Sunday, July 26, 2009

Massage Chairs Calm Lower Lumbar Spasms

By James A Knolon

Did you know that low back pain affects hundreds of thousands of people each year? We all know the symptoms. One wrong twist or turn and our back makes a twang and ouch! Sometimes, it happens fast, while other times its a gradual process. Symptoms develop through times perhaps starting with stiffness and progressing on to soreness. At some point in our lifetime, we will experience low back pain. As someone that has lower back pain, I found that a massage chair has helped in many ways.

One of the most important areas for low back pain is prevention. There are many things you can do proactively to minimize the occurrence of low back problems. Prevention means you have to be aware of things that can impact your back health in a negative way. By changing some of the most basic habits with respect to sitting, standing and lifting you can reduce the occurrence of low back pain.

The first areas of prevention are making sure you use correct posture when standing, sitting and lifting. These 3 activities constitute the highest percentage of injuries to the lower back. If you stand, for example, you should hold your head up high and your shoulders should be back. No slouching. If you slouch then the weight is being concentrated in the lower back which fatigues the muscles.

Another area of prevention is your posture when sitting. We spend a lot of time sitting and if we do not sit correctly, then it impacts the health of your back negatively. For instance, if you slouch forward, then this places more strain on the upper back to compensate. This can be corrected instantly by putting your shoulders back and sitting upright. This prevents the concentration of force which through time can help to misalign the back.

Another area to monitor proactively is lifting. Lifting involves additional weight and movement. Because of the extra weight, using proper lifting techniques is very important. The main change that is needed is to let your legs do the lifting and not your back. Most people bend over and let their lower back take the brunt of the weight. The proper way is to bend your knees and pick up the object by extending your legs straight again.

Massage chairs help relieve lower back pain by massage treatments. There are a variety of programs I have used to reduce soreness and discomfort. A rolling massage helps to adjust the vertebrae. You can use a shiatsu massage to relieve soreness and to revitalize your muscles. I have even used some of the traction features of the newer massage chairs to stretch my lower body.

A massage chair can help adjust the spine with the use of a rolling massage. A rolling massage uses the rollers to go up and down the spine. As the rollers pass each vertebrae, they apply a slight traction that flexes the soft tissues which helps to make them more flexible. This is especially relieving when they are tight and stiff.

A Shiatsu massage is a very relieving massage that can be delivered by a massage chair. The Shiatsu technique came from Japan and has been integrated into many massage chair programs. Shiatsu stimulates acupressure points throughout the back. The back is known to have over 100 such points. These points help induce full body relaxation. Additionally, chopping and kneading massages are used to relieve tension in the muscles.

One excellent feature of massage chairs is a stretching system. The stretching system is used to elongate different parts of the body. Some stretching systems target the lower body while others can do the arms and shoulders. The rolling massage provides for traction of the spine. In some cases, most of the body can be stretch with the functions of the massage chair providing needed relief.

Prevention of back pain is the best way to avoid low back pain. By taking some simple precautions, many types of injuries can be avoided. Massage chairs can be a great investment in this respect. Use a massage chair to warm up before activities and to warm down after activities. If you feel pain in a given area, you can target a massage for relief. A massage chair can be a versatile partner to keep your spine in top health.

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