Hello, my name is Maurice Allen and I am a professional long drive competitor as well as a professional golfer. I have teamed up with Human Touch over the next 12 months to document my recovery methods in hopes that it will give you some ideas that you can use to help you gain a greater quality of life. 

How to Use Massage Chairs for Recovery in the Right Way

In this first month I started with baseline, it’s important to know where you are to start and also to help you see improvements of any kind which will give you the motivation to continue the process. The assessment and documentation is a lot of work to be honest with you but I feel that it is a necessity and one of the first steps to truly get better. In my baseline assessment I would take 5-7 minutes every morning when I first wake up and again right before I got to bed to see how my body is responding to movement.

The key parts I check are the following:

• Feet
• Knees
• Hips
• Lower back
• Shoulders
• Neck

These are the major places that are the site of discomfort for most individuals.

The assessment is a simple series of movements that help me look at range of motion and strength. You are looking to see what feels tight, is there any sharp pain, is muscle atrophy present, inability to move, and is the movement smooth and fluid. The purpose in doing it twice a day is to see how well my body recovers as I sleep. 

From my assessment I’ve learned that I need to work on:

• Ankle mobility
• Knee stability with strengthening the supporting muscles
• Loosen up my hips
• Shoulder range of motion
• Strengthening the muscles in my neck

Do I Need a Massage for Muscle Recovery?

I know that many of you reading this will say “I’m not a professional athlete so how does this relate to me?”

Recovery and wellness is something important for everyone because you can’t perform at top level without it. If you are consistently in pain or discomfort you can’t be the best parent you want to be, the best spouse you want to be or be the best worker you want be. This is a long ongoing process but it hopefully gives you all some great information that you will be able to use as well.

Each month I will tackle one issue at a time in detail using a series of methods, I will also use my Super Novo massage chair as one of my daily maintenance tools to help me recover better and enjoy life more. We'll also explore how massage helps with muscle recovery and overall recovery in general.

Thank you for following my journey, and starting your own as well!

Exercise plays an important role in overall health and wellness, and your recovery can be just as important as the workout itself. Not only can recovery prevent muscle soreness, but it can also help support healthy muscle growth.

Human Touch® is thrilled to be a part of a major locker room renovation that the University of Alabama developed for their top-ranking NCAA Football team...

Long Beach, CA – June 17, 2020 – Human Touch®, the U.S. market leader of innovative massage chairs, Perfect Chair® zero gravity recliners, and other wellness solutions, has been honored with eight 2020 Awards for Design Excellence (ADEX).

By: Wellness Council Member, David Marcarian, MA

There is nothing like a great massage from the hands of a great massage therapist. A few years ago, my New Year’s Resolution was to get hands-on massage on a regular basis. To ensure the success of my resolution required a commitment much like joining a gym. I immediately found a massage clinic with locations throughout the U.S. and signed up! The experience was actually quite nice. The offices are quite esthetically pleasing, and the massage therapists were very skilled. I liked that I could schedule online, as I am so busy and it would be so difficult to call ahead to schedule my massage.

There was only one problem. Human Nature. Just as with a gym membership, if there is difficulty getting to the gym, difficulty parking, difficulty finding time – well like electricity, humans find the quickest path to ground. When it comes to the gym membership, that means not leaving the ground my feet were on in front of the couch. The problem? Even with online scheduling, if I did not schedule my massage at least a few days in advance, I would never get in, or get the therapist I wanted.

So here we are three years later, with monthly fees for several years and only three real massages! It’s not their fault. They have a fantastic service and system. Convenience is the key: If the service is not directly in front of you, or requires that you drive and park at times which are difficult, we simply won’t follow through. Just like with the gym membership, I purchased an elliptical instead. I wake up in the morning and with it sitting right there in front of me, I have no excuses at all. For 8 years now I’ve used it, and my blood pressure has dropped to 123 / 73 and has stayed the same due to the convenience of the elliptical.

How many massages have I had with my Human Touch^® Zero Gravity Massage Chair? I cannot even count. Sometimes it has been twice a day. I’ve woken up at 2:00 AM not able to sleep. I schedule my massage by sitting down and pressing the button: The only scheduling issue is if there is anyone else in the house. And one shift in Human Touch Engineering which has had quite an influence on access to the chair? Unfortunately for me, Human Touch engineers have finely tuned their latest massage chairs to magically adjust to the user. The newer designs are much gentler than the old “rough” rollers, meaning women now love the Human Touch approach to massage technology as much as men.

