Messaging Chair

[Twins+1 YIAC!]

Hi. I have this knot/pain/weakness in my upper back between my shoulder blade and spine from martial arts. The ONLY thing so far that makes it feel better is massage. My problem is that I need the massage 3+ times a week, which I cant possibly afford (im a struggling grad student).

For Christmas my parents got this homedic massage chair that feels great. It in no way compares to the beauty of a professional massage, but they are realitively cheap and is convienent. I was wondering what the pro's think about these gizmos and if any kind souls could make a good recommendation?

Thanks!

 

[Poet G]

Chair - I don't which are good and which are bad, but, I thought about an idea for you to possibly get more frequent massage. You could consider finding a therapist in your area who would barter with you (I am sure you have some skill that an MT would be interested in: possibly martial arts teaching, if you are a teacher or working on your black -- not sure if they ask you to teach with your brown in your particular style, but you get the idea) so you could get more frequent work.

Good luck!

 

[Wowshi]

You could also look into seeing if there were any MT schools in your area. Most MT schools I have heard of offer massage at about half price what it is in the community... and the students are always glad to have a wide variety of body types to practice on. Could be that some are considering sports massage and as such, someone who practices the martial arts might be an interesting challenge to their skills.
In addition, if they are able to help you with that problem area, you could be a real asset to them by telling others in your classes about your MT. You could help him or her build their business by opening up doors to the martial arts community (networking) that they might not be aware of.