Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Massage Chairs Diminish Lower Lumbar Spasms

Our backs take the majority of the weight of the body. The spine is designed to distribute the weight of the body evenly across the spine. However, some activities or even an injury can cause the weight to be concentrated on a small part of the spine. This is usually concentrated in the lower back. The muscles become tired with the weight and will tighten up causing discomfort and pain. Massage chairs are being used to help loosen these muscles and help to re-align the spine.


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 majority of minor back injuries can be prevented by paying better attention to your posture. Standing, sitting and lifting are the 3 main activities that if performed correctly will help strengthen the back and to distribute the weight evenly. If you stand correctly with your head held up and your shoulders back, then you are using your back the way it was designed.


How good is your sitting posture? Do you slouch or do you sit upright? If you slouch, then you make your upper body compensate for the uneven distribution of weight. This will begin to fatigue those muscles as they have to take more than their normal share of your body weight. Try sitting up straight and put your shoulders back. If you sit right, it actually feels better.


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.


Another area of prevention is warming up and warming down prior to and after physical activities. Many injuries occur due to improper warm up before activities. The muscles and the body are cold and inflexible. When strain is put on them, they do not have the elasticity required and may cause an injury. Massage chairs help the body to warm up and warm down before and after activities.


To take some pressure off my lower back, you can select a rolling massage. The massage chair uses rollers to go up and down your spine. You can recline the chair to find the pressure you want applied. The rollers move slowly up and down the spine. As it passes each cervical disc, it will give it a gentle press. This action helps to loosen the soft tissue around the cervical discs.


Try the shiatsu massage program. Shiatsu is a centuries old technique originating in Japan. Shiatsu uses different thumb and finger pressures along with acupressure points. It is a very invigorating and pain relieving massage. Shiatsu around the spinal column helps the muscles to reduce in stiffness and become more flexible.


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.


We have shared some basics in preventing low back pain. Remember many forms of injuries can be avoided just by correcting your sitting, standing and lifting. A massage chair can be used to warm up and warm down when undertaking exercise or other physical activities. Massage chairs provide targeted relief when you do have stiffness and tightness. Get the right set of preventative tools in place to make sure your back stays in great health.


Check out different Massage Chairs for Back Pain and find what will best suit your requirements. There are a great variety of massage therapies and supplemental treatments as well which make for a holistic experience. Peruse our extensive library of candid Massage Chair Reviews covering as many models as we have tried.