When looking for a massage chair, there are many factors to take into account. What do you want your massage chair to do for you? How much can you spend? What will be its home?
A high-quality massage chair is a significant purchase that should not be made without taking certain factors into account.
Here are the top 12 features to consider when purchasing a massage chair.
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Massage capabilities
Typically, low-end massage chairs only provide simple vibration and rolling massage. High-end massage chairs, however, provide a variety of features to help you relax. These characteristics frequently consist of, but are by no means limited to:
- comprehensive list of pre-programmed actions
- Basic, adjustable, and variable roller intensities in 2D, 3D, and 4D
- Heat treatment
- Kneading
- Reflexology
- Rolling
- Shiatsu
- acoustic therapy
- Design that saves space
- Tapping
- Vibration
- both inversion therapy and zero gravity
Naturally, the number and caliber of these features will impact the massage chair’s price, but putting your long-term health first is worth the investment!
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Price
When they see the prices of premium massage chairs, first-time buyers may be surprised. To keep from giving up on the search altogether, it helps to have some context. Even with the most basic features, a high-end massage chair can cost anywhere between $1,500 and $12,000, with the majority of models falling between $3,000 and $7,000. Cost will depend on a variety of factors, including the number of functions, technology, customizability, and upholstery, but as a general rule, avoid chairs that are less than $1,000 full price.
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Massage Locations
All luxury massage chairs have different massage styles and can focus on areas other than your back. Leg and foot massage functions are common in full-body massage chairs, and some chairs can even target the arms and hands.
Airbags, massage heads, or rollers placed throughout the chair typically provide these focused massage options. To replicate the therapeutic effects of visiting a masseuse, modern massage chairs can also come equipped with a massage head shaped like a thumb.
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Rollers & Track for Massage
Make sure to take the range of the rollers into account before you make the commitment to purchase the massage chair of your dreams. The type of track the massage chair includes serves as a clue.
L-track: A roller track that follows the natural “S” shape of the spine and extends from the neck to the gluteus muscles. L-tracks are typically 47”–52” long.
S-track: A roller track that mimics the “S” shape of the spine by extending from the neck through the lower lumbar region. As a result, S-tracks are a little bit shorter than L-tracks (between 30″ and 32″), but they still permit flexibility for spinal stretching and twisting.
J-track: Also known as a Flex Track, the J-track combines the L-track’s flexibility with the S-track’s range of motion.
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Airbags for massage
By injecting pressurized air into tiny pouches found in the back, legs, or sides of your massage chair, massage airbags provide effective relief from tension and stiffness. Your muscles are compressed when the airbags are inflated, which helps to stimulate blood flow and relieve soreness. Compared to the roller system, this produces a different sensation and type of massage.
Find a massage chair that offers both airbag and rolling massages at the same time if you’re unsure whether the airbag feature is right for you. Together, they can produce the most sophisticated full-body massage currently offered in a chair.
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Size of a massage chair
Most massage chairs are made to fit people up to 280 lbs. and with heights between 5′ and 7′. However, be sure to narrow down your search if you’re looking for a massage chair with a certain height or weight limit. While some manufacturers offer chairs that can be adjusted to shorter heights, others produce chairs that can comfortably fit larger frames.
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Warm-massage
The heated massage seat and/or back is an option on the majority of high-tech massage chairs. Your massage is greatly improved by using infrared heat to relax your muscles, enhance circulation, and flush out toxins. Heat therapy reduces pain and discomfort for massage chair users who have deep tissue pain, arthritis, inflammation, stiff joints, or other musculoskeletal issues. This allows the rollers to effectively penetrate through tight muscles.
Although heat therapy is frequently restricted to the seat or lower back, some massage chairs offer full body heat that extends from the soles of the feet to the headrest.
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Function to recline
The majority of high-end massage chairs offer a variety of recline options, with zero gravity being the most popular. By putting your body in a gravity-neutral position and relieving pressure on your spine, zero gravity recline simulates the weightlessness of space. Your heart rate, tension, and circulation can all be improved. With the push of a button, you can achieve complete control with some massage chair reclining options. According to studies, getting a massage while partially reclined not only deepens the massage experience but also significantly increases relaxation.
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Strength of massage
One of the most crucial features of any massage chair is the intensity of the massage. The amount of power a chair has depends on how many motors are inside of it; more motors equal more power. Your body will eventually adjust to the intensity of your massage chair, so the more strength options you have, the longer you’ll be able to use your massage chair.
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Programs for Massage
Between three and thirty pre-programmed massage options can be found in most massage chairs. These are great at the end of a long day when the last thing you want to do is fiddle with buttons because they offer a special, timed massage that targets specific body parts. Body scanning technology is typically found in the more sophisticated massage chairs, which uses it to test how different parts of your body react to a massage and adjust the intensity accordingly.
Your massage experience will be less repetitive with the more automatic programs. A massage chair has, especially if the programs can be combined or tailored. A wealth of options ensures no two massages are the same!
