Back Massagers: What To Look For

If you're reading this article, you've probably convinced yourself that a massage chair, or with a good back massager is a good investment. Maybe you've had one in the past, or tried one out at a friends' house or in a store. Perhaps you've simply read enough to feel that the benefits and sheer joy of having your own "on-demand masseuse" sounds like a good idea.

That said, it's important to realize that there are a lot of choices out there, and not all of them are necessarily good choices. Features vary along with price, as does warranties. Most importantly of course, is overall quality, which varies from "Fantastic!" all the way down to "I can't believe I paid money for this piece of junk!".

After having tried nearly every back massager on the market, I ended up purchasing a Homedics product. Since that first purchase, I've bought two more Homedics products, a Shiatsu back massager, and a massage chair for my office.

I was very diligent in comparing the various manufacturers build quality, feature set, guaranty, and of course the actual experience itself. I tried hand-held units, mats that lay over a chair, and custom massage chairs. In the end, I purchased the Homedics QRM-400 Back Massager Cushion for home, and the Homedics SBM-500 Shiatsu Massager for my office (see Customer Reviews).

So what should you look for when considering a purchase?

Motors

Different manufacturers, and even different units from the same company, use different types of motors. As this is the heart of the product, it's crucial that they are high-quality and powerful. The Homedics products I chose have moving dual massage mechanisms, meaning they simultaneously massage while moving up and down, insuring the closest thing to an actual hand massage.

Features

The two most important features are heat, and programmability. Both units mentioned above have heating elements; the difference between a massager with heat and one without is stark. It's one of those things that if you haven't tried both, you won't appreciate what you'd be missing.

The other feature that can "make or break" is programability. The lowest-end massage units have a simple on-off switch. Avoid those, they're not too dissimilar from those cheesy vibrating beds you find in sleazy motels. Any one you're considering should at least have varying intensity levels. Far more worthwhile though are those with preprogrammed routines. These use patterns that turn motors on and off, higher and lower, in patterns going up and down your body. This is the closest thing to a real masseuse and how they work on you.

If you want to go beyond the basic massage, you must look into a Shiatsu back massager. These provide something approximating deep, probing, finger massage, and is the best choice to loosen and un-knot tight muscles. The overall effect is incredibly relaxing and invigorating.

Warranty

No one wants to wind up with a faulty or dead product, but if you do, it's comforting to know you have some recourse. Homedics offers the best warranty in terms of length, and repair / replacement policies.

Based on these criteria, I chose the Homedics back massager. I think that if you take the time to compare, preferably by actually using different units, you'll come to the same conclusion.