As we have discussed in the previous article, Massages & Massage Therapy: Introduction, Examples & Massage Types, an introduction to Massage & Massage Therapy. In this article, we will talk about the various instruments used for Massage.


As we have mentioned, massage can be applied by the following body parts manually:

* Hands
* Fingers
* Elbows
* Forearm
* Feet

The above massage can be performed at home also. However, there are some advanced level equipments used for massage and massage therapy. Here, we give the details of most commonly used massage instruments or massage equipments:
Professional and clinic based massage service may involve the person being treated while lying on a massage table, or while sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a massage mat on a hard surface or the floor.

Massage Tables & Massage Chairs:
It is very very important for a person or patient to have a correct position before he can be treated with Massage therapy. Since Massage involves application of pressure, the body of the person should be held in a proper position to withstand that pressure, else there is a chance of problems and side effects occurring from Massage Therapy.
Massage Tables & Massage Chairs do exactly that. There are specially built massage tables and massage chairs which are used to suitably position the patient's body during the massage session. Since the same table or chair is used by many patients, it is important that proper hygiene is manitained on the chair or table. It should be clean, free of oil and dirt and possibly disinfected after one patients use to avoid skin infections. Additional accessories can be an orthopedic pillow or bolster which can be used for further support as required to correctly position the body of the patient.

Similar to Massage Tables, there are Massage chairs - they are for a similar function as a massage table. The benefit of Chairs as compared to tables is that they can be portable and foldable, hence, it is easy to move around with them. Say for e.g. a therapist may like to visit a client at his home and provide massage or someone might like to carry a massage chair to the beach - In such cases, Massage Chairs are better. Also, they can be used for in settings like corporate tie-ups where therapist may visit the offices, use at outdoor festivals, a temporary kiosk like that at the shopping malls, and other general public locations