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Shoulder Massage – What Really Is It and What Massage Chairs Have It?

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Massage Chair Shoulder Airbags

Shoulder massage in a massage chair means different things to different people. The same kind of confusion occurs when someone says “hip” massage. It could mean the thighs, the low back, the pelvis, the buttocks, etc.

With shoulder massage, to some people it could mean the shoulder blades, the trapezius muscles, the upper back, the outside of the shoulders, etc. So, you see it can be very confusing.

For the sake of this article, I will break down each definition of shoulder and then discuss which massage chairs can cater to what a “shoulder” is according to those definitions.

1. Trapezius muscles (the “traps”)

These muscles are located at the top of your shoulders and constitute those muscles that get really tight when you are working at a desk, particularly at a computer. They are the muscles you grab when your “shoulders” feel sore and tight. When you look at the muscle-man they are the muscles that can get so big that they make the man look like he has no neck. They are the muscles that go from the base of the neck to your shoulder joint.

There are really one two massage chairs that can come close to addressing this area. First of all is the Inada  Sogno Dreamwave massage chair. It has a head piece that Inada calls the Cervical Traction Device. At the bottom of this head piece, there are two massage airbags, one on either side of the user’s neck, that will inflate and direct pressure downward onto those trap muscles. It is a very intense airbag massage and feels delightful. This is the only massage chair that has this direct airbag compression feature on the traps. The intensity of the airbag compression can be adjusted, but it truly feels like the elbows of a trained massage therapist digging down into those “shoulder” muscles.

The Panasonic 30007 massage chair does not have airbag compression onto those muscles, but it has a roller system that tries to hit that spot. Like all massage chairs, the 30007 has rollers that go up and down your spine. Unlike other massage chairs, when the rollers hit the shoulder area (the trap area), the track of those rollers allows the rollers to roll for forward over top of the trap muscles. It is not a significant roll forward but enough to make it feel like the user is getting the trap muscles addressed to some degree.

The Inada Sogno is definitely better than the 30007 in terms of hitting that area of the shoulder, but both chairs make the effort.

2. Shoulder blades/Mid Back

Of course, these are located in the back and are very common areas of soreness. Virtually every manufacturer addresses this area with their own proprietary roller system in their massage chairs.

No massage chair actually massages the whole shoulder blade, but they all hit the edges of the shoulder blades that are closest to the spine. The principle muscles at that area are called rhomboids and they tend to get sore with lots of sitting and a slumping posture. Most folks don’t even realize that they have a problem there until they sit in a massage chair and the rollers hit that spot.

Massage chairs are great at massaging this area. This area between the shoulder blades is a common point of soreness for many people with poor posture. Not only will the rollers of the massage chair work over the muscles in that area and give the user some relief, they will also push the spine forward and give the user the feeling that they are standing taller and straighter after a session.

So, if you have a slumping posture, prepare to feel taller and straighter after a session on virtually any massage chair with a roller

Inada Doctors Choice Massage Chair

Inada Doctors Choice Massage Chair

system.

Inada has a massage chair called the Doctor’s Choice massage chair, which has a neat posture correction feature. It actually has airbags that compress the front of either shoulder while the rollers go up and down the mid/upper back and shoulder blade areas. It pins the shoulders back while the rollers are hitting this area, thus accentuating the proper posture position and working that area even more intensely than any other massage chair model.

3. Outside part of the shoulders

This area is where the deltoid muscles are located. The recent onslaught of Inada Sogno look-a-likes out of China have an airbag that

Osaki 6000 Massage Chair Shoulder Airbags

Osaki 6000 Massage Chair Shoulder Airbags

inflates and pushes on the outside of the shouder where the deltoid muscle is, but their effectiveness are limited. A good sample of a chair with this feature would be the Osaki 6000 massage chair or the Omega Montage Pro massage chair. The Inada Sogno has a full arm massage feature which is very unique. The airbags that the Sogno employs get close to those muscles and do somewhat compress them, but it is not a full on deltoid massage.

This review of shoulder massage should assist in identifying what is meant by “shoulder” pain and what massage chair will cater to that issue.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

 

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Massage Chair Relief News Update 02/01/12!

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Here is what is going on at Massage Chair Relief this week:

1. Well, this last week has been hectic as folks went after the Inada massage chairs like crazy before the price increase last night. At midnight the price of the Inada Sogno Dreamwave massage chair jumped to $7799 and the Inada Yume went up to $5999. The Inada i1 chair also went up in price to $4499.

