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Dave Thomas (Certified Massage Therapist) wrote:
I
have been a massage therapist
for ten years in San Diego, practicing Shiatsu and Deep
Tissue types of massage. I have worked for chiropractors and
physical trainers and have tried many models of massage
chairs and mechanical massage tools. The
Premier Health PHP
2026 Massage Recliner that I recently experienced is by
far the best of the bunch.
Owning it would be
like having a live-in massage therapist! This machine
simulates very well the types of hand movements I make when
I am massaging a client. Its mechanical rollers are
extremely sensitive, the next best thing to a well-trained
pair of hands.
Like a real-live massage therapist, the chair seems to know
how to progressively deliver more pressure and what pressure
is needed where. Like I do when working with a client, using
this chair’s pre-programmed routine, I was warmed up gently
and gradually received good firm pressure where I needed it.
The strokes of kneading, tapping, rolling and vibration were
extremely varied, with no pass down the spine being
identical. The Premier works the back thoroughly, from top
to bottom, from the center and laterally. My calves and feet
too were nice and pliable after just a few minutes of
sitting in the chair. After the thirty-minute programmed
massage was over, I played with the manual settings for a
few minutes, customizing my massage and letting the chair
really dig in! Working the chair manually, I found the
controls easy to use allowing me to pinpoint the areas that
needed the extra work with the massage motions I found the
most desirable.
The variability and adjustability of pressure is the
Premier’s strongest feature. Unlike other massage chairs
that I have sampled, this one applies the correct pressure
for the different areas of the spine, from the lumbar to
thoracic to the cervical regions. This chair works the
sacrum and the top of the gluteus really well, an essential
area for anyone with low-back pain. I found the kneading and
rolling action to be especially effective in this area. The
circular kneading, with the rollers moving in clockwise and
counter-clockwise rotations, really opened up my scapula
(shoulder blade) and neck areas, the two areas that I am
most commonly treating with my clients.
I also especially liked the dual action kneading and tapping
combination, especially on the neck area. Again, rather than
delivering one level of pressure all the way up and down the
back, the rolling, kneading and tapping adjusts for the area
of the spine covered, adjusting for the sensitivity of the
area. In addition, with each pass of the rollers, the
kneading and tapping action becomes more fine, covering all
the major acupressure points of the back and the neck. This
is how any good therapist works as well, warming up specific
muscle groups generally then honing in on all the specific
points.
Other massage chairs that I have tried tend to give too
little pressure in the neck and not enough in the low
back. The Premier is just right in both areas. Especially
important, it is very
gentle, yet firm, with the upper thoracic and cervical
regions. If you like your massage deeper, it can deliver
that kind of work as well, especially
once you have been warmed up and apply the manual settings.
"Thanks Dave for the great review."
Click here to view
the Premier Health PHP-2026
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