I often have calls and inquiries about which chairs would be best suited for tall folks, but once in a while I get an email like this one asking for chair suggestions for someone quite short.
Hi Dr Weidner, I found your site while researching for a massage chair for my mom. Your website and reviews are truly great, the best I could find on google. My mom is very petite, only 4’10” tall. She has lower back pain close to the spine. I really want to get her a massage chair to alleviate her pains. I’m wondering which models would fit her better? I’ve seen some good reviews about osaki models, would osaki 7200h fit her size? I also saw a human touch model in costco, that chair looks pretty small but doesn’t have many fancy functionalities that Osaki does. Could you please give some suggestions on which brand/model would work better for her case? I’d really appreciate it. Thanks, Liang
My Response:
Hi, Liang
Thank you so much for your inquiry. There are certainly some chairs that would fit your mom better than others. I will make some recommendations, but first let me discuss the OS-7200 massage chair from Osaki.
The OS-7200 is a chair built to fit larger body frames. It is a wonderful chair, but it was built to cater to the taller and bigger folks who didn’t fit in the OS-4000 very well. The features of the OS-7200 are fantastic, but it would probably feel too large for your petite mom.
Although there are not many chairs that I carry that are specifically designed to accommodate a 4’10” height, here are some chair models that come pretty close:
1. Inada Sogno – this chair states a height reference of 4’11”. It also has a “Youth” program that caters to that lower height. This is a very expensive chair, and widely considered the best chair in the world, so it may not fit within your budget. It is also known for a more gentle and soothing massage which may be just perfect for your mother’s petite frame.
2. Panasonic EP30007– this chair actually accommodates a frame as short as 4’6″. It does not handle anyone over 6′ all that well,especially if you have longer legs, but it might be fabulous for your mom. It has an aggressive massage but it can be adjusted in intensity. It also has arm and leg/foot massage airbags and a voice command that makes it easy to understand how to use.
You could also consider the EP30005, which is a “sister” model to the EP30007. Panasonic’s 1285 also has the same height support as the other two. It just doesn’t have the same rich feature-set as the 30005 and 30007 models.
3. Infinity IT-8500 and IT-8200 – wonderful chairs that can fit someone at 4’11” quite comfortably. They are very popular models and can also cater to tall folks, too. Mechanical foot rollers make these chairs unique. The massage is more vigorous with these two models and that intensity cannot be adjusted except with the use of a back pad or folded throw blanket.
4. Infinity IT-7800 – a basic chair but it caters to a frame as short as 4’9″ tall. I actually have a black floor model of this chair for sale for only $1395. Good chair but without the large amount of airbags you’ll find in the IT-8500 and IT-8200.
5. ZeroG 4.0– a great chair from Human Touch that can cater to the shorter frame. This chair, as do all Human Touch chairs, has afabulous foot and calf massage in the ottoman, which hides underneath the chair seat. The roller intensity can be adjusted in both the low back and neck regions, which will allow your mother some flexibility for comfort.
6. Osaki OS-3000 – this chair is great for shorter frames, as well as taller ones, but has a roller track that goes down into the buttocks to really address low back issues well. All of the above-mentioned chairs also do quite well in the low back, but the OS-3000 has a 36″ roller track, which is a good 5-6″ longer than the longest of the others.
I hope these suggestions help in some way. Let me know if I can assist you in any other way.
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