I rate this chair 3.5 stars, but round it up to an enthusiastic 4 stars.
My goal was to replace physiotherapy with a message chair, and it did just that.
I suffer from annoying and uncomfortable knots in my upper back (trapezoid), as well as knots, plus at times, a debilitating sciatic nerve pinch in my lower back. Physiotherapy twice a week gave me relief, but it was damn expensive, and not often enough. Now I can use the chair instead, and even every day. It's been great and I'm glad I have it.
The reason I knocked 1.5 stars is because of the foot and leg extension. Everyone I've had try the chair agree that it does not hold your legs in place as they get pushed up away from the calf rollers. This is due to the pressure exerted on your legs as you need to continuously apply pressure againt the foot rest as it doens't lock into place and pushes up, and the fact the intense massage pushes your body up as well. That section is not well designed, as the rollers do not touch your calve at all. However, the foot massage is fine, and you do get some semblance of a massage on the side on your calfs due to the inflated air bags that vibrate. So, the calf massage is not very good, and I'm guessing a tall person may not even fit in it. I'm 5'8". If you are taller, I suggest you try it out before buying.
Nitpicks: These next points are meant as constructive criticisms.
- The arm section for massage is cleverly designed, and I imagine very effective if you need that, however, I don't, and like to keep my forearms free to use my phone, or the chair's remote. I wish there was an option for turning off just the arm massage section of the chair. Having it as optional would be nice.
- I like to end my massge sessions in Manual mode, where I do a Spot massage. I select the massage type (like 'knead and tap') and control the spot to be massaged with the arrow keys on the remote. But with each arrow tap, a loud beep sounds. That could be annoying for anyone in the same room. It would be nice be able to disable that beeping noise.
I've been wordy because I wished to convey that I really like this chair and it's made a huge difference in my quality of life.
BTW, at first, at maximum intensity, it can be tough to endure in the lower back, near the hips (most sensitve part of the back). Instead of lowering the intensity (the rest of my body appreciated maximum intensity) what I did was to use a very thin cushion (1/8 inch) at the lower back at first, but now I don't use it at all. So, take your time and don't overdo it until you're back adapts.
I love the chair, and the salesperson was very helpful. Cheers
