The importance of the UK Furniture and Furnishing (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 in relation to massage chairs

After many deaths resulting from cheap foam filled furniture (not Massage Chairs) being accidentally set alight, the UK introduced draconian new regulations. Cynically it might be said that these regulations were as much about protecting British furniture manufacturers from increasing cheap imports as they were about protecting the lives of the British public.
The effect of the regulations was that foam and upholstery used in furniture (including Massage Chairs) sold in the UK had to be different from that allowed by other members of the EEC or America. Most massage chairs that can be legally sold in France, Germany or America are simply illegal in the UK and offering them for sale here is a serious criminal offence that can result in a five year jail sentence! Only one other country in the world has seen fit to introduce similarly rigorous requirements, not France, Germany or Switzerland but Hong Kong! . Introduced more for business reasons than safety we may now look forward to considerable growth in both the UK and Hong Kong massage chair market.

Foam and upholstery on British massage chairs must in effect be self extinguishing - leather is not necessarily the best upholstery for a massage chair but it is self extinguishing whereas most other suitable upholstery fabrics, unless specially treated, are not.
What does this mean - it means that a massage chair purchased from a reputable supplier in the UK may look identical to one available in America but it isn't. It will have been specially made and tested to comply with the UK regulations. Because the UK market is so undeveloped many large manufacturers are simply not prepared to do the work and carry out the tests necessary to sell their chairs in the UK, so the choice of massage chairs available here is limited and is likely to remain so.

As the massage chair market expands more people are importing chairs from Europe and elsewhere. It is not an offence to import the chairs for personal use but it is a serious offence to sell them (even second hand). As major distributors of most legal massage chairs we are being increasingly asked to service chairs that have been bought innocently from overseas suppliers or rogue dealers. Whilst we will always do our best we are not always able to obtain spares! So beware......

How massage chairs work.
There are two basic methods used to provide a massage - vibration and rollers.
If you are looking for a chair to provide relaxation and enjoyment a good vibration type chair is the ideal solution. However if you are looking for a chair to provide therapeutic relief for a particular problem rollers may be essential. Rollers give a stronger more forceful massage and can be ideal for people suffering many, but not all, back or spine problems. Heat combined with a mild vibration to improve general blood circulation can often be more beneficial than rollers, particularly in older people.

There are three basic types of vibration chair:-
Random
The first ever massage chairs employed one or more simple vibrating motors. These were sold into the health market as being beneficial to circulation and general health and are still sold today by the same companies - normally using door step sales techniques. There is no doubt that there are health benefits but the random vibration produced can be unpleasant and disconcerting
Pulsed
Pulsed systems employ any number of individual motors to give a real massage effect. Six or eight motors are ideal as less cannot provide a full body massage and more can cause the pulsed effect to become confused and ineffectual
Programmed
Developments in digital integrated circuit technology mean that six or eight motors can be controlled individually by computer developed software. By controlling the intensity, speed, duration and timing of pulses from individual motors a very effective, relaxing and safe massage can now be provided. Ongoing developments in conjunction with scientists working on the space program at NASA into the effects of vibration on health and development of bone mass indicate that vibration at specific frequencies may be extremely beneficial for general health, especially for suffers of osteoporosis and similar wasting diseases.

Roller System Massage Chairs
Roller chairs tend to be more expensive and often include vibration systems for body areas the rollers do not cover. Because of the way they are made roller chairs do not usually have a heat option. The types of roller systems available can be broken down as follows:-
Simple roller systems
Simple roller systems consist of two or more rollers that move up and down the spine. The rollers can consist of anything from just two saucer sized disks to sixteen smaller rollers, with each manufacturer claiming their system provides the best massage. All roller systems provide a much firmer massage than can be expected from a vibration system. The length of travel of a simple roller system can important particularly in chairs built in the far east where body size tends to be smaller. The strength of the massage is usually controlled by adding or removing special padding incorporated in the design of the cushion

Adjustable Roller Systems
These systems provide powered control to alter the height and width of the area the rollers can cover. This can be particularly useful where two or more people of different size intend to use the chair

Programmed Roller Systems
Add the ability to control the rollers speed and force applied and give the roller mechanism the ability to tap, pound, knead and stretch and you get a really first class therapeutic massage. Also these state of the art chairs invariably have various pre-programmed massages that can give you exactly what you need at the touch of a button
On the whole you get what you pay for. If one manufacturer introduces a new innovation which improves the massage it is soon copied by the others. The result is that the quality of massage provided by any top of the range chair today, however it may be achieved, is truly amazing.

Auto Sensing Systems
Whilst the massage available from top of the range chairs has been constantly improving the knowledge needed to make the most of an advanced massage system has become more complex. The latest developments are designed to simplify control whilst increasing the quality of the massage.
To achieve this the chair runs through a program of probing and testing the whole body area whilst at the same time recording minute changes to heart rate, perspiration and skin reactions in the same manner as a lie detector. Gentle probing causing pain or providing relief is recorded so that a massage suitable for the body condition in each area can then be applied.

Air Bag Systems
Every season sees the introduction of new ideas and gimmicks introduced to grab the buyers attention. Some survive, most are quickly consigned to the bin where they belong. Air bags are one innovation that has survived and been developed. It is however very difficult to make an air bag system comply with British regulations and be reliable. Amongst the larger manufacturers, only Sterling are able to provide the necessary support network,and have only recently introduced this innovation onto the British market in their new "Silver" range. We have seen many other chairs with air bags that have been illegally imported, in ignorance of the regulations. These chairs may provide an excellent massage, but we advise caution as enforcement of the existing UK regulations will eventually drive the importers out of business and make service impossible to obtain.

Recline -v- Power Recline
When you are in a normally seated position you can not receive a strong massage as force from the massage mechanism will simply push you forward and away from the chair. For this reason the strongest massage is always obtained with your back in the reclined position where your body weight holds you down against the mechanism Recline systems can be power - press one button to lie back and another to rise up - or manual, where you hold the armrests or press a leaver to push your self back or pull yourself upright.

Standard Recline -v- Zero Gravity Recline
With standard recline your seat/thighs remain in a fixed position whilst the back rest folds down and the leg/foot rest comes up. At full recline you body may be nearly level, as on a bed. With Zero Gravity recline - the position adopted by astronauts on take off - your body remains in a fixed seated position whilst the whole seat rotates - raising your feet and lowering your head. This means that your feet can be raised above you heart - the optimum position for relaxation and many medical treatments.

Calf Massage and varicose veins.
If you suffer from varicose veins you should not use a calf massage system that employs disks or rollers