For those of you who got a chair at the old price…well done! For the rest of the massage chair shoppers out there, you will find the Inada Sogno massage chair to still be one of the finest chairs in the world and still worth the money (by the way, give me a call to see what I can do for you on the current price ;-) …we always have something going on at the showroom).

2. The new Osaki 7000 massage chair is now available for purchase. The entire Osaki line of massage chairs is Chinese-made and very

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

affordable, as far as massage chairs go. This new Osaki OS-7000 is quite a cool looking thing; I really like the design. I will be getting one in my showroom in the near future and then I will be able to give you the real goods on the chair. It is priced at $3790 USD. You can check out the Osaki 7000 here:

http://www.massage-chair-relief.com/massage-chairs/osaki/osaki-os-7000/

As I have mentioned on this blog before, we now have the Osaki 6000 on our showroom floor and we have really come to like that chair. It seems to be a quality machine. Only time will tell how well that chair will hold up with regular wear-and-tear.

3. Massage Chair Relief has a YouTube channel. I have always had the channel but it has been a mess for the longest time. I have finally cleaned up all the playlists and made the videos completely ready for your enjoyment. You can check out our channel here:

http://www.youtube.com/massagechairrelief

I’ve got a whole bunch of new videos coming online in the next few months for your enjoyment. Subscribe and stay in touch with what is going on with the massage chair industry. Later this week I will be posting a video showing the assembly of the new Osaki 6000 massage chair.

4. Did you know that you can use as many credit cards on a single purchase as you’d like? Most people use just one credit card to purchase their new massage chair, but we have used as many as 4 on one transaction!! It just takes a little back-office juggling and we can put your chair purchase on as many credit cards as you’d like.

Did you know you can also purchase a massage chair through Massage Chair Relief with a check? Most folks don’t do that in today’s day and age, but we still get checks mailed to us for a massage chair. With a check, though, we have to wait for the funds to clear before I can order the chair for you from the manufacturer.

Oh, and you can wire funds, too! That only takes minutes from the time you submit the wire at your bank. If you pay by check or wire, I can save you some money on your chair purchase. I can pass my savings, from not having to pay credit card fees, along to  you. Just let me know if you want to use cash, checks, or wiring and I’ll explain the savings available to you.

We only accept wire transfers from international orders, by the way.

Well, that about does it for this week. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this massage chair business so fun for my family and I. We all work in the business in one way or another.  We just love working with our clients.

If you have any questions whatsoever, you can always reach me on my cell number 801-651-2026 or our showroom number 801-417-8240 or our toll-free number 888-259-5380. Of course, you can always email me at alan@massage-chair-relief.com, too. I would just love to visit with you about massage chairs!

Have a super day!

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

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1 Week Left Before Inada Massage Chairs Price Increase

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Inada Massage Chair Price Increase Coming!

1 week from today the prices of the Inada massage chairs will go up…substantially! The Sogno Dreamwave massage chair goes up to $7799 and the Yume goes up to $5599. The fellows at Inada made a fun little 30 second video graphically describing the increase.  Enjoy…

If you want to beat the price increase AND get a few extra ways to save money, call me at the showroom at 801-417-8240 and I’ll take care of you.

Massage Chair Comparison Chart Now Available!

By the way, our new chair comparison chart is up and ready to access. You can go to any manufacturer category page on our site and click any massage chair to get a comparison of over 50 features. This should do wonders in helping you choose the right chair for you. Of course, knowing about a massage chair and actually experiencing one are two different things.

This new comparison chart has been in the works for 3 months and is the most comprehensive massage chair comparison chart available. I go over more than 50 features as they relate to the more than 30 models that we carry. I would suggest approaching it in two ways if you are not sure what chair to get:

1. Write down what features you know you want in a massage chair and then go to the chart to see what chairs  meet your criteria, or

2. Take a look at the chart and see what features spark your interest. Then you can get down to which model suits your fancy more than another.

Hope this helps!

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

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Massage Chair News!

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Massage Chair Relief News

Here is my most recent massage chair news update. I have a few things that to address today:

1. Price Increase for Inada Massage Chairs

I’ve already mentioned this ad nauseum, but it is good for you to know that the Inada massage chairs are going up in price on February 1, 2012. The Inada Sogno is jumping up $800 to $7799, while the Inada Yume is going up $500 to $5999. These are significant price increases and Inada blames the weakness of the US Dollar and the strength of the Japanese Yen for the new pricing. It will be interesting to see if the price of the Inada massage chairs come down when the US Dollar strengthens. Hmmmm…I wonder.

2. Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

The Osaki 6000 massage chair, which was just introduced earlier this month, is now  being followed up by the new OS-7000 massage chair. I

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

Osaki 7000 Massage Chair

absolutely love the look of this chair and am excited to see how it works. I plan on getting one in my showroom soon. I have included a pic of it so you can see why I like the styling so much. Some of it’s unique features include: zero gravity, body scan technology, pelvis and hip massage, infrared heat, 13 motors, head air massage, and outer shoulder massage.

Like all Osaki models, this is a chinese-made massage chair. I believe that Osaki private labels volume-manufactured chairs from China. The price point of this model will be $3790 and will have the standard 1 year on-site parts & labor/2 year parts/3 year structural warranty. It will be available in beige, taupe, and black.

3. Human Touch Acutouch 6.0

Human Touch is coming out with a new model known as the Acutouch 6.0 massage chair. I am told that it will only be available through Costco stores at this point. On www.humantouch.com, it is priced at $4999 and the following features are highlighted:  cloud touch massage and 8 auto-immersion programs. Not sure what those mean, but they sound interesting. Nothing is mentioned about the roller system or whether the ottoman is retractable like the Acutouch 9500, but I am sure that data will come out as the chair enters the market.

This model will be available in black, espresso, and butter colors.

4. Massage Chair Comparison Feature

I have been working on this for months and it will finally be available this week. I am so excited about our massage chair comparison feature because it will be the first of it’s kind in our industry. It is a very comprehensive and detailed comparison chart that compares and contrasts 51 different massage chair features. This comparison feature will make shopping for massage chairs so much easier.

You will be able to check off a box on each massage chair model and then compare the ones you have checked off in a spreadsheet format. I believe you will be able to compare up to 5 massage chairs at a time.

That’s about it for this week. If you have any questions or any information about any old or new massage chairs that you’d like me to do a little homework on and report on this blog, let me know. You can always email me at alan@massage-chair-relief.com or call me directly on my personal cell phone, 801-651-2026.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

 

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Massage Chair Heat Function – Helpful or Overrated?

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Massage Chair Heat

A very common question from massage chairshoppers is “Does this or that model have heat?” I am going to discuss the different

Massage Chair Heat

Massage Chair Heat

types of heat that are available in the massage chair market and whether or not it is helpful or an overrated feature.

Surprising to many is that not all massage chairs have heat. I would say it is about half and half for those that do and those that don’t (based on my experience in this industry). I will only speak of the name-brand massage chairs, which are the only ones you can consistently and regularly trust for quality and warranty support.

Most massage chairs that have a heat function have it situated in or close to the low back. For example, the Human Touch HT-7450 massage chair and HT-7120 massage chair have a low back heater in the lower lumbar portion of the spine, which is around the belt line.

The Inada Sogno massage chair has a very interesting heat function, wherein there is a small heating element at the back of the seat, in the area of the sacrum, which is the hard bone in the middle of your spine just at the top of your buttocks. Some folks say that they don’t feel the heater in the Sogno, but it is there. Inada suggests a simple test if you don’t believe them. Put a dishtowel or washcloth over the back part of the seat and then sit in the chair for a session. When you are finished with the session feel the towel and you will feel heat in that one spot where the heating element is located.

A Massage Chair With Heat in the Feet!

Sanyo massage chairs do not have heat in the back, which is intuitively where you think a massage chair heater should be, but in the souls of the feet! Yes, at the very bottom of the chair underneath both feet is located a heating element. I suspect that this is geared towards the whole reflexology aspect of foot massage, which is a pretty popular thing in alternative health systems.

The Omega Montage has heat in the low back, the buttocks, and in the legs and feet. When you sit in that chair you will feel very warm, very fast. There is no doubt of the heat function when you are using the Omega massage chair. It can almost get too hot and you may need to shut off that feature if you want to sit for an extended period of time in that model.

Does Heat In A Massage Chair Really Do Anything?

Now, the big question is…is the heat function all that important? Well, I have a couple of opinions on that. The purpose of heat is to increase blood flow to an area. Cold is used to decrease blood flow to an area. You can tell when there is increased blood flow to an area by how red that area becomes when heat is applied or, as in the example of a soft tissue injury, when you see red swelling around the injured area.

As far as massage chairs are concerned, just the repetitive action of the rollers on your back will increase blood flow to the back muscles and skin. When you are finished a massage chair session and you look at your back in the mirror you will probably see red lines from the rollers going up and down your back.  That is a sign of increased blood flow, which is indicative of increased heat to that region. That will happen with our without a heating mechanism. You will also feel hotter in the massage chair while you are getting your therapy because of that increased blood flow.

