History Channel Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the Massage Chair

A 10-part History Channel documentary series titled Million Dollar Genius will feature a story about the invention of the first massage chair.

David Palmer, the “Father of Chair Massage” and co-designer of the first massage chair, was interviewed for the story, along with his co-designer Serge Bouyssou.

The episode featuring the story of the first massage chair is scheduled to air April 1, 2016, at 11:00 p.m. ET.

To mark the massage chair’s 30th anniversary, David Palmer says he is collecting stories and pictures about the earliest days of seated massage for his website (www.touchpro.com). According to Palmer, “The collection will serve as the permanent archive dedicated to the original massage chair and the pioneers of seated massage.”

Read more about the History Channel’s Million Dollar Genius here.

For Massage & Bodywork's cover story on chair massage and fainting, click here.

UPDATE April 4, 2016—History recently aired Episode 7 of Million Dollar Genius (entitled "Bigger is Better"), which contained the segment on chair massage. It was the last, but longest, of the four stories featured that episode. David Palmer has uploaded a 12.5-minute clip from the show to YouTube, and you can go to this page on his website for instructions about how to view it.

 

News

Increasing Education Hours: A Trend on the Rise

Due to a revised federal rule change, states with minimum-hour education requirements lower than 600 are considering increasing their massage therapy program length. Find out which states have already introduced bills that would raise education hours, which massage boards have proposed and made final rule changes, and why this is becoming a national trend.

Blog

ABMP CE Summit: Headaches

 Headaches.

Join us online Tuesday, April 30, 2024, for the ABMP CE Summit: Headaches, which take learners on a journey from understanding headaches to working with clients with headache pain using multiple modalities and techniques.

New CE Course: Stretching the Hip

Dr. Joe Muscolino displays a massage therapy technique.

The new ABMP CE course, “Stretching the Hip,” is available in the ABMP Education Center to view and earn 1.5 CE hours.

Benefits

Podcast: Cancer, Clots, and COVID—A Complicated Client

A client was recently treated for colon cancer—and it didn’t go well. She had surgical complications, a bout of sepsis, and more. Is massage therapy safe? We discuss on this episode of “I Have a Client Who . . .” Pathology Conversations with Ruth Werner.

Please note: We have recently updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Learn more...