ou’ve purchased a beautiful, luxury massage chair and positioned it precisely where you want it in your home. And although your Furniture For Life Comfort Consultant explained everything you needed to know about it during your evaluation process, the answer to one crucial question has slipped your mind: How often should you use a massage chair?
That’s important to know, since you want to maximize the effectiveness of your chair at soothing your tight or sore muscles and providing the many other benefits of at-home massages. However, you also want to avoid “overdoing it” and aren’t sure if you can use a massage chair too often.
This article addresses this issue and also provides information on why you need a massage chair, what a chair can do for you, and what to look for as you research your purchase.
Each person’s need for and experience in a massage chair is unique. Consequently, the answer to “How often should I use a massage chair?” will vary. However, there are some guidelines for finding your ideal frequency.
When you first receive your massage chair, it is important to use it in short increments so your body can adjust to the manipulation of your muscles, mobilization of your spine, etc. If you’ve never used a massage chair, you may want to start with a session of just a few minutes in length and use the chair’s gentlest settings. See how you feel during the massage and in the day or so after, and go from there. Gradually increase your session duration before bumping up the intensity.
Even after your body gets adjusted to sessions in your massage chair, you shouldn’t use it for longer than 30 minutes to an hour at a time. In massages, as with any activity, you can get “too much of a good thing.”
Once you have a better understanding of your preferred session length and intensity, you can experiment with frequency. Provided your massages are in reasonable time increments, it’s unlikely you could reach a theoretical point of “massage chair overuse.” Many people find that they get the most enjoyment and best results from daily massages. Some even like to start and end their days with brief morning and evening massages.
Of course, if you experience a significant change in your health or lifestyle (you suffer an injury, take on a more stressful role at work, etc.), you may want to change your massage frequency or other factors. You’ve got to listen to your body.
And, if you have or develop a medical condition that could be affected by massages, you should talk with your doctor about how, when, and how often to use your massage chair.
You might be thinking: “Why purchase a massage chair? Can’t I just go to a massage therapist?” There are many benefits to using a massage chair instead of going to a therapist, as explained below.
Rather than having to make and attend massage therapy appointments week after week, you can use your massage chair whenever you want to—24 hours a day, 365 days a year. No more juggling your work, personal life, and desire for quality massages. Simply get into your chair when you have a few minutes, start a program, and “enjoy the ride!”
Depending on your massage chair model, you may have control over a wide variety of options, from how long your session lasts, to where it focuses, to whether it’s a relaxing, gentle massage or an invigorating, deep massage.
There’s also the financial aspect of getting regular body work from a massage therapist. Those sessions can cost $100 or more. And if you want or need several massages a month, it can become a significant drain on your finances. With a massage chair, you pay once to buy it (or finance the purchase), and then, with each session, your cost of ownership declines. Very quickly, your chair pays for itself. Plus, if you consider the cost of travel to and from a massage therapist’s office, your time, etc., a massage chair is an even bigger bargain.
And you really can’t put a price on the fact that after a session in your massage chair, you don’t need to fight traffic to get home. Instead, you simply get out of the chair and continue your day or slip between the sheets for a great night’s sleep.
Ultimately, while sessions with a massage therapist can be enjoyable, they don’t approach the overall value of having a massage chair in your home.
Using a massage chair isn’t simply an enjoyable “in the moment” experience. There are many proven massage chair health benefits that last far beyond a session.
There are many conditions and activities that can cause muscular pain—fibromyalgia, injuries, and intense workouts, to name a few. In fact, simple daily activities can leave you with a sore back, painfully tight shoulders, and other minor aches.
Sessions in a massage chair can address and help alleviate many types of aches and pains, significantly improving your quality of life.
Sessions in massage chairs release endorphins, which are natural feel-good chemicals produced by the body. As a result, using your massage chair can help improve your mood and enhance your overall sense of well-being.
Soothing and relaxing sore and tight muscles can prepare your body for restful, restorative sleep. A gentle evening massage is also something to look forward to and can help you release the mental and emotional stress of your day, improving your sleep quality.
Tight muscles inhibit blood flow. Massages reduce muscle tension and help blood flow more freely, which is beneficial in general and may help reduce symptoms of medical conditions related to circulation.
There are many different types of massage chairs. It’s important to consider your wants and needs carefully and understand how various massage chair models can address them.
You should focus your search on offerings from the industry’s most respected manufacturers. Your massage chair can play an important role in your health and wellness for many years to come, and you want to be sure it does.
Based on factors like the overall massage experience, reliability, visual design, specific features, quality, cost, value, and others, we consider the top brands to be OHCO, Panasonic, Posture Positive, D. Core, KAI, KOYO, and Katana. In fact, we believe so strongly in these brands that we refer to them as The World’s Best Massage Chairs®.
Now you have answers to important questions like:
If you don’t already own a massage chair, the next step is getting one. The best way to do that is to visit a Furniture For Life showroom and talk with one of our Comfort Consultants. They’ll learn about your wants and needs, provide insights on our curated collection of The World’s Best Massage Chairs®, and guide you as you try any models that can meet your needs.
Product descriptions, photos, and feature matrices are helpful, but the true measure of a massage chair’s suitability for you is how it feels. You’ve got to enjoy your time in the chair and appreciate the benefits it provides for it to be worth your investment. But when you find the chair for you, you’ll discover that it quickly pays for itself.
One other important consideration is the company behind the massage chair. Everything from financing options to after-sales service will affect your experience as a massage chair buyer, owner, and user. When you look to Furniture For Life for assistance in understanding your options, obtaining your chair, and keeping it in good working order, you can count on being very pleased with your purchase.
Get started today searching for the chair that will become an essential part of your regular health and wellness routine.
