Health Benefits of Massage

Massage is the manipulation of superficial layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance the function and promote relaxation and well-being. Peer-reviewed medical research has shown that the benefits of massage include pain relief, reduced trait anxiety, and depression, and temporarily reduced blood pressure, heart rate, and state of anxiety.

• Pain and Stress Relief: Relief from pain due to musculature injuries and other causes is cited as a major benefit of massage. In one study, cancer patients self-reported symptomatic relief of pain. Acupressure or pressure point massage could be beneficial in relieving back pain.
  
• State and Trait Anxiety: Massage has been shown to reduce state and trait anxiety.
  
• Depression: Massage has been shown to Reduce Sub-Clinical Depression.
  
• Blood Pressure and Heart Rate: Massage has been shown to reduce blood pressure and heart rate as temporary effects.
  
• Sleep Better: Massage has been shown to help improve deep sleep at night. 

From: J. Smith

To: LURACO Sales

Subject: Luraco i7 Medical Massage Chair

Attn: President/CEO

Dear Sir:

I purchased the Luraco i7 medical massage chair from your company for my personal use and it arrived in early July of 2015. I am a retired Command Chief Master Sergeant of the United States Air Force and 100% disabled veteran. I want to go on record to state that this massage chair is absolutely fantastic and has far exceeded all my expectations. I am an extremely light sleeper that the slightest sound awakes me. For the last couple of weeks, I have been using the night massage each night before I go to bed and I can honestly state I don't wake up all night. I get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. I contribute this to the technology in the i7 massage chair. Additionally, I am a diabetic and have neuropathy in my legs and feet. Since using the i7 I am completely free of the stinging neuropathy pain. In discussing this with my primary care physician, he stated that it was definitely related to the daily use and the massage therapy provided by your chair and the technologies involved. As a matter of interest, my Doctor is presently looking at configuring the i7 massage chair into his patient system.

Again thank you for introducing me to this medical wonder!

J. Smith

Cmd CMSgt USAF Ret.

From: J. Moore

To: Robyn Readicker

Subject: Testimonial

Hi Robyn,

Sorry, it's been so long in coming... Here is my statement:

A problem needing a solution:

My wife has constant back muscle tension and foot pain. So, I started researching. Like home audio systems, there are many many choices over a very large price range and I, being a researcher, had to boil it down to the answer to a very simple question: "How much for how much?" Because massage chairs are luxury items and are not regulated, we have mostly hype to go on. My main goal was to not buy something I'd later wish I hadn't. But before I could even make a choice, I had to understand the range of possible choices. There are chairs that cost $3000 which have the same feature set as a $10,000 chair. We mostly assume the cheap one is constructed poorly, but perhaps it's a newcomer in the market and a great value. So, how do you choose?

Choosing a Chair

After reading a LOT of reviews, reading product web sites, and chatting with support people who sold multiple brands of chairs, I came to the conclusion that you have to spend over $5000 to get a full-featured chair that will hold up and be well-supported. Foot rollers, 3-D rollers, multiple air-based pressure points, and quality surface materials are important. Further, the quality of manufacture is important. Can the chair adjust its algorithm to compensate for different height people? And, of course, there is trying the chair to be sure you "like" it.

I live in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. There is no real opportunity to test much here so I had to use a different scoring mechanism. After ruling out many chairs because of reviews that sounded like "The Three Little Bears", it came down to Luraco, Inada DreamWave, OS-3D ProDreamer. What I learned about the industry of chairs is that massage chairs are like private bakeries: Each one has a special recipe and they dress it up differently, but fundamentally, they have a core technology that is what scientists would call "ad-hoc" (I tried it; it works ok. I'm done). Luraco is different. They are true researchers and true engineers. They developed a core platform based on sound medical approaches to massage and sound engineering approaches to reliability and quality. The chair actually runs on a state-of-the-art operating system that can grow over time. (I hope they are planning to make it possible to update firmware from Luraco as new algorithms are developed. hint, hint). In short, the design, manufacture, and testing process is superb and I was sold. You can't even learn about these things from other manufacturers, which means one simple thing: they aren't proud of it. But let's move on to the best part:

Getting the Chair

Assembly was extremely easy. Basically, you attach the two side arms by connecting two hoses and two thumbscrews. The neck massager has a single hose attachment. It might have taken me 15 minutes to put it together and that is because I was being careful. The arms are a little bulky so having a spare pair of hands will make them easier to install.

