Saturday, August 11, 2007

Portable Massage Chairs

There is nothing quite like a professional massage to relax and invigorate both tired muscles and strained work environments. Aside from the cost, the toughest part of getting a professional massage is driving to the massage therapist and back again. Sometimes this can mean hours in heavy traffic which tends to defeat the purpose of the massage in the first place. Portable massage chairs, however, are changing all of that. Massage therapists can now take their show on the road. With a portable massage chair they can setup shop almost anywhere. Shopping malls, grocery stores, the beach and just about any place where people gather are starting to become prime locations for massage therapists. Even forward looking corporations are getting into the act. They will hire massage therapists to come to their corporate offices, bring a portable massage chair with them and give employees massages right there in house.

Of course, portable massage chairs are not to be confused with conventional massage chairs. The picture in most people's minds when they think of a massage chair is of a home lounge chair with build in electric motors, controls and a back massage capability while you sit in it. A portable massage chair is totally different. It is a portable device used by a professional massage therapist so the therapist can give clients massages. It does not have any motors or vibrators or anything like that it simply provides a mobile platform for the massage therapist to do his or her job. The massage table that massage therapists will use at their own facility is large, heavy and definitely not portable. A portable massage chair allows the therapist to cover many of the same body areas as a full massage table without the heavy baggage.

A portable massage chair doesn't even look like a chair. It looks more like exercise equipment or a stationary bike than a chair. It has a relatively small seat to sit on but the rest of the parts bear no resemblance to a conventional chair. When you sit in it the rest of the chair will be in front of you instead of behind you. You lean forward and support your upper body on a chest cushion and a padded ring to support your face and head. There are kneepads below and on either side of the seat to support your lower body. To complete the support of your body there will be a cushion just ahead of the chest cushion for your arms and hands. All of these pads and cushions are held together by a metal structure, usually aluminum, to keep the chair light in weight. Most portable massage chairs are highly adjustable so the massage therapist can adjust it for different ages and sizes of clients. Of course, all portable massage chairs fold up so you can either carry them or put them in a travel case with wheels. Most of them weigh no more than 6 to 7 kilograms so carrying one is rarely a problem.

So if you are interested in getting a professional massage check around your neighborhood. There might be a massage therapist who regularly visits a shopping mall near you.