Treat your Feet & Calves
Few things in life feel as good as a foot rub after a long day. Thankfully, you can now get a fantastic foot and calf massage right in your home. No need for professionals or a volunteer. When you’re looking for a massage chair with a foot and calf massage feature there are several that offer it. In fact, there are so many different styles available it can be hard to choose what’s best for you. We can help. Let’s take a look at foot and calf massage in a massage chair and how it can vary from chair to chair.
Benefits of a Foot Massage
Since our feet bear an incredible strain of holding us up and keeping our balance, among other things, they can become very overworked, very easily. We don’t think out it because we deal with it each day, but anyone who’s had a good foot massage can tell you it feels better than most things in this world.
A regular foot massage along with reflexology can help to promote physiological and physical health. Reflexology is an ancient practice that operates on the idea that there are reflex points in the feet that can stimulate the body’s different organs and glands.
Some of the many health benefits of foot massage and reflexology include:
- Improved circulation: Sitting, wearing poorly fitting shoes, so much can impede good blow flow in our feet. In just 10 minutes a day, you can improve circulation with a reflexology massage.
- Increased relaxation: A reflexology massage can be incredibly soothing after a long day and can improve our well-being and even help us rest better thanks to the improved circulation and soothing effects.
- Reduced pain throughout body: If done carefully, reflexology treats aches including headaches even migraines, neck pain, and backaches.
- Improves mood: Foot massage and reflexology can bolster our moods and even mildly assist with depression in conjunction with a full body massage.
- Makes feet healthier: By stimulating the muscles in your feet, you can reduce stiffness and pain in the ankles or the heels. Even a 5-minute foot massage each day can improve ankle strength and flexibility, which in turn helps prevent injury.
- Reduces swelling: When we’re retaining fluids in our feet and ankles, like during pregnancy, a regular foot massage can minimize the swelling.
Massage Chairs with Calf Massage
Nearly every high-end massage chair includes some form of lower extremity massage. The calf massage feature alone is available on several chairs, it just might not be linked to a foot massager.
There are several types of setups used for the foot/calf massage portion of a chair, and since this is such an important feature to so many users, we’ll explain a bit about each one.
Different Types of Massage Chair Ottomans
There are different methods used to provide a massage to the feet and legs in a massage chair. Some use rollers, others use airbags. Airbags are more common in the calf and ankles areas and create a wonderful experience using compression.
The leg massage ottoman is typically one piece that attaches to the chair, however, you can also find models where the ottoman flips around to hide the massager and stand-alone foot & calf massagers.
Human Touch has several options that provide a retractable ottoman and there are many more which offer a traditional foot & calf massager.
To accommodate taller statures, some models like the Osaki OS-PRO First Class, offer an extendable ottoman. This allows a person to position the massager in the best place for their needs. The First Class’s ottoman can extend an additional 5.5” to accommodate taller users.
Many manufacturers also utilize rollers at the bottom of the feet. The effect is similar to that you get on your back. Osaki is again a great provider of this feature with several of its older models as well as the newer First Class and the OS-PRO Yamato.
With so many variations available, you can see why picking one out can be a bit of a task. We recommend trying a few out before you commit, that way you’ll know what feels best to you. If you have any questions about foot & calf massager, chairs, or want to see if we can help you purchase your chair, don’t hesitate to contact us.
We love helping our customers find their perfect chair, and there is a lot to consider. To help you find the right fit check out our Massage Chair Buying Guide.