Using the Chair

Remember the commercial for Tootsie Pops? "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? The world may never know". For the I-7: "What do the Luraco automated massage modes do?" I can tell you how they start... then I get lost in what can only be described as a symphony of pressure points. Luraco clearly put a LOT of time into designing the pre-programmed massage modes to ensure a complete experience. Each mode works as described (Health (all over massage), Shiatsu, Morning (tap your muscles till you wake up), Night (go to sleep now), Sport (work out the soreness), etc.) I particularly like the Sport and Night modes. The chair works over your body, building as it goes, to peak moments, and then backs off and does it again. It's a wonderful experience and could only be accomplished, outside a chair, by a team of at least 3 massage therapists who work synchronously to deliver a "total is better than the sum of parts" experience. A couple of surprises, niceties: gripping of the ankle, leg stretch, upper shoulder tension relief.. these are amazing.

In my opinion, there is no better chair or company in this market than Luraco. When I found out the chair's release (Spring 2015) was delayed, I didn't even consider another option... there was no substitute.

From: S. Dott, M. D.

To: Sales & Marketing Mgr.

Subject: Testimonial

Dear Robyn,

I would like to thank the Luraco Customer Support Department for the very prompt and excellent service I recently experienced. My new iRobotics i7 massage chair was delivered and I had a questionable problem with the left arm inflation. My sales company referred me to the Luraco Customer Service Department and I received a prompt reply within a very short time. After a couple of courteous phone exchanges with Tim in Customer Support, I was able to email him several photos of my chair's problem. I felt Tim was genuinely concerned about my issue. He consulted his technical support team and was able to resolve my issue by mailing a small part to me. He followed up with another phone call after I received the mailed part. Nonetheless, Tim went on to discuss the issue with his manager, and much to my amazement, he then arranged for a technician to come to my home in Texas to ensure that my chair was functioning at its best. Don, the technician, arrived the next working day and spent several hours ensuring that everything was precisely and impeccably correct. He was very professional, well-trained, and knowledgeable; he was even early for the appointment. He arrived so well-prepared that he upgraded the remote control and even installed a new motherboard. Don was meticulous and attentive to every detail. He then disassembled and re-assembled my chair to ensure everything was correctly put together. (Although initial assembly was easy thanks to the online video, I goofed in a couple of areas that he readily fixed). I was very impressed with how carefully he inspected each area of the chair for any potential problems, proactively fixing any likely problem as he worked. Words cannot convey how favorably impressed I am from this entire experience. Don patiently answered each and every one of my questions over the several hours' span while he worked. I feel the phone exchanges with Tim to be extraordinary, with his concerns going beyond the call of duty to help me with my problem. Even more astonishing was the personalized home visit with Don to ensure that my chair was at its peak performance. It is clear to me that the Luraco Management has instilled very high standards for their Customer Support Department, which both Tim and Don succeeded in surpassing. I waited and waited for the release of the iRobotics i7 chair since first seeing the medical massage features at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show. It was worth the delay because I love my iRobotics i7 massage chair and all the thoughtful features. (I had a Panasonic massage chair for 24 years and upgraded to an Osaki Pro Cyber. I much prefer the iRobotics i7 for a better quality massage, more user-friendly remote control and manual choices). For this purchase, I wanted to buy a product made in American as much as possible. After experiencing the outstanding and exceptional service, I am convinced that my investment in this USA product was well worth the money and wait. I look forward to many years of massages with this chair. At the bottom of the Luraco email was this quote "People don't care how much we know until they know how much we care". WOW! I certainly experienced this caring from the Service Department and truly feel they are highly trained and knowledgeable. Don constantly gave his boss all the credit of having high expectations of Luraco's products and service to match; it is clear that Luraco Management gives thoughtful consideration to its products and trains its technical support well. Each person with whom I have come into contact has been a positive reflection of Luraco's mission.

My faith in the USA made products has been re-affirmed.

Thanks, Luraco.

SGD, M.D.

From: G. Boyd

To: Robyn Readicker

Subject:  i7 Review

I don't normally provide product reviews however the Luraco i7 and Dr. Weidner have far exceeded my expectations. Just as everyone mentions online, Dr. Weidner lived up to his reputation of being a sincere, honest, and valuable resource in my purchase decision. He was absolutely terrific. What was also terrific was the amazing customer service I received from Luraco.

I am fortunate enough to live in the DFW area where the i7 is manufactured. I contacted Luraco and asked for the opportunity to test drive the i7 at their facility. After testing the i7 (three times – thanks Robyn), I made the decision to purchase the chair. After several months of owning the i7, I can honestly say I am extremely satisfied with my decision and feel it has turned out to be an incredibly positive quality of life decision. The i7 is a luxury massage chair that seems to be infinitely adjustable via the simple and intuitive touch screen controller. It large enough to easily accommodate my 6'7” 290 lbs frame as well as perfectly fit my wife and daughters. The User and Intensity memory controls allow me to skip the scanning process and quickly begin my massage selection.