So, if you are after heat when you are in your massage chair, you will get it no matter what, so long as the chair is on and the rollers are working. Adding a heating element will, in my opinion, just speed up the effects of heat. It will be introduced to your body as soon as you turn on that function on your chair anyway.

So, when it is all said and done, you will feel heat and benefit from the effects of heat regardless of whether  your chair has a heating element or not. Of course, for every extra feature that you get on a massage chair, you will pay a little bit more too. So, if cost is an issue, reducing features like heat will most likely save you some money in the process.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

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Massage Chairs Christmas Shipping Deadlines!!!

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Christmas Massage Chairs Shipping Deadlines

The holiday season is upon us and it is crunch-time for getting  massage chairs before December 25th. Christmas falls on a Sunday this

Massage Chair Shipping

Massage Chair Shipping

year, so you are wanting to get your chair delivered by Friday, December 23rd. Each manufacturer and shipper has their own shipping deadlines to get you a massage chair by that date. Here is the schedule:

Osaki Massage Chairs:

  • December 16, 2011

Inada, Human Touch, Panasonic, Sanyo, and Omega Massage Chairs:

For standard delivery, plan on…

  • 5-6 days for the east coast
  • 4 days to Chicago to the states that boarder the east coast states
  • 3 days to the Midwest and Idaho.
  • 2-3 days to most western states
  • 2 days to Phoenix and northwest
  • Next day to California and Nevada

(Inada even has a shipping chart with more specific regions and dates. You can check it out here…
http://www.inadausa.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Holiday-Shipping.pdf )

For White Glove Delivery…

  • Inada: 3 business days prior to the dates on the above-mentioned link.
  • Human Touch: December 14, 2011
  • Panasonic, Sanyo, Omega: December 14, 2011
  • Osaki: December 9, 2011

Here are a couple of things you need to also consider regarding the Christmas shipping deadlines:

1. Dates are never guaranteed because of inclement weather. It is snow season and these massage chairs do ship from California and Texas. They may have to go through a state where winter storms are a norm. Just be aware of that. In other words, order as early as possible to make sure you are not pushing your luck!

2. Since we are in Utah, we do the white glove delivery ourselves. That means that it will not take any longer time to get white glove delivery than standard delivery.

3. I have my own shipping guy in Southern California. He can deliver on Saturdays. So, if you order a massage chair during the last week before the 25th, we can most likely get you your chair by the 24th.

4. For confirmed, guaranteed delivery on a particular date, you will have to pay extra!

Well, that should do it. Get your orders in ASAP to avoid any hassle whatsoever with these deadlines and Christmas delivery.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

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Massage Chair Relief News!

Thursday, November 24th, 2011

Lots Happening in our Massage Chair World!

It is an exciting time of the year for us as massage chair retailers! Black Friday and Cyber Monday kick off the holiday shopping and it starts to get a little crazy for us…and I absolutely love the energy associated with this time of year. I love getting your calls and inquiries about massage chairs. It is so fun interacting with all of you.

I get lots of calls about whether we have Black  Friday promotions going on at Massage Chair Relief. Well, yes we do! Call our showroom at 801-417-8240 and we’ll tell you what we have going on for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Here are some massage chair things you need to know:

1. The Inada i1 is replacing the i2A massage chair. The chairs are basically the same except that the i1 does not have arm vibration nor does it have the wood accent on the sides of the chair. Otherwise, it is the same chair. It is also a little cheaper at $3749.

2. Massage Chair Relief website redesign! Man, I am excited about this. We are completely revamping our website and it should be done this weekend. If you check in and find something lacking or anything that doesn’t work right, please let me know. It will be very easy to shop at www.Massage-Chair-Relief.com with the new design. We’ve been working on it for quite some time.

3. With the new site design, we will be adding a new  line of massage chairs to our repertoire. The Osaki line of massage chairs is a

Osaki 3000 Massage Chair

Osaki 3000 Massage Chair

chinese-made line of massage chairs put out by the same company that introduced Titan chairs to the market. This line will provide a good line up of full-featured massage chair models in the under-$3000 price range. The models are the Osaki, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000. You can’t see them just yet…not until our site redesign is complete (see #2 above).

