After a long day at work, spent either hunching over your laptop, or doing some serious heavy lifting, your body bears the brunt of the strain and begs for a break. Not heeding its call could lead to chronic discomfort and pain that may eventually affect your performance in the workplace, and mood at home.

To sort out the soreness and stress, you could use some good quality massage to ease the knots and muscle tensions down your back. A professional massage therapist can manipulate your body’s muscles and soft tissues by applying pressures and movements to provide relief, healing, and relaxation. But while it’s best to avail of their service, your hectic schedule could keep you from having the decent massage time you deserve.

So it's a good thing there are full body massage chairs you can buy and use to experience a relaxing rubdown anytime. The best thing about it? You can simply plop down on it and let it work its magic on your tired body without having to go to a massage center. Conveniently place it in your living space at home or in a quiet corner in your office for instant therapy time.

But before we dive into massage chairs features and options, let’s first have a look at how a massage can help improve your wellness and quality of life in general.

Benefits of Massage Therapy

Massage therapy has physical and psychological benefits that can help alleviate pain, pressure, and even restlessness of the mind. It not only calms the body but helps clear out your head space as you feel tightness in your muscles loosening and your busy mind letting go of its clutter.

Reduces Muscle Pain and Tension - Using various techniques, the motion and pressure of massage therapy relieves muscle tension and pain by increasing temperature, improving blood circulation, decompressing nerves, breaking up knots, reducing contraction and spasm aches, and flushing toxin build up.

Helps You Get a Good Night's Sleep - With soothed muscles, less body pain, and better blood circulation, the body sends a message to the brain that it’s time to relax. These signals help put the body and mind at ease and in sleep mode.

Increases Post Workout Muscle Recovery - When you exercise or do intense workouts, muscle tension can build up and cause tightness. The deep, long strokes of massage help reduce the pain and inflammation caused by tensed and stretched muscles. It also helps with delayed onset muscle soreness by reducing injury pain and injury risks, improving range of motion, and tapering off inflammation.

Helps Boost Immunity - Massage helps promote white blood cells which help the body combat infections. Combined with exercise and proper diet, massage boosts the body's immune system.

Calms the Mind - As mentioned earlier, massage therapy helps reduce stress and anxiety by tapping your body’s parasympathetic nervous system. This helps put you on a rest and relaxation mode.

Choosing the Right Massage Chair for You

When buying a full-body massage chair, here are features that you should check well before purchasing the product.

Size - Most massage chairs are heavy and bulky so it’s best to measure your available space to see if it could fit. Also, check if there are weight or height restrictions that come with it so that there are no surprises when your chair gets delivered.

Upholstery Material - Choose upholstery material that’s comfortable, easy to clean, and conducive to heating. It’s also good if its color and design can blend well aesthetically with your home or office, so explore your options.

Massage Scope - The full-body massage should be equipped to provide massage therapy to the back, butt, legs, feet, arms, and wrists.

Massage Techniques - It’s best to choose massage chairs with multiple massage modes beyond just vibration. Rolling, kneading, deep tissue, and reflexology techniques are able to address various body pain and tension issues using different strokes and pressure levels.

Massage Rollers - Check the height and width of the rollers and if they can be customized to suit your body size and massage needs. Some massage chairs offer 2D, 3D, and even 4D roller features for optimum rolling massage experience.

Massage Intensity - A good massage chair must have multiple high quality motors that can offer various intensity levels to address your various massage requirements. Go from soft to hard to alternating intensity with the touch of a button.

Heating Therapy - Some high end massage chairs come with a heating system installed in the backrest or the seat for thermotherapy. Optimum heat application can help reduce muscle pain, promote blood flow, flush toxins and boost muscle tissue regeneration. 

Sound Therapy - Some massage chairs are equipped with therapeutic tones that help relieve anxiety, nervousness, or depression. They use different sound frequencies that send pulses to the spine and muscles as an alternative to rollers.

Multi-recline Settings

The massage chair has to be ergonomically designed and have multiple recline degree settings so you can have back, leg, and foot massage done simultaneously. Some high-end massage chairs also come with body scanners that detect the body’s position and problem areas, and zero-gravity features that allow users to elevate the legs above the heart for a weightless feeling.

Pre-programmed Settings

Massage chairs with pre-programmed settings allow users to simply tap a setting with timed massage that targets specific body parts using specific techniques and intensity levels.

Warranty

Always check for warranty period and the scope of repair and maintenance coverage of the manufacturer.

Massage Chair Pricing

A full-body massage chair’s average price is around $1,500 and could go up or down depending on its features. Some people find it pricey, but if it keeps you from regularly spending on massage sessions in spas, then it can save you money, time, and energy in the long run.

A Worthy Investment

Investing in your physical and mental wellness is always a good idea. One of the ways you could improve your quality of life is through self-care even when you are too busy for it. Having a massage chair can help you squeeze in some wellness time in your hectic days, and can bring benefits that outweigh its cost.

But if you are still tight on budget but want a premium quality massage chair that can last you long, you may want to save up for it by making a few sacrifices. Cutting down on your wants for a while can help you raise enough funds to afford a fine quality full-body massage chair. It’s the kind of investment that your body will thank you for. Remember, your best requires rest!