Dear Doctor of Chiropractic,
When asked what he attributed his youthful vibrancy to, the late great comedian Bob Hope (who lived to 100) said, “Among other factors, I have a daily massage!” If you ask us, chiropractic patients deserve to enjoy as much vigor and good health as Bob Hope did, and a “chiropractic massage chair” can be the key.
Massage Chairs for Chiropractic Offices
You invest a great deal into your practice. Your patients count on good docs like you to relieve pain and discomfort. The services chiropractors offer hold the promise of improved health and well-being. While chiropractors may feel inundated with information about the latest and greatest gizmos and gadgets to help restore patients’ energy and optimism, there is one piece of equipment based on the healing power of massage you can rely on for results: an advanced, robotic massage chair.
If you currently have a massage therapist on staff or use a massage chair in your practice, you know how positively people respond to massage therapy. You feel the palpable sense of release in tense muscles when you perform a chiropractic adjustment on someone who has warmed up in a massage chair before seeing you.
There is a growing body of research on the benefits of massage therapy. Incorporating it into your practice with a massage chair is a win for you (i.e., additional revenue without additional staff), a win for your patients (see the benefits below), and a winning way to differentiate your practice from a client experience perspective.
A Wall Street Journal article cited numerous studies on the benefits of massage. It noted that The American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Pain Medicine include massage as one of their recommendations for treating low back pain.
The article summarized other research results as well:
- A full-body massage boosted immune function and lowered heart rate and blood pressure in women with breast cancer undergoing radiation treatment.
- Children given 20-minute massages by their parents every night for five weeks plus standard asthma treatment had significantly improved lung function compared with those in standard care.
- In muscles that had been exercised to exhaustion, a 10-minute massage increased mitochondria production. Additionally, it reduced proteins associated with muscle inflammation.
Other respected medical experts, like Mayo Clinic, recommend massage to help patients manage the stress and pain from conditions like fibromyalgia, cancer, heart disease, and stomach problems. They find it combines well with traditional medical treatment, creating feelings of support and greater engagement in therapy.
Practitioner Observations on Massage Chairs for Chiropractic Offices
Chiropractors who have used massage chairs in their practice, such as Dr. Alan Weidner in Utah, find the studies above corroborated by the actual patient responses to massage chair sessions. “Patients started to comment about how wonderful the chair felt. Much of their pain was alleviated even before beginning the chiropractic regimen,” he says.
But don’t worry, docs—patients won’t leave you for the chair. However, they will notice physiological benefits from using the massage chair almost immediately. Your customers will probably attribute these to their visit to your office. Back pain and headaches, in particular, seem to respond well to massage chair therapy.
Dr. Weidner continues, “I also started getting reports from patients who had purchased massage chairs from me that they were noticing all kinds of therapeutic benefits from the chair.”
Your patients can benefit from more than just back pain and headache pain relief. Massage chair usage can also help with sleeping better at night, standing straighter (better posture), improved circulation (manifested by a decrease in ankle and foot swelling in some patients), lower blood pressure, and being able to breathe more deeply to name a few.
Clinics with massage chairs even had a few patients with neuropathy mention they were experiencing sensations in their feet for the first time in years. Even symptoms that had nothing overtly to do with musculoskeletal issues can sometimes be relieved with regular use of a massage chair. With a massage chair, it’s possible to make people feel better in many ways.
Another Positive Report About Chiropractic and Massage Chairs
Dr. Andy Smith in North Carolina, in practice for 32 years, had this experience with massage chairs in his practice: “Integrating massage chair models into my practice has been a tremendous therapeutic addition to our passive rehab care. As well as a very profitable experience.”
For people seeking a comprehensive treatment from a chiropractor, massage chairs seem like a perfect fit. Dr. Smith’s adoption of massage chairs occurred like this:
- He introduced the chair very quickly and increased fees accordingly. He started with Medicare patients, and they loved the session.
- Initially, he had run-of-the-mill massage chairs—not Furniture For Life products—in his waiting room simply as a place for patients to complete paperwork.
- After using one at home for two weeks, he introduced a high-quality Furniture For Life massage chair to his practice.
- He was very excited about the chair’s truly therapeutic application for his practice.
- He says, “You must have more than just one massage chair in your practice. He recommends three (at least), or you’ll face a capacity/blockage problem.
- His Furniture For Life chairs helped keep his practice profitable, even in periods when the economy was suffering. Today, every patient has an Inada massage chair component as part of their rehabilitation program.
We call on all the good, caring chiropractors out there in the world to incorporate sessions in a Furniture For Life massage chair into every treatment plan you prepare. You’ll be amazed by the positive results, and your patients will love you for it.
Finding the Best Chiropractic Massage Chair for Your Practice
Unsurprisingly, the best chiropractic massage chair for a given practice depends on multiple factors, including your patients’ symptoms and even the space available in your office, as there are standard and wall-hugging models. Consequently, there is no single chiropractor-recommended massage chair. Your clinic and your patients will experience the optimal results if you look for the best “chiropractor chair” for your practice.
The most effective way to do that is to visit a Furniture For Life showroom near you. There, you will be assisted by one of our Comfort Consultants. Different from typical sales representatives, they focus on understanding your needs rather than selling you a massage chair.
They will learn about your practice and patients to come up with a shortlist of options from our curated collection of The World’s Best Massage Chairs®. Then, they will guide you through demos of each of the candidates so you can experience all of the features and functions.
In addition, they will explain that while massage chairs are designed and built to provide a decade or more of uninterrupted service, it is still vital to purchase from a company like ours that provides excellent warranties and attentive after-sales service. Should you ever encounter an issue with one of your chiropractic massage chairs, you will want prompt, professional, on-site assistance.
Ultimately, chiropractic and massage chairs can be used together to deliver exceptional results for patients and increased profitability for chiropractors. We encourage you to take action today to capitalize on this powerful synergy!
Signed,
Your Friends at Furniture For Life
