science

Massage chair

Massage chair is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Massage chair rather than just read about it. In short: A massage chair is a chair designed for massages. It can refer to two types of products: Traditional massage chairs allow a massage therapist to easily access the head, shoulders, and back of a massage recipient.

Key takeaways

Massage chair belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Massage chair to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Massage chair from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A massage chair is a chair designed for massages. It can refer to two types of products: Traditional massage chairs allow a massage therapist to easily access the head, shoulders, and back of a massage recipient. Alternatively, electric massage chairs use electronic vibrators and motors to provide a massage.

Traditional Chair massage is done in an ergonomically designed portable chair. Chair massage focuses on the head, neck, shoulders, back, arms and hands. Massage therapists are able to offer on-site massage to many environments because of the portability of the massage chair, and clients do not need to disrobe to receive a chair massage. Due to these two factors, chair massage is often performed in settings such as business offices, employee appreciation events, trade shows, conferences, and other corporate settings.

Electric massage chair

History By 1904, several electric chairs had been invented for massage and physical therapy use (then called "physiologic therapeutics"). These included "the shaking chair invented by Charcot...the shaking couch of the Zander system" and the "electric percussor or percuteur of Dr. Mortimer Granville", the last of which was able to strike "one to two thousand blows in a minute". However, it advised against the usage of such machines as the movements could not be customized as well as those of a physical therapist, and the machines' downside included "the enormous cost of the outfit and of its running". The 1919 The Electrical Experimenter reported and illustrated an "electrically driven massage machine" invented by Glenn S. Noble of Chicago, titled the "Electric Roller Chair". The chair used a small electric motor to control wooden rollers; the receipient could operate a cross-bar to control the intensity and pressure. It featured an accompanying footrest and the chains could be driven in either direction, though Noble recommended to drive the engaging rollers "in a downward directrion". In 1954, Nobuo Fujimoto of Osaka, Japan created the world's first mass-marketed chair using wood, metal, and scrap materials. Robotic massage chairs were first brought to market in 1954 by the Family Fujiryoki company. As of 2018, Japan is the largest consumer of massage chairs with some surveys suggesting that over 20% of Japanese households actually own a massage chair. The first electric massage chair was invented in Japan before World War II.

Description

A robotic massage chair contains internal electronic motors and gears designed to massage the person sitting in them. Massage chairs are designed to mimic the hand motions of a massage therapist. They use a combination of massage rollers and airbags to massage the different parts of the body. Massage chairs vary tremendously in price, style and intensity, from cheap "vibrate only" chairs to full intensity Shiatsu models. Massaging chairs most frequently resemble recliners. Most robotic massage chairs have some form of controller to vary the type, location, or intensity of the massage. There are many different types and brands, including office-style chairs that operate from internal batteries. A less expensive option is a separate massaging pad that may be used with an existing chair.

Benefits The benefits of a massage chair include deep relaxation, reduced blood pressure, a lower pulse rate, and increased rate of metabolism.

See also Back pain Massage table Shiatsu

References

Illustrations

Massage chair: Traditional massage chair — Traditional massage chair

Massage chair: A massage chair in use at RAF Lakenheath, 2008 — A massage chair in use at RAF Lakenheath, 2008

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Massage chair

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Massage chair claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Massage chair before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Massage chair ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Massage chair

In research: Massage chair appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Massage chair in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Massage chair is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Chairs, Japanese inventions, Massage, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Massage chair outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Massage chair in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Massage chair means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Massage chair out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Massage chair in simple terms?

Why does Massage chair matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Massage chair?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Massage chair.