A massage chair is a

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

designed for

massage Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...

s. It can refer to two types of products. Traditional massage chairs allow a masseur to easily access the head, shoulders, and back of a massage recipient, while robotic massage chairs use electronic vibrators and

motors An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power g ...

to provide a massage.

History

The first massage chair was designed in 1954 by Nobuo Fujimoto. He made various versions of the chair from scrap materials before he was entirely satisfied with the chair.

Types

Traditional

Chair Massage is done in an ergonomically designed portable chair. Chair massage focuses on the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

neck The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In ...

shoulders The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

and

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...

. Massage therapists are able to offer on-site massage to many environments because of the portability of the massage chair, and clients do not need to disrobe to receive a chair massage. Due to these two factors, chair massage is often performed in settings such as business offices, employee appreciation events, trade shows, conferences, and other corporate settings.

Robotic

A robotic massage chair contains internal electronic motors and gears designed to massage the person sitting in them. Most robotic massage chairs have some form of controller to vary the type, location, or intensity of the massage. The first electric massage chair was invented in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Massaging chairs most frequently resemble

recliner A recliner is an armchair or sofa that reclines when the occupant lowers the chair's back and raises its front. It has a backrest that can be tilted back, and often a footrest that may be extended by means of a lever on the side of the chair, ...

s. There are many different types and brands, including office-style chairs that operate from internal batteries. A less expensive option is a separate massaging pad that may be used with an existing chair. The benefits of a massage chair include deep relaxation, reduced blood pressure, a lowering of the pulse rate, and increased metabolism. Massage chairs are designed to mimic the hand motions of a massage therapist. They use a combination of massage rollers and airbags to massage the different parts of the body. Robotic massage chairs were first brought to market in 1954 by the Family Fujiryoki company. Today, Japan is the largest consumer of massage chairs with some surveys suggesting that over 20% of Japanese households actually own a massage chair. Massage chairs vary tremendously in price, style and intensity, from cheap "vibrate only" chairs to full intensity

Shiatsu ''Shiatsu'' ( ; ) is a form of Japanese bodywork based on concepts in traditional Chinese medicine such as qi meridians. Having been popularized in the twentieth century by Tokujiro Namikoshi (1905–2000), ''shiatsu'' derives from the older ...

models.

References

{{reflist Chairs Shiatsu Massage Massage devices Japanese inventions

History

Types

Traditional

Robotic

See also

References