Elderly people or people with bone diseases should be careful when using massage chairs

In particular, people suffering from osteoporosis or spinal diseases should be careful not to use massage chairs

    Recently, more and more people are purchasing and renting massage chairs to relax knotted muscles or relieve stress, and massage cafes where visitors can rest in a massage chair for a period of time are also thriving. However, if users do not consider their body conditions or the presence or absence of a particular disease before using massage chairs, or if users make the massage intensity too strong, injuries in the body may occur, and so consumers’attention is needed.

    For the last 3 years, 262 cases** of consumer injuries caused by electric massagers were reported to the Consumer Injury Surveillance System (CISS)* of the KCA, and out of those 262 cases, 148(56.5%) cases were caused by massage chairs.

   * Consumer Injury Surveillance System(CISS): refers to a system to collect, analyze, and assess injury information submitted by 80 consumer injury information providers including 62 hospitals, 18 fire stations, etc. designated under the ？Framework Act on Consumers？, and 1372 Consumer Counseling Center.

 ** Number of reported cases by year: (2015) 71 cases → (2016) 92 cases → (2017) 99 cases

□ As ‘fracture’ may occur, elderly people and people with osteoporosis or bone/spinal diseases need to be careful when using massage chairs.

    The result of the analysis of 72 cases of adverse effects or injuries caused by massage chairs showed that ‘pain’ accounted for 29.2%(21 cases), the largest portion, followed by ‘damage to muscle, bone and ligament(26.4% or 19 cases)’ including ‘fracture’ and ‘sprain.’ Among those cases, the number of cases involving ‘fracture’ which occurred mainly in spine, ribs, etc. was 9 in total. And four out of 7 cases where the injured person’s age was identified occurred in people ‘over 60 years old.’

    And out of 67 cases where the injured body parts could be identified,‘torso(31.4% or 21 cases)’was the most frequently injured body part, followed by ‘buttocks, legs and feet(19.4% or 13 cases)’, ‘arms and hands(16.4% or 11 cases)’, ‘neck and shoulder(14.9% or 10 cases)’, etc., and it is considered that the injuries occurred in various parts of the body due to the key characteristic of the product massaging the whole parts of the body.

□ Product instruction manuals indicated people who are restricted from using massage chairs, but such indications were not easily noticeable.

    The KCA examined the instruction manuals of massage chair models able to represent 5 major brands that were distributed and sold in the market, and found that those 5 models indicated people who are prohibited from using the massage chair or should check with doctors before using the chair in their instruction manuals, and those who were restricted from using the massage chair were mainly children, pregnant women, elderly people, people with specific diseases, etc.

    In particular, those instruction manuals indicated that elderly people, people with weakened muscles due to aging, or lean people should not use the massage chair or should use it only under the supervision of responsible person to ensure their safety. In addition, they commonly prohibited people with bone or spinal-related diseases including osteoporosis, disc disease, etc. from using the massage chair.

    However, it was found that the caution and warning signs regarding people who are restricted from using massage chairs were not easily noticeable because they were not distinguished from general precautions, and explanations about adverse effects or injuries that could occur when using massage chairs were insufficient.

    Meanwhile, the KCA conducted an investigation into the safety instructions of 20 facilities where visitors could use massage chairs including massage cafes, Jjimjilbang(a traditional public spa and sauna), etc., and found that two massage cafes posted the safety instructions indicating that people with spinal disease, disc disease, fracture, etc. should not use the massage chair, and one Jjimjilbang indicated that only people who got wet and teenagers should not use the massage chair. And the other 17 facilities did not post or explain any safety instructions.

□ Consumers need to check with doctors or sellers about whether they can use massage chairs, and must comply with safety instructions.

    Based on the investigation results, the KCA held a meeting with massage chair manufacturers and sellers, and in that meeting, it recommended them to improve the caution and warning signs regarding those who are restricted from using the massage chair, injuries that may occur while using the massage chair, etc., and to carefully explain the use of massage chairs when selling or renting them. And as a result, the five major massage chair brands decided to take related actions as soon as possible. Furthermore, it also plans to request those who operate facilities where visitors can use the massage chair to post safety instructions and strengthen safety management.

    The KCA also advised consumers ▲to check with sellers or doctors about whether they can use the massage chair based on their body condtions, or the presence or absence of a particular diseases, ▲to learn how to operate the massage chair before using it, ▲not to wear accessories such as watches or necklaces while useing the massage chair, and ▲to appropriately adjust the intensity of the massage and use the massage chair for a proper amount of time so that the consumers can use the massage chair more safely.