If you’re considering buying a massage chair, you’re in good company. People looking to eliminate aches and pains, increase their circulation, relieve stress, and enhance their overall wellness are increasingly using at-home sessions in advanced massage chairs to achieve those goals.
In addition to the health benefits, owning a massage chair has both financial and logistical advantages over visits to a massage therapist. While massage chairs are an investment, they save you a significant amount of money in the long run compared to having regular sessions with a therapist.
And from a logistics standpoint, there really is no price you can put on the convenience of having a massage chair in your home. Whenever you have the desire and the time for a thoroughly satisfying massage session, you can enjoy one. And if you’re like most massage chair owners and get at least one massage a day, your overall cost of ownership drops dramatically—even as the improvements in your health and happiness accelerate.
Of course, as with any product category, there are many types of massage chairs on the market, with broad ranges in everything from functionality to price. Consequently, your purchase decision should be based on in-depth research and careful consideration of the available options.
Choosing the Right Massage Chair Starts With You
It’s common for people to believe they should start researching massage chairs by considering features and functions. And unfortunately, many providers encourage that approach. Their advertisements, marketing outreach, and in-store advice all focus on the chairs and their secondary capabilities.
In fact, they often emphasize features that, while attention-getting, don’t contribute much, if anything, to the massage experience or the results of using the chair. When that occurs, it should be a red flag to you. You should think, “If they’re drawing attention to this relatively insignificant feature, what are they drawing attention away from?”
Choosing the right massage chair really should start with you—your wants, needs, preferences, etc. Once you’ve clarified what it is you want from a massage chair, you can start searching for capabilities that will help you achieve your goals.
Our informative Massage Chair Buyer’s Guide has crucial questions you should ask yourself.
How To Choose a Massage Chair
After considering how you want your massage chair to improve your life (relieve chronic pain, relax you, help you recover from vigorous workouts, improve your sleep, etc.), your assessment of the available options can begin. You should start by talking with a Furniture For Life Comfort Consultant.
You might be tempted to simply visit one of our showrooms and start trying all of the models in our curated collection of The World’s Best Massage Chairs®. (Frankly, there are probably worse ways to dive in.) But without the context provided by one of our team members, you’re likely to find yourself confused and frustrated by your lack of knowledge about the quality, capabilities, and focus areas of the different massage chair lines and models.
Your Comfort Consultant will start by asking you several questions and listening carefully to your answers. That’s how they come to understand what you’re looking for in a chair (even when you, yourself, aren’t sure) and decide the best way to educate you about your options.
Next, depending on your needs and interests, they will tell you about various characteristics that contribute to each chair’s massage experience and place within your home. The list is long, but includes things like:
- Different massage types (shiatsu, etc.) and mechanisms
- Foot, leg, arm, and hand massage
- Touchpads vs. tactile controls
- Wall-hugging and space-saving options
- Reclining and zero gravity capabilities
- Heating elements and heated rollers
- Visual design
- Customizable programs
- Body-scanning technologies
After ensuring you have a baseline knowledge of massage chair technology, features, and characteristics (here again, the massage chair buying guide we’ve created is a helpful resource), the Comfort Consultant walks you through what is the most important step in choosing a massage chair: experiencing several of them.
Choosing the Right Massage Chair: Listening to Your Body
Buying an advanced massage chair is a significant investment, so every bit of data and each insight you can gather is valuable. However, none of that information outweighs what your body tells you about the various massage chair models.
The fact that a massage chair has an S-track, L-track, or another type, 3D or 4D movement, excellent or outstanding audio integration, a modest price or a higher one, etc., are all important points to ponder. We would not advise you to ignore them. But ultimately, it’s vital that you love how a chair makes you feel—while you’re using it and after.
The top-of-the-line 4D, SL-track model with the most highly regarded shiatsu choreography may be the one that captivates you. Or perhaps a 3D, S-track massage chair is perfect for your needs. When you get into your chair for the first time at home, and you savor every minute of your massage, all the information on features and functions you’ve been exposed to essentially becomes irrelevant.
In fact, all that matters at that point is that you enjoy your chair and that it’s backed by Furniture For Life’s unwavering commitment to after-sales service and support.
Buying a Massage Chair Is Easier (and More Enjoyable) Than You Might Think!
The purpose of this article is to help you understand how to buy a massage chair. However, the overview provided (or the expanded details in our Massage Chair Buyer’s Guide) shouldn’t leave you feeling like the process is difficult, time-consuming, or mentally and emotionally taxing!
In fact, from the wonder of learning about all the amazing massage chair technology to the camaraderie you develop with your Comfort Consultant as you work together to find the perfect chair, you’ll discover that it’s actually quite an enjoyable experience.
Visit a Furniture For Life showroom today to start your journey toward improved health and happiness.
