Friday, January 23, 2009

Sports Massages Are Awesome in Massage Chair Recliners

By James Knolan

When you think of massage, you think of an afternoon at the spa, being pampered with a mud bath, feeling the heat of the sauna, and rejuvenating your skin with fresh peels and wraps. But there's another side-an increasing trend called sports therapy massage. Massage is a natural choice for warming up muscles prior to physical activity. Massage chairs are being built that can perform many sports related massages. Shiatsu massage chairs are assembling an arsenal of massage therapies into their chairs.

Top athletes have been utilizing massage as part of their total athletic regimen. Athletes have a sports massage to prepare their bodies prior to strenuous physical exertion. These massages are not your typical day at the Spa massage. Sports massage techniques are being integrated into many massage chairs. These chairs have specific programs for both professional and amateur athletes.

Many doctors recommend sports therapy massage for their athletes before, during and after a game. Sports massage has been shown to minimize injury and speed recoveries from injuries. These sports therapies are used by professional athletes before, during and after competition. Athletes needs sports therapy massages to loosen tight muscles increase their flexibility. Additionally, these massages help to increase circulation which helps the body metabolize fuel faster, leading to greater bursts of energy and enhanced performance. Sports massages, quite simply can help reduce sports-related injuries such as sprains, fractures, spasms and pulled muscles.

Sports therapy massage for athletes is like nourishment for muscles. It increases circulation, cuts down on pain, and allows for quicker rehabilitation after an injury. Many of the high end massage chairs from Panasonic, Omega and Sanyo are incorporating more features aimed at helping athletes. These shiatsu massage chairs have many massage therapies ranging from Swedish, Shiatsu, Reflexology, Acupressure and Deep Tissue massage.

Are you a Weekend Warrior or a Professional Athlete? Professional athletes have a daily regimen to keep them in top physical shape. Weekend Warriors by definition play intermittently and therefore, are more at risk to injury. Everyone loves an active sport such as as tennis, golf, basketball, or perhaps softball. Whatever your sport, proper warm up is important. Muscles need to be stretched and warmed up prior to vigorous activity. The Omega Montage Premier massage chair come equiped with a lower body stretch function. This lower body traction functions utilizes air pressure to hold your feet in the footrest. The footrest is first raised. The footrest then goes down to each of 3 lower positions. As it lowers, it stretches and elongates the muscles from the hips down. Proper stretching increases athletic performance and minimizes the chance of injury.

Sport Massage Therapy is a combination of two distinct massage techniques: Swedish and Shiatsu. Swedish massage techniques use long, flowing strokes to increase blood circulation and flow. Shiatsu works on two levels. The first level is the stimulation of acupressure points throughout the back. The second level is the application of a gentle squeezing action to particular areas of the body. Shiatsu helps relax the muscles and also to relieve tension. Massage chair recliners use both techniques to provide a full back massage. The lower body is massaged with an air compression system. Panasonic, for instance, uses the air compression system to gently squeeze, hold and release the muscles of the lower body. The Panasonic EP-3222 massage recliner has an incredible 33 airbags in the seat and footrest to perform lower body massages.

If you are looking for a great way to get ready before your strenuous activity, these chairs can be a very practical alternative to getting a professional masseuse. Even sports like golf, which do not seem too strenuous, actually put significant stress on the body. In golf, for example, one swings using the muscles on one side of the body in a singular direction. This causes you to over-utilize some muscle groups and under-utilize other muscle groups. How many golfers complain about bad backs? Too many to count! That simple swinging motion done repetitively can cause muscle and tendon damage if you do not warm up and warm down properly. An invigorating shiatsu massage before and after golf will make you feel better and might even take a couple strokes off your game.

A shiatsu massage chair provides a thorough sports massage therapy. Getting a proper warm up for your muscles increases their flexibility, relieves tension and increases blood flow. A massage chair can be an integral part of your warm up. However, massage chairs are certainly not cheap, but then again, neither is being injured. A proper warm up can help to avoid injury. Is all this warming up really worth it because shiatsu massage chairs are not cheap. How much is that worth? If a massage chair can help reduce the risk of injury and enhancing your performance, then its invaluable. Whether you are a Weekend Warrior or a Professional Athlete, your most valuable player must just be your shiatsu massage chair recliner. - 16650

About the Author: