Review: Sogno DreamWave™ Massage Chair by Inada

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.

Need a Unique Father’s Day Gift? Try an Inversion Table

Back A Traction inversion table

If you’ve ever stressed out your dad – and let’s face it, who hasn’t? – then you can help him relax with a unique Father’s Day Gift: an inversion table.

An inversion table can help relieve back pain, nerve root pressure, and decreased mobility caused by the long-term effects of gravity (and rambunctious offspring). That’s something even the finest silk tie can’t do.

Inversion is one of the oldest natural therapies, dating back thousands of years. By hanging at inverted angles, Dad can elongate his spine, and relieve some of the pressure that gets built up during the course of the day. Although I’m not a dad (yet), after 20 minutes on the inversion table, I felt my vertebrae gradually spreading apart, like a slowly opening fan. Kids or no kids, it helped put me in a much more relaxed state of mind.

Here’s a little bit of science: The inside of our spinal discs is made of a jellylike substance called nucleus pulposus. During our waking hours, gravity works to compress this gelatinous material, resulting in a temporary loss of height (approximately 0.5-0.75 inches).  Over the course of a lifetime, people become shorter essentially because their discs lose moisture. As a 5’11” guy, I’m doing all I can to hold on to what I got. In fact, I’m hoping a few extra minutes on the Flexstretch Inversion Table every morning will help me reach the vaunted 6’0”.

Even if an inversion table may not actually make you taller, it can lessen Dad’s spinal pressure and make him feel taller. Greater muscle relaxation and better circulation are other benefits of this age-old remedy. After regular use, he may even temporarily forget he has to mow the lawn or paint the garage.

Technique is important when it comes to inversion table therapy, though. It’s not as simple as just hanging upside down and letting the blood flow to your head. For beginners, I recommend the Back-A-Traction Inversion Table, which has a locking mechanism at four different angles.  With the locking mechanism, Dad can concentrate on relaxing, while moving between inversion levels only as he feels comfortable.

When he has developed some familiarity with the table, he can even do simple exercises to relieve pressure, realign the pelvis and spine, and increase mobility.

Here are some exercises for beginners:

1. Raise your arms over your head for a full-body stretch.
2. Raise your back into a slight arch to provide a gentle back stretch.
3. Turn your body on its side for a side stretch. After holding for a few seconds, turn to the other side and repeat.

To get the most out of an inversion table, it’s best to go slow at first. Dear old Dad shouldn’t move too quickly between inverted positions, which can cause head rush. It’s recommended to start out lying parallel to the ground, for 1-2 minutes, and then slowly build up the amount of time and degree of inversion.

Fifteen degrees is a comfortable level of inversion, in which your dad should feel his muscle pain and tension decrease.  All of the benefits of inversion can be achieved at this angle including improved posture and balance.  At 30°, Pops should feel his ligaments stretching, his muscles lengthening and increased separation in his weight-bearing joints.  This is a great angle for Dad to work on his 6-pack abs by doing situps or crunches.

A good stretch of 5-15 minutes should be sufficient to melt away his cares.  Or help him forget, for a little while at least, the time you spilled blue paint all over the driveway.

NOTE ON SYMPTOMS
If you have the following symptoms, then an inversion table may help:

• Nuclear disc protrusions
• Chronic low-back pain
• Posterior dysfunction syndrome
• Nerve compressions (as long as they are mechanical)

Although inversion tables generally produce mild stretching and relaxation, it is important to consult your physician before using inversion therapy.