Comfort Zone By Relax The Back

This funny-looking device can give you a therapeutic, low-cost massage, if you’re willing to do it yourself.

The Theracane may not ever win a beauty pageant. It’s green, shaped like a shepherd’s crook, with two round-tipped handles and an assortment of other knobs. If you compare it to the sleek Sogno DreamWave Massage Chair, it will always be the ugly duckling.

But looks can be deceiving.

Made of solid fiberglass, the Theracane is a lightweight, handheld massager that can reduce your muscle tension in as little as two minutes. It doesn’t require a degree in kinesiology to use, either. You simply have to know where it hurts.

The Theracane can easily massage away knots and stiff areas, relieving weeks and months of tension – even years. Its hook design is specially made to massage those hard-to-reach areas on your body: the middle of your back and shoulders, the soles of your feet, and the back of your legs. All it requires is a gentle back and forth motion, with a round tip focused on the problem area.

Be careful not to put one of the treatment balls directly on your spine or sciatic, however. That can hurt more than help. Just knead your muscles with the cane until you feel your tension dissipate. If you’re stumped for ideas on how to use the Theracane, it comes with a useful booklet with pictures. The tips are helpful, but if you’re like me, you’ll come up with a few ways to use the $35 device on your own.

When I first looked at the Theracane I was skeptical. I didn’t think something so simple (and funny looking) could possibly help with chronic muscle tension and fatigue. But I was wrong. Its simplicity is its advantage. You can use the Theracane in the car (while not driving, of course!), at the office, or on your lunch break (I often do). It doesn’t require any maintenance and it stores easily in a closet or medium-sized drawer. Its low-tech elegance makes it a breeze to get a nice low-cost/no-cost massage anywhere. You just have to be willing to withstand a few stares at first.

That is, until your friends, co-workers, or family members want to give it a try.

Sogno DreamWave Massage Chair massages both the upper and lower body. This chair also has 12 Months, No Interest Financing Available.

Once you get in the Sogno DreamWave Massage Chair, it’s hard to get out.

With its 3D adjustable rollers, eight pre-programmed sessions, and infrared body profiling, it kneads the stress right out of your body. Luckily, part of my job is reviewing massage chairs like these, so if my boss sees me in one and accuses me of loafing, I can say, “No, it’s research. You know, for the good of humanity.”

Quite simply, the DreamWave finds the knots and tight areas in your muscles and then gently massages them away. From the tops of your shoulders to the bottom of your feet, it works on your body in 15- and 30-minute intervals to increase circulation and comfort.

What’s great about this massage chair is its settings. It has one for seemingly every time of day, body part, or state of tension. If you experience muscle stiffness when you wake up, you’ll want to try the Morning setting. As someone who spends all day at the keyboard, I really appreciate this setting which includes a forearm massage. A lot people think massage chairs only relieve back pain or tension, but the Sogno DreamWave provides an excellent arm and hand massage. Using up to 20 inflating air cells, it loosens my arms to relieve the several tight knots I develop during the day spent writing blogs like this one.

If you experience more tightness or discomfort in your lower body, however, I recommend the Night massage setting. This setting provides a gentle, side-to-side swaying that really opens up your hips. This, in conjunction with its firm calf and foot massage, gives your lower body a relaxed, dreamy feeling, like you’re floating on air.

Whether you need a massage to get your motor started in the morning or to unwind after a hard day’s work, I recommend that you try these settings in the reclined, zero gravity position. This position relieves tension on your spine, allowing for even greater comfort and stress reduction.

Lying at a reclined angle also helps the skinnier of us get a fuller massage. As someone who has a hard time casting a shadow, I often feel like I’m being pushed out of the chair when receiving a massage in the upright position. At zero gravity, though, I feel gravity’s pull working in my favor, allowing me a deeper massage.

If you’d like to learn more about the customizable settings on the Sogno DreamWave™ Massage Chair by Inada, please visit Relax The Back.

As a new employee of Relax The Back, it’s important that I know the products. All 453 of them. This requires that I spend up to an hour a day testing a variety of state-of-the-art foot massagers, inversion tables, and full-body massage chairs.

