Description of Chair Massage

Refresh yourself fast with a rejuvenating chair massage from a licensed massage therapist. You can find chair massage in a number of places, including offices, the mall, street festivals and the airport. For this type of casual and quick massage, you keep all of your clothes on, and no oil or creams are applied to your skin. It is customary, although not obligatory, to tip your massage therapist after your chair massage. Tip whatever you like; $1 or $2 is sufficient for a 10- to 20-minute massage.

By the Minute

While a massage therapist charges by the hour for a table massage, chair massage is billed by the minute. Tell the massage therapist how many minutes you want. Ten minutes is sufficient to feel relaxed and refreshed. The University of Pennsylvania Office of Health Education says "even 15 minutes of massage to the neck, back, arms and hands can increase circulation, returning energy levels."

Massage Chair

Don't be intimidated by the slightly strange-looking ergonomic design of the massage chair. A massage chair is built with apparatus created to cradle the client in comfort and provide an advantageous angle for the practitioner to perform her massage routine. The average massage chair has a weight capacity of 350 lbs., while other models hold up to 650 lb. Massage chair manufacturers say large-breasted and pregnant women may find greater comfort when they use a triangular-shaped sternum pad.

Sitting Down

Give your massage therapist the opportunity to adjust the chair to your size. Then, stand behind the seat of the massage chair. The tallest part, the face cradle--it looks like a padded horseshoe--should be the farthest from you. Straddle the seat and place your buttocks on it. Bend your knees and place them on the pads below the seat. Lean forward and rest your chest on the pad in front of you.
Wait for the massage therapist to adjust the height and angle of the face cradle to suit your body shape before you lean face-first into it. For sanitary reasons, there should be a fresh disposable face cradle cover covering this part of the massage chair.

The Massage

The massage chair gives the massage the massage therapist easy access to your neck, shoulders, back, arms, hands and head. Specify which parts of the body you would like her to concentrate on. Each therapist has her own routine, depending on her style and your requests. Expect the massage to start with relaxing effleurage and compression, followed by therapeutic petrissage and finish with rejuvenating tapotement.
According to the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Health Services, a stress-relief massage consists of several techniques. To get you in the mood, therapist will gently glide her hands over your body with effleurage strokes so you can become accustomed to her touch. Next, with compression, she will press against your body using the palms of her hands in tandem with your breath. Petrissage is often employed for the bulk of the chair massage. It is a kneading technique with firm pressure that lifts and squeezes muscle tissue. To bring you back to life, the end of the massage typically consists of refreshing tapotement, rhythmic percussive tapping using the fingers or fists.

Care Providers

A study conducted by the Rehabilitation Department at Christie Hospital and published in the European Journal of Oncology Nursing found "significant improvements in physical and psychological scores" in those who received a chair massage. Additionally, those improvements lasted through the following day.

References

• University of Pennsylvania: Chair Massage Helps Desk-Bound Workers
• Washtenaw Community College: Chair Massage
• Oakworks: Portal Pro Massage Chair
• University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Health Services: Stress-Relief Massage
• European Journal of Oncology Nursing: Chair Massage for Carers in an Acute Cancer Hospital