I told you about the new Omega line of zero gravity massage chairs a couple of weeks ago. Well, I just learned that Sanyo has a new line of chairs which also combine the zero gravity (or “best” position as it is being called by Sanyo) and massage chair features. I will tell you a little about the new Sanyo 3700 relaxation massage chair lounger in a moment, but first I want to talk a little about the evolution of these zero/anti gravity massage chairs.

I think this is how it all began:

Human Touch came out with a beautiful, non-massage chair known as the Perfect Chair. It reclined the user, while also tilting the seat up at a 30-40 degree angle so that your body would be positioned without strain or compression on the low back. It was a spin on the old inversion machines and, more recently, the spinal decompression phenomenon that we see advertised everywhere nowadays. Well, Human Touch saw how popular the Perfect Chair was and took that technology and integrated it with the massage chair features in the HT-7450.  Human Touch touted it as the “First Anti-Gravity Massage Chair”. The chair even won an award for the concept.

Sanyo then came out, around the same time, with their own version of an anti-gravity massage chair, but called it “zero-gravity” (they all have to sound so different don’t they?). The Sanyo 7700 massage chair became, and still is, a very popular massage chair (by the way, we will have the Sanyo 7700 up on our website in the next few days and we will have one in our showroom in another week or so). The even created a slightly less-expensive version of the 7700 called the 6700 which is also a zero gravity chair but with only one zero gravity position, as opposed to two positions that the 7700 has.

Well, to tell you the truth, I think that the popularity of the zero/anti-gravity feature has motivated Omega to come out with their Serenity and Skyline zero gravity massage chairs, as I explained on this blog previously

http://www.massage-chair-relief.com/blog/chair-models/new-massage-chairs-coming-from-omega-massage/
http://www.massage-chair-relief.com/blog/chair-models/more-pics-info-of-new-omega-chairsand-our-first-client-in-bermuda/

I also think that Sanyo decided to expand their zero gravity line with the new Sanyo 3700, which we will be carrying within a few weeks, and the Relaxation Chair that is exclusively at Relax the Back stores.  I suspect that other manufacturers will come out with their versions of this phenomenon in the next year or so. Is it a fad or is it really a therapeutic wonder? I figure it will have some staying power as the zero/anti gravity feature does seem to help low back pain sufferers to some degree (though I do not believe it is “the” answer for low back pain massage chair shoppers).

On my next blog post, I will go into details about the new Sanyo HEC-A3700 “best position” massage chair lounger and the difference between this model and the Sanyo Relaxation Chair (Relax the Back exclusive).

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