It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

This week I tried the Sanyo Zero Gravity Foot Massager. The Sanyo targets your sole, foot, and calf muscles.  It offers Shiatsu, Relax, and Quick settings, with front and back adjustments, so you can massage your feet from toe to heel. I tried Shiatsu, which in hindsight might have been a mistake. For someone who has not had a foot massage since the Clinton Administration, the first five minutes were as much pain as pleasure.

But after that, smooth sailing. The Sanyo kneaded my soles, squeezed my calves, and applied gentle pressure to the tops of my feet with 11 different air bags. Although I was a little tender in the beginning, by the time it was over, I felt like I had a new pair of feet. The floor literally felt different, like someone had added a layer of cotton balls over it. My circulation also felt better. Perhaps best of all, my breathing felt deeper and I had a more relaxed state of mind.

The Sanyo uses undulating 3D shiatsu posts to knead and massage away tension. There is also a heat setting, allowing you to soften your muscles, ligaments and tendons. This massager adjusts to your foot size, too, so whether you’re closer to Sasquatch or Cinderella, you should have no problem fitting into the Sanyo Zero Gravity Foot Massager. It also offers a Hi, Mid, and Lo intensity selection and a convenient wireless remote controller to boot. To top it off, the massages are set to 20-minute intervals, which make them perfect for after-work downtime.

Tune in next week when I have to undergo a full-body massage in our Sogno Massage Chair. Please feel free to send your comments, sympathy cards, or condolence letters to brendang@relaxtheback.com.

Over 70% of the United States population experiences back pain during their lifetime and most have experienced back pain within the last 3 weeks, this is why the Self Inflating Back Rest or SIBR is a great product to use. The majority of people think sitting is a restful position, but research has shown that sitting actually creates increased pressure in the discs of the lower spine. The problem is made worse by slouching in our chairs, which people tend to do. The majority of chairs produced lack adequate lumbar support which can contribute to slouching. Prolonged and repetitious slouching can increase strain in the lower back causing damage or injury to spinal discs.

Relax The Back Self Inflating Back Rest

The Self Inflating Back Rest prevents slouching by supporting the natural curve of the lower back when sitting. Lower back support when sitting also encourages forward tilting of the pelvis area. When supported correctly by the Self Inflating Back Rest the discs and joints of the lower spine are aligned in a position which mechanically is less stressful, and can help prevent future injury and pain.

When should I use the SIBR?

Sooner than Later… is the best advice that can be given regarding taking the steps necessary to reduce back pain. Common sense tells us taking care of health problems before they get severe is in the best interest of our bodies and a smart decision. Unfortunately, most people do not practice this theory when it comes to their backs. People brush their teeth; watch their diet or limit activities in the sun, to prevent a problem regarding their health, but when it comes to our backs, we generally react to pain verses being proactive in preventing the problem.

Using the Self Inflating Back Rest is a step in the right direction and a proactive one. By using the SIBR, you will immediately see improvement and you will head off any future back problems associated with poor posture.

At home, at work, while driving, traveling, working on a computer, or any activity associated with sitting, the Self Inflating Back Rest provides relief and comfort in every situation.

Visit a Relax The Back Location near you.

The main goal of the ergonomic computer desk is to provide proper adjustments for the placement of the elements in order to provide maximum comfort to the user. The ergonomic computer desk should be able to adjust the height and angle of the keyboard tray, monitor shelf and other elements.

An ergonomic desk is the important thing to be considered for setting up a home office to a corporate office. The ergonomic desk is a modern desk, which provides good comfortable postures to handle things at the workstation. These ergonomic desks provide a solution to the Repetitive strain injury and Carpal tunnel syndrome.

Ergonomic desk should be at same distance from your eyes as to the monitor to avoid the frequent changes of focus and you should be able you to look from one to the other without moving your neck or back. It should support the document holder. Place the phone on the side of your non-dominant hand.

The Position your desk lamp on the ergonomic desk should be so that it illuminates source documents without causing either glare on the computer screen or direct illumination to your eyes. It should be stable and adjustable. A document holder should be used if documents are referred to during keying.

The desktop should be organized so that frequently used objects are close to the user to avoid excessive extended reaching. If a fixed-height desk is used, add a keyboard tray that adjusts vertically to provide added adjustability.

The area underneath the ergonomic desk should always be clean and uncluttered to accommodate the user’s legs and allow for stretching. The work surface should have a matte finish to minimize glare or reflections. A footrest should be used if, after adjusting the height of the chair, feet do not rest flat on the floor.