All About The Massage Chair Remote Control
Every massage chairthat has any electronic component has a remote control. These remote controls have some similarities and some differences, no matter the chair size or type. In this article, I will go over these basics of the massage chair remotes:
1. Type of remotes– of all the massage chairs we have in our showroom or have on our website, remote controls come in three different ways: pedestal remotes that are on a stand that protrudes from the body of the chair (usually the chair side or an arm rest), “in-line” remotes that are either built into the arm rest or fit into a slot in the arm rest, or a detached remote that can be put into a side pocket on the outside of the arm rest. An example of each would be the Panasonic 30007 (pedestal), Osaki 7000 (in-line), and Inada Sogno (side pocket).
Some folks can’t stand the pedestal sticking up as it does so the other two options would be more appropriate. For those who don’t care, the remote can almost always detach from the pedestal so that it can sit on your lap while you recline. That way you don’t have to get up from a reclined position to reach the remote on the pedestal.
2. No cordless remotes…yet. All the massage chairs that we carry have a cord attached from the chair to the remote itself. It is a little annoying at times to have to deal with the cord, but it is all they’ve come up with at this point. I can see a day, however, when there will be cordless, wireless remotes on all the chairs. But, nothing yet in that department.
3. Automatic vs. manual function. Every massage chair has some sort of automatic programming that allows you, with the push of one button, to get into a massage program that is pre-set by the manufacturer. I like these auto programs for that very reason…I can just sit down, push one button, and then go through a 15-20 minute pre-programmed set of massage functions. You usually can’t adjust too much when you are in one of these auto programs, but they are very convenient.
Massage chairs can have anywhere from 1-9 different auto programs, depending on the price of the chair, for the most part. For example, the HT-7120 from Human Touch has 3 auto programs, upper back, lower back, and whole body. Yet, Human Touch also has the HT-9500 and HT-7450, which have 8 auto programs, from a morning program to a night program to a stretch to a sports massage, among others.
Every massage chair also has manual settings, wherein you can set the rollers where you want them, what airbags you want on, what width, speed, and/or intensity of the rollers you want, and more. These manual settings are great is you want to focus the massage in one spot and you just want one or two massage modes working on that spot.
Some massage chairs, like the Sanyo 7700, even have a hybrid of manual and auto massages. Pretty cool, but is it too much? Personal preference I guess.
Well, that about covers the remote controls of massage chairs.
Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com