Shiatsu Massage Chairs- A Massage Therapist Whenever You Need One

A few years ago, I was getting ready for a piano performance, and putting in four to six hours of practice every day. I started to get a strange pain in my forearm as I played, but I kept ignoring it. In a couple of weeks, it grew into a stabbing pain all the way from my wrist, through my arm, up over my shoulder and down to my shoulder blade. It started hurting all the time, whether I was playing or not. It got so bad that I had to turn down performance offers and eventually I stopped playing altogether.
I went to doctor after doctor, physical therapists, neurologists, and anyone else who might have some idea how to fix me. Nothing worked, and it was miserable. I couldn't play the piano, washing my hair was painful, and I couldn't even shift gears in the car. I had no idea how much I depended on my arm, and had to start sifting through activities by whether or not it would irritate my shoulder and make the pain worse. After a few months, it became clear that the pain was originating from a trigger point right near my shoulder blade, and when that acted up, all I could do was take some pain medication and beg someone to massage my arm.
Eventually, someone recommended I go to a shiatsu massage therapist. From the first session, I could tell I was on to something. After two sessions, the pain was no longer always present, and it only came back if I did something to directly cause it, like playing the piano, unfortunately.
Shiatsu massage originated in Japan, and is a traditional hand-pressure therapy, meaning it is known for applying pressure only with the fingers, palms and thumbs. According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, It was created for the purpose of correcting the imbalances of the body, and for maintaining and promoting health.
The real essence of shiatsu massage is "Diagnosis and Therapy combined." This is the highly developed ability of practitioners to sense disharmonies in the energies of the body, and to then correct these problems.
Now, the money tree in my backyard stopped producing a few years ago, so I wasn't exactly in a position to pay for a massage every week to keep the pain at bay. Luckily, someone in the world loves people like me, and found a way to put the skill of a shiatsu massage therapist's fingers into a massage chair.
Now, at first I thought they were kind of tacky. Then I sat in one. And I never wanted to get out. It really is like having a massage therapist on call, in your home. And it definitely beats wasting time in waiting rooms and counting down the days until the next appointment. And, if you're really in a time crunch, you can get work done while you get a massage (although I prefer to use that time to fall asleep or read that great book that's been eluding me for months).
It's a wonderful chance for me to sit down and relax, before starting the day or at the end of it. After about the first week of having my massage chair, it more than paid for itself in the time I spent using it. Not only that, but I am pain free! I still can't play the piano for very long at a time, but at least I am not in constant pain. A big part of it is that I'm much more relaxed, so my muscles aren't always trying to gang up on me. Whether or not you have a specific pain you are focused on relieving, or you just have the general stress of daily life, I would definitely recommend looking into shiatsu massage chairs.
Personally, I'm a fan of the choices HoMedics and Omega offer. You can get everything from a cushion to place in a chair you already have, or (incredibly comfortable) chairs that actually look classy, not like the ridiculous massage chairs of the past.
Shiatsu massage chairs are the perfect way to relax and alleviate pain without having to go to a masseuse or pay $100 an hour.