While the i7 is not the least expensive chair I looked at, it was by far and away from the best overall chair I researched and tried. The difference in quality and ease of operation ended up making it a simple decision. Without hesitation, I highly recommend Dr. Weidner and the Luraco i7.

G. Boyd

From: D. Boris

To: r.readicker@luraco.com

Subject: iRobotics i7 Zero-Gravity Massage Chair Review

Robin,

Thank you for all of your time. I was concerned about the aggressiveness of the back massage & the pain it caused my back. I will try a new body scan and work my way up from the lower intensity back massage settings. Please send the comfort pad as I might need it for myself or others.

Quickly I will try to give my pros and cons...

Pros

good deep tissue massage. user memory w/ regard to body scan great foot massage. Best I felt compared to your competition. (remember I had plantar fasciitis) very modern OS system. The controller brightness is always good in a dark room. Talking to Robin has been an absolute pleasure. She spent a long time with me on the phone and deserves kudos for doing her job well.

Cons

Delays due to OS system. Feedback is not immediate. Speakers are hard to hear if there are other noises in the room. Should be closer to the ears especially for older persons. The pouch for the controller should be on the side of the right arm (maybe at an angle). The current design allows it to fall easily & blocks the use of the top of the arm if you don't want an arm massage. The head pillow should be velcroed down for a more intense shoulder massage. When the air pillows push down on the shoulder the head pillow lifts making the shoulder massage less intense. No input jack for iPod or cell phone music. I have another massage chair to compare this chair to and the one option my other chair has is strong vibration which is nice.

One other thing I wanted to mention is that moving the chair to our basement was not easy. The chair is very heavy and bulky. We were not sure where to lift from. Took three strong guys. Instructions for proper lifting & where to lift the chair would help others.

That's all for now.

Sincerely,

D. Boris

From: S. Baker

To: Robyn Readicker

Subject: S. Baker - i7 Review

Hi Robyn.

Here is the review. It got a little long, but there's a lot to mention with your chair.

Review: Luraco Technologies iRobotics 7 Medical Massage Chair

I started researching massage chairs after reading several articles on the benefits of regular massage and stretching. I'm in my mid-60s and have lost flexibility with age, and due to the sedentary nature of my profession. As any geezer can tell you, somebody lowers the ground every year. In my profession, I spend a lot of time sitting and bending forward to operate system computers and devices, and my back gets sore.

After reading many product descriptions and reviews, I decided I would spend the big bucks for a quality chair with a good warranty, and high reviews. In my mind, it came down to two chairs: The Inada Dreamwave, or the Luraco iRobotics 7. Both were expensive high-quality chairs, with excellent reviews. I called Luraco and spoke with Robyn Readicker who explained many of the chair's features, the warranty, and the support policy. She also gave me a list of dealers I could call. I was very impressed with Robyn, and the customer support available from Luraco.

Next, I called several dealers including Dr. Alan Weidner of www.massage-chair-relief.com. He has reviews of almost every chair made and has many videos on YouTube. He has brick and mortar stores in Utah and California. I called Dr. Weidner and he spoke with me about the features of several chairs that fit the description I gave him. He suggested the Inada Dreamwave, the Luraco iRobotics 7, or a Panasonic chair. I can't remember the model of the Panasonic. I am in Minnesota and there was no opportunity to actually try the iRobotics 7, although we have stores that carry the other chairs. I elected to purchase the iRobotics 7 anyway based on the reviews, Dr. Weidner's recommendation, my experience with Robyn at Luraco, the warranty, and the fact that the chair is made in the USA in Texas by a company with a great reputation that you can call, and who provides a high level of customer support.

I chose to purchase from massage-chair-relief. When I called, I got to speak directly with Dr. Weidner, the expert. I was comfortable purchasing the iRobotics 7 without trying it because of Dr. Weidner's recommendation and the fact that he offers a full 90 days to test the chair. You can return it no questions asked. He will also pay half of the return shipping charges, which is very generous and also shows that he has great confidence in the chairs he sells. In addition, he offers a lifetime peace-of-mind labor warranty. The iRobotics 7 comes with a 5-year part and 3-year labor warranty. With Dr. Weidner's peace-of-mind labor warranty I received lifetime labor coverage. Frankly, after seeing the quality of the chair and electro-mechanical components, I don't anticipate any problems in the near future.

