The massage chair is specially designed to relax your body and enjoy a wonderful massage at home no matter when a bad mood attacks you or overwhelming work comes to you. When buying a massage chair, you should make yourself clear about some important factors such as massage rollers, budget and massage tracks. 

8 Tips When Buying a Massage Chair

 

• 2D VS 3D VS 4D BACK MECHANISMS (SOMETIMES CALL ROBOTS):

2D: massage chair rollers move in two dimensions (X and Y axes): up and down from your neck to your back and side to side.
3D: massage works on X, Y, and Z axes designed to make it feel more like human hands massaging you. The rollers are able to push further out into your back with multiple intensity options.
4D: taking 3D to the next level, the rollers in a 4D massage chair protrude further out and can move up and down, side to side, and back and forth incorporating variations of massage styles and speeds, giving you more control of the strength, depth, and delivery of your massage.

 

• MASSAGE STYLES:

Many massage chairs offer different types of massage techniques that are suited for specific areas and personal expectations. A chair with a combination of massage techniques will give you the ability to customize your massage each time. These include Deep-Tissue, Shiatsu, Swedish, Kneading, Percussion, Reflexology, Kneading, and Tapping.

 

• MASSAGE CHAIR RECLINE FUNCTIONS

Recline: massage chairs articulate to recline the backrest and elevate the feet. These actions can be combined to create stretching movements and spinal decompression in better-designed chairs. Beware of chairs that do not allow you to work the backrest and the footrest independently. They do not cost as much, but they are less effective.
Zero Gravity Recline: this position elevates the feet slightly above the heart for improved circulation.
True Inversion Stretch: the chair reclines below a horizontal level, to below 180 degrees. This technique puts your body inverted with your head down and heels up to relieve pressure on the vertebrae.
Near-Flat Reclining S-Track: gives you a full-body stretch — the hips are held in place while the legs are pulled down, stretching your back.

 

• MASSAGE CHAIR PRICE

Basic? High-end? Top of the line? You will need to do some research and find a balance between your budget and the features you'd like in a massage chair. Typically, less expensive massage chairs offer basic vibration and fixed massage similar to what is available in a massaging seat topper. You are paying for the chair frame to be added on but gaining no therapeutic benefit. As you move up in price, the smoother the massage quality and the better the coverage. As you might expect, cheaper chairs are typically made of cheaper materials. Consider the longevity of the chair and how long it will last. Cheaper chairs should be considered if use will be infrequent and the precision of the massage is not important. If you are looking for frequent massages and have problem areas that are difficult or very specific, then often times you will need to invest in a higher quality massage chair.

Always check the warranty period offered by the massage chair brand and compare it with that of other brands. In addition to that, also check what the warranty actually covers. Another warranty feature to look out for is whether the company offers a one-month (or longer) unconditional cash back promise or not.

Not only does this allow you to try out the chair for a month and return it if you don’t like it but also shows that the company is quite confident about their product. It means that the company believes that the chair is of good quality in terms of both performance and durability.

•  Space Consumption

You must have googled massage chairs and from the pics that you’ve seen so far, it should be quite clear to you that massage chairs are bulky furniture pieces. So, you can’t just snug them anywhere. Make sure that you have decided beforehand on where you want to place your massage chair. In addition to that, check if the chair you are eyeing has appropriate dimensions to fit in the space you’ve decided on.

Generally, people keep all their chairs in the living room. However, despite several efforts from the manufacturers’ end, massage chairs might not go that well with the aesthetics of your living room. It makes sense if you want to place the massage chair in a personal space like your home office or bedroom.

In addition to the already bulky shape of the chair, it also includes head and foot recliners that you can’t really stash in a corner. Also, you cannot place it against a wall because then, the headrest and back reclining feature won’t be able to work. Hence, measuring your room properly is quite important to decide how much space you’ll need for your chair.

Some massage chairs have wheels attached and so these allow for easy mobility. When not in use, you can store your massage chair somewhere, and later when you want to get a massage, you can take them out.

• Perfect Fit

We know that humans come in all shapes and sizes. So, you should really consider checking out if your massage chair will fit your body shape properly or not. Check your height and the chair’s height and make sure that it will fit you when you are reclining in it. Your legs shouldn’t be sticking out of the footrest otherwise that would defeat the whole purpose of getting a footrest.

Moreover, you shouldn’t get a chair that is too large for you. A massage chair has several small pieces of equipment like a foot massager, a back and shoulder massager, an arm massager, etc. So, suppose you purchased a chair that is too big for you, then you wouldn’t really get any benefit out of it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that every chair has a specific height and weight target. So, make sure that your height and weight fall in the range specified by the chair manufacturer.

• CUSTOMER & TECH SUPPORT 

Make sure the company you buy from has technical support and customer service support available. You've invested enough to expect to speak to a live person. Look for a company that offers free lifetime tech support with US-based technicians.