Here are some suggestions and considerations:

1. For a low end chair, I might suggest the IT-8500. It is a very popular chair with a pretty good track record for breakdowns (or lack thereof). The Osaki OS-7075R is a popular choice too, especially with the headband, which may be something that appeals to you as a denstis. The Osaki OS-7200H is another option. Good chair, but doesn’t have the mechanical foot rollers that the other two models have.

2. If you are using the chair for a commercial setting, an Inada chair, though arguably the best in the business, will require you to purchase a $600 commercial warranty. The standard warranty that comes with the chairs is for  residential customers and is void in a commercial setting. You may never have a problem with an Inada chair, but it is nice to have the peace of mind of a warranty.

3. If you choose a chinese-made chair, except for the Panasonic, I would recommend the extended warranty when you purchase your chair. That leads me to another suggestion…

4. The Panasonic MA70 would be a wonderful higher end choice. I trust the quality of their chairs. Although they are manufactured in China now, their design and engineering is done in Japan. And Japanese management monitors the quality control of the chinese manufacturing. This is a nice option not only for the quality, but also for the ease of use…it has one of the easiest remote controls to use and pretty much anyone can grasp it immediately upon sitting in the chair. This chair comes with a 3 year parts and labor in-house warranty, along with 2 additional years of parts only, which is a fantastic warranty for your commercial use.

5. If you are going to have a lot of people sit in the chair and taking off shoes is a deterrent to use (it was when I first started using massage chairs in my chiropractic clinic), then you might consider chairs that have calf massage and not foot massage or, at least, have an ottoman, with or without foot massage, that can rotate under so that folks don’t need to take off their shoes when they sit down to get therapy. This is a logistical consideration that will make things flow easier, especially if you have a lot of folks using the chair throughout the day. Chairs to consider with calf-massage only or a rotating ottoman include the Panasonic MA70 (rotating foot and calf ottoman), ZeroG 4.0 (rotating ottoman with foot and calf massage), ZeroG 2.0 (rotating calf-only ottoman), HT-7450 and HT-7120 (rotating calf only ottoman), Inada Yume (calf only ottoman), Inada i1 (calf only ottoman), IT-9800 (calf only ottoman), and the HT-9500 (rotating foot and calf ottoman).

George, I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions before you order. I am always at your disposal.

Dr. Alan Weidner