Bring the Heat!
One of the best feelings in the world is that relief you feel when you soothe an ache with a hot bath or heating pad. The healing effects of heat have been studied for centuries. Its pain relieving capabilities and relaxing effects are a favorite of nearly everyone. Now, you can get that incredible heat therapy right from your massage chair.
Let’s take a look at all the wonderful benefits that heat therapy offers and how your massage chair can make it that much more enjoyable.
Relieve Tension
Applying heat to the muscles of the body has been known to actually loosen and relax tension. As your muscles relax, the tension and knots you’ve accumulated over time are lessened. It’s restorative and relaxing. Heck, if the Ancient Romans and Chinese enjoyed it, and it’s still around today, you know it has to work.
Ease Muscle Cramps
Your muscles cramp up when they don’t get enough oxygen, and that’s generally because of poor circulation or simply taxing the muscles like you do during a workout. To help this by boosting your circulation, you can use heat.
The muscles loosen as stated above and heat has been known to increase blood flow as well, circulating essential nutrients to the muscles quicker and easier. Using your massage chair with the heat therapy option, after a workout or when your muscles are overly tight can be a great way to ease them and get them to heal themselves a bit quicker.
Quiet the Mind
Heat therapy, when used together with massage, is not only beneficial for your physical well-being, but it is also wonderful for your mood and mental well-being. Pain is distracting and stress causes the body to produce excess cortisol. That stress and those aches and pains can ruin a mood, make one worse, or even trigger mental health conditions.
When you eliminate the pain through heat and massage which can also eliminate stress, you can function at your best and boost your feel-good chemicals, called endorphins, that can help to combat some anxiety and depression, helping you to feel more like yourself. Of course, it’s not a cure, but it can help.
Lower Back Love
Your lower back is subjection to so much stress on a daily basis. In fact, few areas are under more stress than the ever-important base of your spine. Gravity is constantly taking a toll on your spine, and it’s that much worse for those who are active or who stand on their feet all day at work.
What’s worse, spinal compression makes circulating those essential nutrients and oxygen more difficult. When you use a massage chair with lower back heat, you’re increasing blood flow as you know, and you’ll also be decompressing your spine thanks to the reclined position and massage the chair offers. Together, it all works to rid you of that exhausting lower back pain.
Reduce Joint Strain
Remember that improved blood flow we talked about? Well, it can be great for your joints as well. The nutrients and oxygen are moving more freely and massage has been known to help the body rid itself of toxins, some of which can accumulate in the joints.
Plus, your body is operating more efficiently because of the increased oxygen. That can reduce the strain put on your joints, which in turn can lead to increased flexibility and mobility as time goes on. Our bodies are intricately connected and when you take care of one part it can help improve another.
A Match Made In Heaven
Heat therapy alone is an effective technique, but when you pair it with the benefits of massage the results get even better. The combination reduces the stress and tension in the body and each work to improve the other.
Heat can sink deeper when the muscle is relaxed which a massage can do, and massage works better on supple muscles which heat can achieve. That’s why many find massage chairs with heat so much more effective than those without it. These two are truly meant for each other.
Keep it Warm
Find yourself a massage chair that offers heat therapy right here. They truly provide such a great sensation and beneficial results for your entire body. And if you’re looking for some help when it comes to purchasing a massage chair, check out our Massage Chair Buying Guide.