Back Pain & Massage Chair

back pain and massage chair

Back pain is very common, usually inflicting discomfort or pain to most people in their life, and can generally occur as a result of injury or overuse. It is typically found with people who work in sedentary environments, lift heavy objects or don’t warm up. It can also be found in people who are elderly, obese, or smokers. Most cases can be helped with self-care solutions and with preventative action.

Causes of Back Pain

Back pain is usually the result of a muscle or ligament strain, often due to heavy lifting, overuse with high impact, or working without movement for long periods of time.
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has a few statistics on it:

  • 80% of Americans experience back pain in their lives.
  • More than 264 million workdays are lost in a single year because of back pain.
  • It costs Americans at least $50 billion.

Anything from a severe sports injury to twisting your body in the wrong way can cause back pain. Each cause of a back pain is unique, but there are some general, common causes as to why back pain can occur.

  • Bad posture
  • Arthritis
  • Stress
  • Damaged spinal disks
  • Osteoporosis

How Massage Chairs Can Help with Back Pain Relief

A common cause of back pain is due to your muscles and skeletal system being overly tight, or overworked. A quality massage chair works on your back with rollers in order to relax your muscles by stimulating blood flow. Heat therapy also helps to relieve back muscles by unwinding tightened muscles, allowing rollers to penetrate deeper tissues and stimulate areas on your back. The unwinding of your back reduces stress on your body.

There are other reasons as to why massages are a great way of relieving back pain. Overly, tight muscles can cause unnatural alignment and movement, which can lead to discomfort and pain. Taking away this pain will help the structure of your spine, which can be a major cause in most people. In addition to this, massage chairs allow you to have consistent massages. When it comes to improving on something, practice and consistency is key. We need a consistent way of getting relief from back pain. It doesn’t go away in one day, and get fixed with the snap of a finger; it takes a long time to improve upon the pain. So instead of scheduling an appointment again and again, a convenient massage is available to your discretion with a private massage chair.

Speaking on massage chairs, there are many features on a chair that can help relieve users. The right massage chair can help make a huge difference on your back pain both short-term and long-term.

Massage Chair Features that Ease Back Pain

  • SL-Track Roller - Rollers on SL-tracks allow for massage chairs to be able to reach all the way from the base of your neck to your glutes. The rollers are able to reach the entire length of someone's back due to the SL-track feature.
  • 3D/4D Massage - The 3D design allows rollers to be pushed forward, affording a deeper tissue massage, and the 4D design allows the rollers to mimic the motions of human hands, trying to create a realistic massage.
  • Decompression Stretch - Certain chairs have a decompression stretch program, which stretches out your spine. By lengthening your spine, it helps relieve pressure on your spine due to weight and gravity. It also encourages water, oxygen, and nutrients to flow towards your spinal disks to assist in healing injured spinal disks and painful areas along the back.
  • Zero Gravity - In a zero-gravity position, the legs are raised to be level with or elevated above your heart. It allows for weight to be distributed across your body, moving weight from your spine and legs to the rest of the body. This, in turn, improves circulation and reduces stress.
  • Manual Programs - The manual functions allow you to customize your massages. Sometimes you need to massage your legs and arms, or might need more focus on your back. The customization options of your massage allow for your massages to be tailored to your needs.
  • Auto Programs - Preset, auto programs might range from a recovery option to high, intense massages. Depending on your needs, a massage chair may contain a variety of automatic programs that might feature a sports recovery option focusing on the arms and legs, or a yoga stretch program that focuses on flexibility.