Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Massage and Your Health: How Massage Chairs Can Help!

By James Knolan

Taking good care of our bodies and having good health are certainly higher priorities for everybody. There is so little time, as we are all so busy, that we seem to neglect taking care of ourselves. The day to day pressures build up stress in our bodies and we need to find time to release these pressures and find balance again. Massage therapy has been around for centuries to reduce stress and promote health and wellness, but who has time to go to the day spa? This is where a massage chair can help.

Massage chairs have advanced with the pace of technology and include many therapeutic massage therapies. Massage therapy involves the manipulation of the skin and muscles to relieve and alleviate aches, pain and discomfort. Massage chairs deliver full body massages from the base of the skull to your feet. They come with an arsenal of massage techniques and can also pinpoint certain problem areas.

Massage therapy is being recognized in more studies as an effective treatment to increase blood flow and lymph flow; reduce stress; relax muscles; reduce heart rate; and improve range of motion. These are significant findings. However, these benefits are premised on obtaining these therapies on a periodic basis. Just like diet and exercise, massage needs to be part of your total health routine. Not just something done a few times a year.

OK, we know massage therapy is good for our health, but I just do not have the time. I love the day spa and it is wonderful for a great array of massage therapy. My only gripe is not having enough time to take advantage of it. By the time I go and get my wonderful treatment and come home, it took over 2 hours. Now, most of the time was heavenly bliss, so I am not complaining. It it just finding that amount of time (forget about money) to get the benefit. Now, a massage chair has one great advantage. It is always waiting for me with its tireless mechanical hands to relieve my daily stress.

The traditional massage at a day spa for a full body massage starts with a therapist covering one part of your bodywill and then moving on to the next. If there are 5 major areas of coverage, then the massage therapist spends an average of 10 minutes on each area over a 50 minute massage.

A massage chair on the other hand can deliver the massages to each area in parallel. This significantly reduces the total time for the massage. The massage chair can effectively massage the back, both legs and arms at the same time. Each area is getting massaged all at the same time. This is a lot of massage therapy at one time. But in essence, 10 minutes in the massage chair is equivalent to a 50 minute massage.

A massage chair can help you by always being available when you need it. Imagine having 24/7 access to your own mechanical masseuse. No appointment necessary. Building a routine around massage therapy cannot be too hard. In fact to get the most benefit, the routine has to include periodic, continuous treatment. Sound like more fun that working out! Well, it certainly is a great compliment to soothe those aches, pains and soreness. Get the balance you need, and look at integrating massage therapy into your total health. The ancients would have loved the opportunity to have a massage chair recliner. - 14130

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