If you participate in sport, there are many reasons to use a massage chair that go way beyond the fact that a massage is fabulously relaxing. Here’s how a massage chair helps athletes at all levels starting with occasional amateurs to professionals who punish their bodies in pursuit of premium performance. You can enjoy the same results at home today…and every day.
Why Athletes Use Massage Chairs
Several massage chairs were installed in the players’ room at the 2015 Australian Open, and they were in high demand. Why? Because world-class tennis players know the value of massage. Here’s what they already know and how a massage chair improves your game.
1. Massage Loosens Muscles Before Exertion
Muscles that aren’t stretched and loosened before activity are far more prone to be pulled or torn. At minimum, they take longer to heal. Many types of massage chairs including Shiatsu, acupressure, Swedish and reflexology have been shown to effectively prepare muscles for exertion. Not only will massage help prevent injury, you’ll perform up to your potential when you are warmed up and ready for action. That’s something to consider when playing tennis against a mate with a pint on the line.
2. A Massage Speeds Recovery Time
We have all awoken on a Monday morning with pain and stiffness earned over the weekend by cycling, playing basketball or a friendly rugby match. Well, research suggests having a massage following exertions might have lessened the sport hangover felt the following day.
In a well-known study, 11 healthy men were put through a strenuous workout. Muscle biopsies were taken before and after the workout and then again after ten minutes of vigorous massage. The results showed that massage lessened inflammation in cell muscles and boosted the production of mitochondria, that part of the cell that uses food products to create energy to heal and to repair muscle tissue damaged in a workout. While applying ice to sore muscles reduces inflammation, it tends to slow the cell repair and recovery. Again, massage does both.
Additional studies show that massage reduces serum creatine kinase (CK) in the blood following a workout. CK is associated with muscle pain and fatigue. In short, you’ll hurt less the day after when you follow your exertion with a relaxing massage that helps muscles regenerate and clear themselves of CK.
3. Holistic Health is Achieved
Top athletes care about the whole package. They are in tune with their bodies and work to achieve optimal, holistic health. Important research has shown that massage chairs are effective for total wellbeing by improving the function and balance of Ki (aka Qi and Chi). When the body’s Ki is not healthy, musculoskeletal stiffness, generalized pain, headaches, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety and stress, digestive issues and susceptibility to virus result.
Nobody wants to deal with those issues at any time, and they certainly diminish physical performance of all types including sport. A massage chair helps optimize Ki through the stimulation of key points on the 12 meridians of the body. The results include better circulation of blood and lymph, flushing toxins from the blood and tissue and relaxing muscles to improve these processes. Holistic health boosts energy, speeds recovery from sport or a workout and helps prevent illness.
Play Harder, Recover Faster, Feel Better
The positive physical benefits of massage have been clearly demonstrated. And everyone knows how relaxing and stress-relieving a massage is. When you own a massage chair, all those benefits are yours whenever you want them without leaving your home.