Massage bed

Massage beds, sometimes called therapy beds, can have both a therapeutic and a medically beneficial purpose. Basic massage bed They can sooth and ease muscle stress and they also relax the person experiencing the massage sensation.

Massage beds come in two varieties. The first is what appears to be a regular bed, but one that has extra features that may include functions like massage, electric position adjustment etc. Strictly speaking this is not a massage or therapy bed.

The second type of massage bed is a therapy bed whose purpose it is to offer therapies rather than to provide a sleeping surface. With this type of bed the massage functions can be quite extensive and will be paramount to the beds purpose. Other functionality like the provision of infrared heat may be part of a complete therapy bed treatment centre. These beds are not for sleeping or resting on and they are very different from the various types of medical bed.

Types of massage

Most modern therapy beds have massage selectable programs that enable precise selections of the massage motions, areas of the body that are treated, intensity of massage and duration of massage. These beds are often highly programmable enabling any user to determine one or more precise collections of setting for the optimum massage experience. Furthermore multiple programs can be saved with different settings for different users.

Having said that, most therapy beds will offer two distinct massaging styles that are described as Swedish and Shiatsu and remain the most popular when produced by a either a machine or a human masseur.

Shiatsu is based on finger pressure and originates from Japan, it is a comparatively firm (or hard) form of massage that a small number of people find too rough. It is intended to manipulate and relax muscles by alternating pressures and movements in specific areas.

The Swedish massage is a much gentler massaging techniques intended very much for relaxation rather than physical therapy, hence its associations. Whilst relaxing the body, this style of massage usually makes its beneficiaries feel relaxed and de-stressed.

Many massage therapy beds can combine either of the above techniques, or produce a hybrid massage that can be customized for almost any recipient. These beds vary widely in price and in the other additional therapies that they may encapsulate.

Examples of these therapies include infrared heat therapy which detoxifies the skin, moxibustion which can assist the immune system, and chiropractic treatments that are aimed at helping the back.

Massage beds and therapy beds do not look like standard beds. Instead they resemble something closer to a therapy treatment bench found in a physiotherapist's or osteopath’s treatment room.

Many therapy beds will have remote motorized adjustments for the angle of the backrest or leg rest sections and some will be height adjustable.