Mail Bag – Iyashi Questions; Sogno Armrests; S & L Roller Tracks

April 22, 2014
 By Dr. Alan Weidner
April 22, 2014
 By Dr. Alan Weidner

Mail Bag – Iyashi Questions; Sogno Armrests; S & L Roller Tracks

Question #1

email

Hi, I am researching massage chairs and have a few questions: I’m a fitness enthusiast and exercise often. I often have sore glutes, quads, and hamstrings after an intense lower body workout. That’s why the 49″ roller track on the Infinity Iyashi is very interesting to me. My only concern is its shoulder and neck massage capability. My day job involves sitting in front of a computer all day, so I have tight neck and trapezius muscles. I’m reading conflicting reports on whether the Iyashi gives adequate massages in those areas.

1. Dr. Weidner mentioned that the auto-program isn’t as intense as he likes in those areas, but later mentioned that the manual program is pretty strong. He also once mentioned that the rollers seems to come forward a bit (like the Panasonic MA70) on top of the shoulders, but this was not mentioned again anywhere else. Can you confirm whether the Iyashi gives good massages on the neck and top of the shoulders?

2. Given my requirements, do you recommend anything other than the Iyashi?

3. What happens if something breaks down on the Iyashi in the 2nd year (when it’s under parts warranty, but not labor). Does Infinite Therapeutics still send someone out, but I’d just have to pay for labor myself? Roughly how much would it cost labor wise, for an in-house service visit?

Thanks, Trent

My Response #1

Hi, Trent
Thanks so much for your email and questions. Here are my responses to your questions:

1. The neck and shoulder massage on the Iyashi is better in the manual mode but still not like the Panasonic chair. It’s massage of the top of the shoulders is marginal, at best. The Infinity IT-8500 has a better neck massage but doesn’t have the extended roller track into the buttocks. You will still get a neck massage on the Iyashi, but it won’t be as firm as the mid and lower back massage.

2. The Iyashi is the only chair that comes with the gluts massage. The rollers reach just the very top of the hamstrings in the back, but do not massage the quads at all (front of thigh). The Inada Sogno has a roller track that hits the top of the gluts and the sacral area, better than all other chairs besides the Iyashi. The Panasonic MA70 does the same.

3. If your chair breaks down after the labor warranty expires, you have a couple of options: a.) you can install it yourself with the assistance of the attached instructions and phone support from IT’s tech support, and b.) you can still have a technician sent out to do the work, but it will probably cost you $100-200 or so, depending on the issue and the time it takes to replace the part.

 

Question #2

Hi Dr. Weidner,

The white glove service folks were nice (Inada Sogno Dreamwave setup), but they had great, great difficulty putting the chair together.

I tested it out, and things seem functional, but I noticed a large amount of play in the shoulder/side assembly — both left and right.

Is this normal? I’m trying to attach a video to show you how much play is involved and see if something needs to be locked down, tightened, etc.

Sogno Armrests Video

 

My Response #2

Hi, Chris
Thanks for your email and your video. Yes, that is normal and it actually is a clever engineering idea from Inada. You see, the Sogno is the only massage chair with upper arm airbag massage. But, when the airbags inflate the inner portion not only inflates on your arm but also on your chest. For someone with a broader chest, the inflation of the airbags could “crush” the chest, so Inada built in the break-away arm rests to accommodate the upper arm massage on folks with a broader upper body. I hope that makes sense.

Question #3

Iyashi roller track

Iyashi roller track

Dr. Weidner,

If the Infinity Iyashi does not have 3D roller system technology, is it able to adjust the intensity of the massage delivered by the rollers? Or is there essentially one intensity setting for the back rollers?

I was told that the S track chairs have been around a long time, and that the 3D roller system technology was added to these types of chairs to improve the quality of the massage. But that the 3D roller system technology was not needed, or desirable on the newer L track chairs. It was explained that the L track chair were able to get the rollers closer to the body vs. the S track chairs, and thus, the 3D roller system technology was not needed on the L track chairs.

Is there any truth to this, or am I getting a biased salesman pitch?

-Fletcher

My Response #3

Hi, Fletcher
Good to hear from you again. 3D rollers means that the rollers can be moved forward and back to increase or decrease the intensity, respectively. Since the Iyashi does not have 3D rollers, it does not have that capacity. However, like with most chairs, you can use the speed feature to speed up the roller modes, which simulates a more vigorous massage. But, as far as depth goes, the Iyashi only has one setting.

Regarding this L track of which you speak, I assume we are talking about the extended roller track into the seat, as with the Iyashi. Am I correct in that assumption? If so, that chair still has an S-track, which really just means the roller track is built in the shape of the spine, which follows the forward concavity of the neck and low back areas and the convexity of the mid back and buttock areas. So, the Iyashi would have both S-track, as it pertains to the S-shape of the spine, as well as the L-track, as it pertains to the track extending somewhat perpendicularly from the back portion of the rollers to the seat area.

I hope this makes sense.

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

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