4. Omega massage chairsare introducing a new offering to the massage chair market. It is the Omega Montage Pro. I don’t know the

Montage Pro Massage Chair

Montage Pro Massage Chair

pricing yet, but I do know that it will be available after December 1. It appears to be, like the Osaki 3000 & 4000 models and OSIM uAstro, a lookalike model of the famous and extremely popular Inada Sogno massage chair. This is a chinese-manufactured chair with some nice features. Based on the other massage chairs already in the Omega Montage series, I suspect this chair will be priced in the $4000 range.

5. Inada has discontinued the Cube chair. A cute chair but it didn’t quite take off as they had hoped. It is still up on our website, as you can still buy inventory, but if you call me at 801-651-2026, I can get you a screaming deal on one! The Cube will not be on our site redesign. Inada massage chairs still include the Sogno, the Yume, and the i1.

Well, that’s about it. Have a fun shopping season. Please call with any and all massage chair questions. I’m always around. I told a customer last night in the showroom that my cell phone is like a body part to me…it goes with me everywhere I go and I use it at all times of the day and night.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

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Spanking Massage Chairs???

Saturday, November 19th, 2011

I just had to share this news story with you. I read in the New York Post that Russian police ordered spanking massage chairs! I have no idea what the spanking feature is. I’ve never seen a chair with that feature included and I’m not sure I ever will. Wouldn’t that hurt?

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/russian_cops_order_spanking_massage_uhFjFJ9D2Ctse9A2hRcHpJ

Maybe it is a form of heat therapy. I remember getting spanked as a kid and I also remember my butt burning after the spanking. Hmmm..

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

 

 

 

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Can Massage Chairs Be Used When Pregnant?

Friday, November 18th, 2011

Massage Chairs and Pregnancy

When I was a full-time chiropractor, I would get asked all the time by my patients if chiropractic and massage (which we used in our

Massage Chairs and Pregnancy

Massage Chairs and Pregnancy

clinic all the time) was safe to use on a pregnant lady. The answer is a resounding “Yes.”
I have treated many, many women over the years who were expecting, whether in their first or last trimester. Of course, when someone is 8-9 months along, the style of treatment may need to be catered to their body morphology. But, I never met a pregnant woman who couldn’t be benefited by manual therapy.

Well, now that I am in the massage chair industry, I also get asked quite often if massage chairs are OK for pregnant women to use. Again, the answer is a resounding “Yes.”

Before I go into the reasons and physiology of this therapy, I should issue this disclaimer: If you are concerned about the health of you or the baby or if you have extenuating circumstances with your health, by all means visit your primary care physician and get some peace of mind before hopping onto massage chairs.

The benefits of massage therapy during pregnancy apply to manual, hands-on massage as well as robotic massage chair therapy. The principles and benefits are the same regardless of mode of application of massage.

Pregnant women tend to endure some, if not all, of the following health issues: swelling, muscle spasm and pain, postural stress, insomnia, breathing difficulty, lack of mobility, poor circulation, back pain, neck pain and headaches. Of course, you may be suffering from many other things, but this is a pretty comprehensive list to start with.

Now, I’ll discuss how massage chairs address each of these complaints:

  1. Swelling/Poor Circulation – massage chairs that have calf and foot massagers can provide a successive compression of the legs to enhance circulation of blood and lymph. This may not only reduce swelling (edema), but also help the body remove unwanted toxins that are in your system. Those toxins may also be contributing to your muscle pain.
  1. Muscle Spasm, Aches, and Pains – muscles may already be compromised by the toxins that I mentioned in #1 above. The massage chair will help flush those toxins out. However, the strain on your body muscles that comes from the change in shape of a growing baby inside you can cause muscle aches and pains everywhere. Massage is the perfect therapy for relaxing those muscles and ridding you of that annoying muscle pain. It can even reduce muscle spasm, let alone muscle pain.

Massage chairs also contribute to the release of endorphins into your blood stream. For your information, endorphins are the body’s natural pain killer.

  1. Postural Stress – anyone who has been pregnant or has seen someone who is pregnant will understand this complaint immediately. Without a 40 pound mass protruding from your midsection, most people have a poor posture to begin with. Adding a baby to the picture doesn’t help at all and, in fact, makes the posture worse. Strained posture leads to strained muscles which, as mentioned in #2 above, can lead to muscle aches and pains.

Most people feel like they are standing taller and straighter after a massage chair session. That is because the chair actually works on those postural issues.

