If you are like most people, your legs do a great deal of work throughout the day. Whether you have a job that involves standing for extended periods, you are caring for your children and home, or you exercise regularly, your legs tend to take a beating. This activity can lead to pain and discomfort. Being sedentary at a desk for long periods can also adversely affect your legs.
Unfortunately, unpleasant leg sensations are so common that many people come to view them as “par for the course.” They expect their legs to be sore at the end of the day. However, leg pain is not something you have to (or should) simply endure. An advanced massage chair can relieve discomfort, loosen tight muscles, and help you get more enjoyment out of life.
Read on to learn about what causes leg pain and how regular sessions in a massage chair with leg massager capability can address it.
Common Causes of Leg Pain
There are many causes of leg pain. If you have a specific, ongoing concern, it is important to discuss it with your doctor as it could be an indicator of a significant medical problem.
However, most leg pain stems from issues like overuse, wear and tear, and injuries.
Overuse and Injuries
Standing or walking for extended periods regularly can lead to leg discomfort. So can a single, unusually long or intense episode, particularly if it is an activity you are not used to.
For example, Furniture For Life is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Friends and family members who visit our team members from states at lower elevations may find that one relatively short hike in the foothills creates some leg discomfort.
Massage chair sessions are great for relieving sore, tired legs. They do this, in part, by increasing blood flow to the legs, which helps your body remove waste products produced by physical activity more quickly and efficiently.
The same process applies to recovering from injuries. Massage chair sessions can help with recent issues and also enhance the body’s ability to break down and desensitize scar tissue from older injuries.
Cramps and Restless Legs
Do you suffer from leg cramps, especially at night? Along with drinking more water and getting adequate rest, stretching and massaging the muscles can help. Especially if you’re prone to cramps, it’s good to massage the muscles regularly for several days after a cramping episode to prevent a recurrence.
Restless legs are another nighttime burden for many. When a person has this condition, they feel an overwhelming urge to move their legs, making sleep difficult. Research indicates that regular massages can help reduce the incidence and intensity of restless legs syndrome. And, of course, getting more and better-quality sleep has a wide variety of physical and mental/emotional benefits.
How Massage Chairs With Leg Massage Functionality Can Help Sore Legs
To understand how massage chairs with a leg massage feature work, you first have to know a little about massage chair tracks—meaning the different paths the massage mechanism can follow. An S-track works from the neck down to the lumbar region. It provides an exceptional stretch. Chairs with an L-track are beneficial in a different way. Their mechanisms excel at massaging the glutes and upper hamstrings. And some massage chairs combine these two in a J-Track or MaxTrack™.
Another helpful feature for soothing tired and sore legs are the air cells some chairs have that massage the hips and the iliotibial (IT) band—a strip of connective tissue running along the outside of the leg from the hip to the knee.
To fully address sore legs, a massage chair should have additional leg massaging features. For example, some leg rests can elevate the legs, adjust for different sizes, and provide air compression. They may also have foot rollers, calf rollers (in a small number of chairs), and heat.
Gentle vs. Vigorous Stimulation for Leg Issues
Increasingly, advanced massage chairs offer a range of stimulation levels for the legs. That can be important since some conditions respond best to gentle stimulation, while others require firmer pressure. For instance, legs that are simply feeling “tired” generally improve after a light massage, whereas certain conditions or injuries call for more of a deep tissue massage.
Rolling and Kneading To Relieve Specific Leg Conditions
In a chair with leg massage capabilities (specifically, a massage chair with calf rollers and air compression), rolling, kneading, and compression functions combine to provide a deep tissue massage. This is best for pain relief and for treating conditions such as cramping and restless legs. Muscle stretching and increased blood flow are ideal for addressing these issues, especially when you use leg massage features consistently.
The Best Massage Chair for the Legs
The more advanced massage chairs on the market provide a combination of gentle and vigorous massage. They also offer features such as heat and shiatsu massage programs to pinpoint and address problem areas. Some of the chairs best equipped to relieve leg pain, reduce restless legs syndrome, and generally make the legs feel better are listed and described below.
OHCO M.8 NEO Luxury Massage Chair
The OHCO M.8 NEO luxury massage chair has several features that benefit people with tired or sore legs, including a MaxTrack™, theraelliptical™ calf kneading, and reflexology foot rollers. And the Sens8™ mechanism mimics a shiatsu massage, applying pressure to energy points in the legs to stimulate the body’s self-healing processes.
Positive Posture Brio+ Massage Chair
The Positive Posture Brio+, with its full-body air massage function, is an excellent option for addressing tired, sore legs. It intelligently scans your body and adjusts to your dimensions to deliver a precision massage exactly where it is needed.
Panasonic MAJ7 Massage Chair
Many owners consider the Panasonic MAJ7 massage chair to be the closest thing to having a skilled massage therapist work on them. Its lower core massage—from the hips down to the upper hamstrings—is perfect for anyone nursing old sports or work injuries.
The compression massage chair system uses 37 air cells. They compress and release around tired legs to mimic the motions a massage therapist leverages to treat tired and sore legs. The Swedish massage option is ideal for those looking for leg relief.
Swedish massage focuses on relaxation and improving circulation and blood oxygen levels. This is exactly what your tired, achy legs need. This chair has the added benefit of an array of sole massages to complete the whole-body experience.
Finding the Best Massage Chair with Leg Massage for You
Today’s advanced massage chairs with leg massage features do far more than simply work your back and shoulders. They can provide head-to-toe sessions that include plenty of attention for tired, sore, or restless legs. Whether your limbs need vigorous, deep-tissue massage or lighter air cell work, the right massage chair can provide it.
Of course, “right” is user-specific. A chair that works well for someone else might not be ideal for you. That is why it is essential to try several different massage chairs before purchasing one. It is also why our friendly and knowledgeable Comfort Consultants focus on educating you about massage chairs rather than convincing you to purchase one.
Once you understand how a massage chair can make your legs—and your whole body—feel better, enhance your overall wellness, and help you get more enjoyment from life, the products tend to sell themselves!
So, educate yourself about massage chairs in our Learning Center, chat with one of our representatives online, and visit a showroom near you to work with a Comfort Consultant on finding the ideal chair for you and your family.
