Healing Relief From Your Massage Chair
Dealing with an injury is absolutely no fun, trust me I know. No matter how it happened, you want to recover fast. Often, when you are recovering your physician will prescribe physical therapy and massage, and having a massage chair can be extremely beneficial and convenient. In fact, your massage chair could be the key to a quicker recovery.
When you’re injured, you need to take special care of yourself, and it can often be very tiring on your body as a whole. Getting a massage can help with this a lot. In fact, several individuals use massage as a treatment for soft tissue injuries. You can also use massage to help address skeletal injuries, but you’ll need to take special precautions.
Let’s discuss how massage helps injuries and what you should avoid.
For any type of injury, it’s suggested you wait at least 48 hours before employing in any type of massage. You may even have to wait up to 72 hours or longer depending on the injury. Particularly for serious injuries, such as a strain or sprain, use the R.I.C.E. method of rest, ice, compression, and elevation before doing anything else.
If swelling and discomfort continue after two full days, don’t employ massage and speak to a medical professional if you haven’t already.
Skeletal Injuries
If you have a skeletal injury, discuss your condition with a massage or physical therapist about personal, secondary massage to promote blood flow and reduced swelling. Since these injuries vary dramatically from person to person and situation to situation, it’s suggested that you avoid massage chair use on these areas and instead get the advice of a professional to address your needs.
If you broke a bone, you’ll have to wait until it’s healed before you can be active and receive a massage. This period of inactivity can lead to stiffness and soreness in the muscles and tendons surrounding the affected bone (I type as I’m healing from a broken foot and sprained ankle)
Massage can help return your mobility so that you can get back to doing the things you love. Massage can help to stretch the connective tissue in the affected area and increase your range of motion and ease aches.
Soft Tissue Injuries
For soft tissue injuries, you’ll be able to receive a massage when you get a professional’s approval. And from there you’ll just want to be sure to listen to your body. Ease your way into a routine and don’t expect to be able to tolerate as much pressure as you did before your injury.
Several massage chairs feature air compression. Airbag compression massage employs targeted air cells to squeeze and release, which is frequently the best for soft tissue injuries since they don’t apply pinpoint pressure.
The airbag massage in the Human Touch chairs uses Cloud Touch Acupressure, which can be very gentle and soothing.
Once you have established that the Cloud Touch feature feels good and you don’t experience any discomfort, you can move up to other massage programs and techniques with heightened levels of pressure.
Swedish massage can be a good place to start and uses relaxing, long strokes to promote tranquility. It also promotes improved circulation which allows your body to heal from your injury. Slowly increasing the intensity with programs like Stretch, Flex, Tone, and Ease are also a good way to test out which massage will work best for you.
If you feel any pain when using a massage chair on or around your injured area, stop use and either try different massage methods that avoid your injury or take a break entirely.
When to Avoid a Massage Chair
With all this in mind, there are still injuries and conditions which will require you to avoid massage completely. These include:
- blood clots
- extremely high blood pressure (generally advised against)
- Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
- nerve damage
- cancer
- burns
- lesions
- certain forms of arthritis or osteoporosis
If you have any of these, you will need to consult with your physician to confirm whether any type of massage is suitable.
Benefits of Massage
Improved Circulation and Mobility
When it comes to injured muscles, it’s crucial to encourage proper circulation and mobility as it heals. With regular massage therapy, you can restore blood flow and bolster tissue repair at the injured site, helping you to regain your range of motion.
In fact, you may find that you experience reduced pain and improved circulation and mobility much faster.
Improved Recovery Time
With all that improved circulation comes improved recovery time. Lactic acid builds up in the muscles when you use them, especially vigorously, and massage can assist to break up and expel that acid to help your muscles heal quicker. Once you’re back on your feet and exercising frequently, it can also help you prevent re-injuring the same area.
Choosing the Massage Type
Visiting a massage therapist while you’re healing may be suggested, and if you can get an appointment and afford one you can certainly go. However, for many of us, regular massage is a bit expensive and our lives are busy.
To give yourself an advantage, add a massage chair to your home. With a chair at your beck and call, you can get a massage on your schedule. You’ll be able to avoid driving in bad weather, driving at all in fact, and having to pick a time during your workday to get a massage. This way, you can sit in your chair for even just 15 minutes at the end of each day and reap the benefits.
When you’re looking for a chair that offers variable massage techniques and adjustability, it will be important to ensure that you can tailor the program to your needs. For our top picks, check out this article on Adjustable Intensity.
Also, check out the Massage Chair Buying Guide to help you understand all the basics of choosing a chair for your unique needs.
If you’re healing from an injury and you feel that a massage chair could help you, speak with your doctor and then find the chair that works best for you at MassageChairPlanet.Com. If you have any questions, you can give us a call or contact us at info@massagechairplanet.com.