands alternately rubbing your
back. This is why it is said that massage chairs mimic the
hands of a licensed massage therapist…kneading is the reason
for the comparison.
Percussion/Tapping – this is the light "karate chopping" on a
client's back that you’ve probably seen before on TV. Well,
that's what this feature imitates. Increased blood flow and
muscle stiffness relief is the benefit gained. It feels
wonderful.
Rolling - in our clinic, we have a $2800.00 table that
patients
lie on, called a "roller table." Basically, wheels just roll
up
and down the muscles on either side of your spine. Here are
the
benefits: 1.) gentle moving of the spinal bones, and 2.)
stretching of the spine and the muscles around it. Patients
love it...and the roller table only rolls! Your massage chair
should do so much more than just roll (and for a lot less
money!).
Foot and calf massager - many of the new chairs have an
attached ottoman that has a calf and foot massage feature
administered by an airbag system. This feature is a real
"must", especially if you spend a good portion of your day on
your feet.
Full recliner – if you want your massage to be as deep as
possible, you need to get a chair that has a reclining
feature.
And the further back the recline, the greater the intensity of
the massage. The reclining uses your body weight to make the
massage deeper. A lot of chairs don't recline much farther
than
135º. You will want 170 degrees or more for the more intense
massage option (by the way, the further back your chair
reclines, men, the more it imitates a bed...especially
important if you're ever forced to sleep on the couch!!).
#2. Durability – a well built chair should give you many, many
years of wonderful problem-free pleasure. Even though you most
likely can't know how good a motor is or how well built the
chair really is, there are some other ways to know if a chair
is a workhorse and is going to last a while:
Warranty – a longer warranty will give you greater confidence
initially when looking for a chair. You want a company that
stands behind their chairs and what greater way to show that
than by a warranty. But, beware of long warranties that are so
limited that if anything goes wrong there are so many
loopholes
to not cover your chair that it is as if you had not warranty
at
all.
Reputation – is the manufacturer of the chair well-known? Are
they easily accessible if there ever is a problem? How can you
tell? A toll-free customer service phone number to the
manufacturer would be great. The length of time in business is
probably a good indicator of how good the manufacturer is.
Does
the chair/company have any professional endorsements?
New vs. Used - there are a lot of used chairs out there, but
just like a used car, you never quite know what you are
getting. You can bet the warranty has expired, but you have no
idea how the previous owner treated the chair. Who
knows...maybe it was in a home that had kids jumping on it
like
a trampoline (that's exactly what happens in my home!).
In Part II, we will discuss items #3-10.
About The Author: Dr. Alan Weidner graduated summa cum laude
from Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, class of 1991. His
website, www.massage-chair-relief.com, offers the
Interactive Health family of massage chairs and massage
recliners
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