The other real advantage of having the Human Touch chair at home is that you have no way of knowing what random stressors in life, both physical and emotional, will hit at any given moment. It is really nice to know that you have a massage chair at home you can rely upon at 3:00 AM when you wake up with an aching back: A role very few legitimate massage therapists are able to fill.

For the right person who is organized enough to plan ahead, the massage franchises offer a wonderful service. For the rest of us? It may actually be less expensive when you take into considering parking, gas, work time lost etc. to own the most expensive Human Touch massage chair made! Another really good point is that massage is supposed to reduce stress, not increase it. If it takes too much effort to schedule a massage, the massage is a bit ruined for me. In addition, I really don’t like getting massage oil all over my new car’s seats!

If you have time to schedule a real-life massage, more power to you. For the rest of us insanely busy people in a world filled with traffic, stress and beeping reminders always going off, I will just stay home, curl up with a book, Netflix, and my Human Touch Massage chair whenever I choose: Just one less thing in life requiring a schedule.

Ryan Bader, MMA Bellator Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, shares his experience with the Novo XT2 Massage Chair from Human Touch. Learn how he uses his Novo XT2 as part of his training and recovery routine, and why he says it will help "take his career to the next level."

 

World Champion Athletes and Health Advocates Join Current Members to Build Awareness for the Latest Therapeutic Innovations from Human Touch

LONG BEACH, CA July 10, 2019—Human Touch^®, the U.S. market leader in high-performance massage chairs, Perfect Chair^® recliners, and other wellness innovations, announces its new Wellness Council, consisting of equestrian, Elisa Wallace, professional golfer, Stephanie Kono, triathlete and hyperbarics expert, Alexandra Williams, and returning member, Olympian and Ironman 70.3 World Champion, Andy Potts.

The Human Touch Wellness Council was formed with the intention of sourcing valuable insights from leading doctors, professional athletes, wellness practitioners, and natural healers to further advance the design, function, and needs of the Human Touch product line.

Elisa Wallace is an award-winning equestrian representing the U.S.A. in international competition. She is a 5-star three-day event rider, popular YouTuber, and well-known advocate for American Mustang adoption, off the track thoroughbreds, rider safety, and women in sports.

Stephanie Kono is an LPGA professional golfer earning her first full tour status in 2012 and re-earning her full tour status with her performance at the 2018 LPGA Q-Series. The highlight of Stephanie's 2018 season was winning the second annual Donald Ross classic on the LPGA Symetra Tour.

Alex Williams is a triathlete, hyperbarics expert, and the Founder of Holistic Hyperbarics in Berkeley, California. An EMT, birth doula, and post-surgery masseuse, she has a deep passion for promoting healing and chronic pain relief to patients.

Andy Potts is an Ironman World-Champion, U.S. Olympian, and a three-time winning USAT Triathlete of the Year. He has completed over 200 races with more than 57 first place finishes. As one of the most versatile triathletes in the world, Andy makes it a priority to give back to the sport and its community.

“We are thrilled to welcome this outstanding team of professionals to the Human Touch family,” says David Wood, CEO of Human Touch. “Their diverse experiences, along with their personal and professional dedication to total body wellness will serve to guide us as we continue to develop the most innovative, intuitive, and purpose-serving products possible for individuals with chronic pain, athletes, health professionals, and consumers alike.”

To learn more about the Human Touch Wellness Council, please visit www.humantouch.com/wellness-council

About Human Touch

Entering its 40th year, Human Touch^® proudly serves as the country’s leading provider and innovator of high-performance massage chairs, Perfect Chair recliners and other wellness solutions. Committed to creating the most immersive and personalized independent wellness experiences, Human Touch introduces patented massage systems that replicate the touch and techniques used by leading massage professionals. Each product is strategically engineered and designed to address the pains and stresses caused by today's hectic lifestyle using the latest technologies and intelligent ergonomics. Products are available at fine furniture stores, back care specialty stores, and mass-market retailers across the U.S., through international retailers and distributors in more than 40 countries, and online at www.humantouch.com.  

Meet Alexandra Williams, Founder of Holistic Hyperbarics and Human Touch Wellness Council member.

Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash

By: Dr. Jon Stucky, Doctor of Chiropractic and Human Touch Wellness Council Member

There is a growing presence of Doctors of Chiropractic in all types and levels of sports: Olympics, NFL, NHL, college athletics, professional rodeo, professional strongman competitions and action sports to name a few. Many would conclude it is because the organization or the athlete can afford it and it is a luxury. That assumption may be true, but the athlete and organization would tell you that having a Doctor of Chiropractic on the health care team is a necessity for performance and enhancing recovery. The best approach is utilizing chiropractic care as a pre-performance and training enhancement.  The effort that athletes make to strengthen and enhance repetition in a sport - to provide muscle and nervous system memory of skills needed to function at a championship level - may take a toll on their muscle, tendons, ligaments and ultimately their nervous system in enabling and directing recovery.