  1. Lack of Mobility – range of motion is compromised by the addition of the 40 pound baby and accompanying tissue and fluids. The joints don’t move as easily as they would without. Massage chairs add a lovely passive motion to your joints which will keep the discs and joints healthy. You could check how far you can turn your body before sitting in the chair and then check again after a session. You will be surprised at how much more you can turn.
  1. Back Pain, Neck Pain, Headaches – the benefits that apply to muscles pain, joint mobility, and postural strain will ultimately reduce any body pain that you have, be it low back, mid back, neck, and/or headache pain.
  1. Difficulty Breathing – it’s kind of hard to take a deep breath when you are pregnant, isn’t it ladies? Well, much of that disability comes from the slouching posture you develop with the addition of the 40 pound bundle of joy you are carrying in your front side. When you can have the rollers of the massage chair repeatedly roll over your mid back, you will find that your posture will be straighter and your ability to take in deep breathes will increase noticeably. This can also lead to sleeping better.
  1. Sleeping Problems (Insomnia) – I can’t even begin to count the number of people, men and women alike, who told me that the biggest surprise they got with their new massage chair was how well they slept at night. Massage just tends to relax everything, like muscles and joints and posture, but also your “nerves.” I can almost assure you that you will enjoy a better night’s sleep after having a massage chair session. Now, I totally understand that sleeping with 8 months of pregnancy behind you is no easy task no matter what therapy you try. But, just maybe you’ll enjoy a little bit better sleep after you sit in your new massage chair.

Well, that just about does it for pregnancy and massage chairs. I hope this puts your mind to rest about it. The risks are extremely small, if at all.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com

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Review of Massage Chairs Foot and Calf Therapy

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Foot and Calf Therapy in Massage Chairs

Most massage chairs, nowadays, have some sort of a foot and calf massaging mechanism as part of their feature set. Some chairs may

Massage Chairs with Calf Massage

Massage Chairs with Calf Massage

just have the calf massage, but most of them have some sort of lower extremity massage function. These calf and foot massaging mechanisms are often called an ottoman.

Different Types of Ottomans in Massage Chairs

Some ottomans are designed to have the foot and calf massaging mechanism all-in-one and completely attached as one solid unit, like the Human Touch Actouch HT-9500 massage chair and the Omega Aires, but others have the foot detached from the calf massager, thus facilitating the ability of a taller person to stretch out their legs by flattening out the foot portion of the ottoman, making it parallel to the calf massager. An example of this type of foot and calf massager would be the Panasonic 30007. The down side with this type of use of the foot massager is that the foot massager ends up massaging the sides of the ankles of the user.

Inada has found a happy medium by engineering an “accordion-like” attachment between the foot and the calf massagers, allowing a taller person to simply extend their longer legs with the foot massager staying perpendicular to the calf massager.

The vast majority of the foot and calf massagers use airbags to create the massaging effect. Each manufacturer has its own proprietary setup of the airbags to provide their own unique feel, but the basic gist of every foot and calf massage is that the airbags compress the calves and feet in one form or another. Some compression happens all at once, while others inflate in a sequence mode so that it feels like the airbags are “rolling” up and down the legs.

A very small number of massage chairs actually claim to have rollers in the feet bottoms. So, the feet end up getting the same kind of therapy that the back does with the standard back rollers. I believe the Elite Optima and one of the King Kong chairs have the foot rollers in addition to the airbags. Human Touch claims that their HT-9500 massage chair has “paddles” in the ottoman that create a very unique feel when you use that chair. That chair, in my opinion and based on the many, many chairs I have sat in, has the best foot and calf massager of any of the massage chairs we’ve seen. It is a wonderful experience for your feet.

Inada recently came out with a new model, the Inada Yume, which adds an interesting twist to the whole ottoman massage field. They have added what they call Thera-Elliptical-Kneading, wherein the sides of the calf massage wells actually move up and down in an elliptical motion to actually massage the calf muscles along with the airbag compression massage. It is very interesting and feels phenomenal.

A Drawback of the Foot and Calf Feature in Massage Chairs

Massage chair foot and calf massagers are the biggest reason that massage chairs don’t look like regular recliners. It is kinda hard to hide a big foot and calf massager! Some companies have certainly tried to hide the “ugly” ottomans. For example, Human Touch has created a retractable ottoman on the new Acutouch HT-9500. They have also created a rotating ottoman on models like the HT-7120 and HT-7450 so that these calf-only massagers can rotate underneath thus hiding the calf wells from view.

It may take some getting used to if you are not accustomed to having a mechanical foot and calf massage, but once you’ve used it a few times you will get used to it and thoroughly enjoy the therapeutic benefit of this feature in massage chairs.

 

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