There are two ways you can have it sent to you. With the basic shipping, they deliver the chair on a pallet to your address. You are responsible for bringing it inside and assembling the chair. With the white glove service, which costs a little more, the chair is delivered, moved inside, and assembled by a third party company that specializes in delivery and assembly. I chose to use the basic shipping and move and assemble the chair myself. I did this because I wanted to know how the chair went together. When it arrived I was able to move the chair into my house and into my office with the help of my wife. It comes in two boxes with the chair in one and the armrest assemblies in another. They are extremely well packed and protected. The chair is heavy. Maybe I should say HEAVY. I recommend the white glove service unless you have help, and you are somewhat handy. Putting the chair together is simple and easy. It basically amounts to hooking up some air tubes and attaching the armrest assemblies. Everything is color-coded, and there is a how-to video on YouTube.

This chair is made to very tight tolerances, which is good, but I ran into one problem in getting the armrest bushing to slide into the designed track. In the video, it just slides in easily. When I did it the bushing did not seem to fit easily. So… rather than force it I called Luraco tech support and left a message. Poof… instant callback and the Luraco tech told me to remove the seat cover for better visibility, and to be able to place my hands on both sides of the bushing to guide it in. That worked no problem… and I should have thought of that. It was my first verification that I chose the right company however. Once I got it assembled, I plugged it in to a quality Tripp Lite surge protector that I had researched and purchased prior to receiving the chair. I flipped the little power switch on the back of the chair on, and waited while it initialized. The control module for the chair is a little touch-screen hand-held unit that looks a little like an iPhone. It is connected by a cord to the side of the chair. There are nine automatic pre-programmed massage modes and the default program at turn on is the Health program. All you really need to do to start using the chair is sit down and press the start button on the controller. A little voice pipes up and invites you to sit back for a body scan. The chair goes immediately into body scan mode and the rollers move up and down and measure you. The leg assembly adjusts and then the health-mode massage starts. That's it. It's simple and easy to get going. One thing I would recommend is that when you first use the chair, have the removable back cushion in, and set the back and neck intensity to “1” to start out. This is not a superficial pretend massage chair that vibrates you a bit. This is a medical massage chair and it can do the strong tissue massage like a good masseuse, and it will stretch your back and legs out. I am on the older side and not very flexible anymore, so even the medium level intensity was a bit too much for me at first, and way too much for my wife. I had to ease into it as I have gained flexibility and range of motion.

The massage itself is fantastic. It goes from the base of your skull down to the bottom of your back near your tail bone. It will knead your neck area and shoulder areas. It kneads, taps, and stretches your back out. It works the muscles all down the spine. There is a great fast vibration mode in many of the programs. The air bags inflate and squeeze your thighs and calves. There are rollers in the feet that work over the bottoms of your feet. Air bags massage the ankle and foot area. Air bags squeeze and massage your arms. Airbags press down on your shoulder muscles. When it stretches you, the air bags grab your feet and stretch your legs out. Then they pin your shoulders while it stretches your back out. The seat oscillates side to side and exercises the hip area subtly. There are airbags in the headrest that push down on your shoulder muscles, but those two bags don't really do a whole lot because the headrest will move up with any force. The chair is very quiet while operating. You could have it in a TV room and barely know it was on.

As I mentioned, there are 9 automatic programs: Health, soft, quick, morning, night, sport, shiatsu, stretch, and TV mode. My favorite is the morning program. It is a very nice combination of stretching and massage. Whenever I come home from a long day at work with my back hurting, that's the one I do. I feel great afterward. There is also a manual mode. You can select this mode and then select which areas you want to focus on. The chair then will do mini programs on only the areas you select. You can manually select to knead, tap, or both. Within manual mode is a spot-selection mode. You can use this to move to exactly the area you want, and then select to knead, tap or both. This is very handy for that sore spot you want to specifically work on. One tip on selecting and deselecting things on the controller: The response is not as fast as on your phone. Tap what you want and be patient for a second or two. You will then see it happen, and the voice will announce your change. I was too impatient at first and thought I didn't tap it right. It just took a second to respond. There is a controller page for intensity control, and also a position-adjust page. You can control the intensity of the massage for back, neck/shoulders, arms, and feet. On the chair position adjust page you have very granular control over chair tilt, back position, leg extension, leg elevation, shoulder position, and can also select the zero gravity position. Between the manual massage mode, intensity control, and position adjustment you can completely control your own massage experience. Remember this though... You don't really need to mess with any of this stuff. When you come home tired and sore, just press the start button and sit back. The chair will measure and adjust automatically. Simple Simple Simple. And it works. Now the coolest thing: If you choose to customize your massage settings, once you have all the settings the way you want, and have selected the massage mode you want, you can just store it to one of five user-memory settings. The chair then remembers your positions, intensities, heat setting, and massage mode. After that you can just press the start button, and select the user setting you want. That's it. No body scan needed. The chair moves into your stored positions, sets your saved intensities, sets the heat to your liking, and begins your saved massage mode. You can have multiple massage settings saved. In my case, I have my main massage preferences set in user #1, and a neck-only and zero-G massage set in user #2. My wife has a couple saved as well. Way cool. Music: The chair can play music. There is a small sim card that you can place music on, and it will play your selections for you. I don't use this feature, because my chair is in my office and I select whatever I want to listen to on my computer and surround sound system. It's really nice at the end of the day to have a glass of wine, pick some stuff to listen to, turn off the lights, and let the i7 take over and do its thing. Makes you feel very spoiled.

