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Looking Back at the History of Massage Chairs
One would be hard pressed to pinpoint the beginnings of the massage
chair as there is not enough documented history showing a definite
chronology of events. In fact, one would have to look into the history
of massage itself to stumble on any literature that discusses, in a
comprehensive manner, the evolution of massage chair design.
The art – or should we say science – of massage can be traced to ancient
cultures and the Middle Ages, when massage started as a way of healing
and soothing pain. The Chinese, Japanese and Egyptians have made notable
contributions in this field. Finland and Sweden have also made their
mark in this form of healing therapy; Per Henrik Ling from Sweden is
said to have spearheaded the massage movement first in his country, and
then later in Germany, Austria, Russia and England.
The polio epidemic in 1918 also had a role to play in furthering the
public’s interest in massage, considering it as one method to prevent
muscle paralysis. Then in the 60’s the fitness craze clawed its way into
the consciousness of a collective that was suddenly gripped with fear of
cardiovascular illness resulting from a lack of exercise.
As the health sciences grew in prominence, people were turning their
heads towards a whole slew of bodyworks – acupuncture, acupressure and
massage – to deal with their muscle tension and stress. Massage is
classified under a field that is called “manual medicine” and as one
writer put it, manual medicine became “the foundation for osteopathy,
chiropractic and physical therapy.”
Robert Palmer and his Apple Story
There are lyrics to a song that go something like this: “oh, reach out
and touch someone.” That’s what Robert Palmer did, or at least that was
the idea that triggered his entrepreneurial foray into the field of
chair massage, sometimes called “on-site massage” or “seated massage.”
If you’ve noticed chair massages going on in public places such as
company lounges, airports, shopping areas, supermarkets, drug stores,
hospitals and even the underground, think “Robert Palmer.” Massage
Magazine calls him the father of contemporary Chair Massage.
With reason, of course. Palmer relates that in 1982, he took over the
the Amma Institute of Traditional Japanese Massage in San Francisco. His
Japanese teacher decided to return to his native country and named
Palmer as his successor. In his initial attempts, he encountered
difficulties in marketing the service because of preconceived notions
held by the public - it was expensive and maybe – embarrassing. Not many
people are quite ready to step into a private room and take off their
clothes and be touched by a stranger. This was when Palmer realized that
he had to change the entire concept altogether. Why not come up with a
service where people could afford to pay for a 15-30 minute massage and
not have to take their clothes off?
That was how chair massage – or on-site massage began. And with it came
the design revolution in massage chairs. Soon after, he ventured into
training people in massage, and targeted companies as sites where he
could put his graduates to work. In 1983, he and his team were giving
about 350 chair messages a week to Apple employees, all paid for by the
company. In 1985 that success came to a halt when there was downsizing
in the computer industry.
Palmer continued training his students, and then in 1986, he approached
the American Massage Therapy Association where he was well received. By
the 90’s, every massage school in the US was introducing chair message
as part of their courses, but four years before that, Robert Palmer had
established the TouchPro Institute that to this day, gives chair massage
training to would-be bodyworks students.
Robert Palmer, smelling potential success, asked a French cabinetmaker,
Serge Bouyssou to design a portable chair that would support a patient’s
body and give the therapist easy access. This chair started to sell in
1986. There are presently 20 manufacturers who have produced over
100,000 massage chairs, based on this original design, Palmer says.
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