Chiropractors evaluate the spinal segments for position and movement, and the impact to the nervous system. The nervous system can alter and inhibit subtle to obvious brain-body communication that will affect the body’s ultimate capacity and function. Chiropractors in the sports world will often assess the extremities (shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, etc.) for proper alignment and movement within the parameters of each joint’s particular movement. The ability and skill set of Doctors of Chiropractic is unique and they attribute to the functional improvement of an athlete’s performance.  

Athletes immediately gravitate towards chiropractors to receive care during training and competitions. High level athletes are separated by tenths, hundreds or thousands of a second or by minute movements that save energy and time, that with altered brain-body mechanics, can be the subtle difference in winning.  This competitive edge is why most athletes seek chiropractic care. The nervous system interference is evaluated, body efficiency is elevated, energy is enhanced and muscle strength and coordination is improved. The athlete is able to feel that he/she can perform their skill with precise movement.

I have worked with a range from youth to professional athletes in many sports, and know that the nervous system is the regulating organ system that houses the communication of coordination and control of all that we do. The nervous system is well organized, ready to train, learn and perform at a high level, it just needs no interference due to injury, which is why chiropractic care in high-impact sports is an ideal way to regulate and optimize performance.

While attending the CES (Consumer Electronic Show) show this year in Las Vegas with Tough Tested and my racecar, I got to meet the wonderful people from Human Touch. They had come to my booth, stopped to say hello and ask some questions about my racecar. I immediately loved their positive energy. We took some great photos and I promised to check out their booth the next day.

If you have never been to the CES show, let me tell you, it makes for some very long days of standing!  My feet and back were aching from standing around for three days.  As promised, I still wanted to drop by the Human Touch booth. I figured with all my aches and pains this was probably the best time to go check out massage chairs.

Upon arriving at the booth I could see that it was very popular. There was a very long line to test out these chairs.  When it became my turn, I quickly hopped in to a really beautiful red chair. A wonderful 5-minute demo message was started. It was one of the best 5 minutes of the show! When I arrived at the booth, my back on down to my feet were aching. After just five minutes I got up feeling energized and refreshed. My feet no longer were screaming!

There is something you need to know about my history. At about the age of 8, I was diagnosed with Scoliosis. I began with a 15% left Thoracic curve. I had to wear a hard shell preventative brace that covered my entire torso from my hips to my neck for 20 hours a day. After wearing numerous braces, that failed to prevent the curve from progressing, I had progressed to a 40% Left Thoracic curve with a rib hump. My left shoulder was 4 inches higher than my right. The curve caused my chest to begin to impede on my heart and lungs. When I was 15 years old, it was determined that I needed to have corrective Scoliosis surgery. I entered the hospital in Phoenix and came out not only straighter, but with two 12-inch titanium rods in my back.

Since I was very young, all I have ever wanted to do was race. I would race the kids on my street on my bicycle. I was the little kid that loved watching NASCAR on the television. When I was ten years old I began to race Quarter Midgets. Since then I have worked my way up to Bandoleros, Legends, Late Models, Super Late Models and have even had a shot in ARCA and the NASCAR Camping World Trucks. It was when I was racing Legends that I had to take a year off to recover from Scoliosis surgery.  I listened to everything my doctor told me to do, worked extra hard in physical therapy and ate extremely healthy. My doctors were amazed when I was fully healed in nine months and wanted to get back in my racecar seat. My Thoracic area is now the strongest part of my back. The only thing I will never be able to do is a back bend, and I don’t think I will ever miss doing that. 

It was after learning about my history of Scoliosis and the fact that I am involved in a high impact sport that I was asked to be a part of the Human Touch Wellness Council. I was so honored when asked.  I am excited that Human Touch not only meticulously designs their massage chairs, but they truly care about well-being, fitness, wholeness, strength and recovery. 

So far I am really enjoying my NOVO XT chair. Delivery was a breeze. I have found my stress level reduced and I am sleeping much better. I am excited to try the chair after a race in my NASCAR Super Late Model. The placement of my rods always causes deep bruising in my lower thoracic area after long periods in my racing seat, and I hope that the NOVO XT will help with this. I am looking forward to sharing with you how well my chair helps me to recover from back pain and accelerates my recovery.