Heat: There is full control of heat in the chair. Living in Minnesota in the winter, it is very nice to crank up the heat when you relax. Your heat setting is also saved in the user memory. There are a couple of things that bugged me at first. One thing I discovered is that if you extend the leg assembly out too far, then during the leg stretch the ninety degree angle edge at the top of the leg assembly would press into the back of your leg/knee area. I found that by making sure I had sufficient knee bend when starting, this was better. I really think they need to add a padded rounded cushion from under the seat pad flap across the top of the leg assembly, and then down the back of the leg slot opening. That would mitigate the 90 degree edge at the top of the assembly. The head position also bothered me at first. I found that when the rollers moved down my back away from my neck, my neck tilted back too far in the absence of the rollers and made me uncomfortable. I solved this with one of those little airplane neck pillows that fits perfectly in the space for your head in the headrest. I can easily move it and put my head back when I want my neck worked on, and it's very comfortable with it in otherwise. Nobody else has mentioned this in any of the reviews so it might just be my geezer neck. I wanted to make sure that I left you with an impression of the quality of this medical massage chair. I am an engineer by education, and deal with aircraft-quality systems and components in my profession. This chair was made to last. It is UL listed, and can be used in a commercial setting. It is made in the USA and it is quality, although I know that USA and quality are synonymous. Final thought: Since buying my iRobotics 7 I have gained flexibility and loosened up a bit so that I can easily reach down and pick things up off the ground and in general I feel good. Before, if I worked a bunch of hours over several days in a row, it used to take two or three days before my back felt good again. Now I just pop into the chair at the end of the day. It makes me feel great.

I had an issue with my irobotics 7 chair so I called Luraco. Van with technical support walked me through the problem and had the part I needed to replace within a week. The video and instructions she sent me were perfect. Such a great experience. I’m very thankful to Van and the Luraco team. They care so much about there customers.

We bought Luraco i7 two ears ago with delivery to Monaco. Electricity problems with our armchair were solved during a few days! Even company do not have representative in Europe, they work amazing through the distance! Thank you for a professional service, fast (keeping in mind that there was 9 hours difference) and precise communication.

5-star rating

The best customer services and knowledge technician. Thank you very much Van Pham and Calvin

I bought i7 Plus for my parents. They use it every day and it helps them a lot.  Their health is improved significantly.  Good chair, good looking, high quality. Thank you Luraco 

I and my husband LOVE our Luraco massage chair. It works straight 5 years with no issue. It is THE BEST massage chair. Thank you Luraco.

Excellent massage chair. High quality with many great massage features and programs. We have had our massage chair for a few years now but it still looks and performs like new. Highly recommended.

I bought the i6 massage chair 4 years ago. This is a top quality and very durable chair. My wife and I have been using it everyday and it's still working flawlessly. It's so relaxing and it makes me fall asleep every time I sit in it. My back pain due to arthritis is gone and I am so happy about that. My wife and daughter love it too. Whenever we have a party, our guests enjoy the chair so much when we let them use it. I would highly recommend this chair to anyone who has back problems like myself and finds it difficult to go to sleep. Thank you Luraco for making such an amazing chair.

I bought my Luraco massage chair several years ago and it has been great. The company have provided excellent customer service and I’m glad I made the right decision. Thank you Luraco!

Chair is great. But Had a problem with it shutting down randomly. Emailed tech support that evening and had a response that morning. Did some troubleshooting with them over phone, had parts in a couple of days. Problem solved. It's nice to a responsive and knowledgeable tech support when you have an issue. 

High-quality product and good customer service. Thank you Luraco

Thank you very much for an outstanding customer service.  We have our massage chair working well again and we are very pleased with your service.  The representatives who answered the phone and the young service man who came to fix the chair, all of them have been very helpful and courteous.  They know what they are doing and most importantly, they are very polite. In the three years we have bought and used the chair, we  had technical  problems only twice and ech time, they were fixed promptly.
Thank you.