There’s no question about it. Many people love massages. In fact, millions of people are getting massages every year. Unfortunately, there are multiple barriers that prevent people from reaping the benefits of massages, including the cost and commute to see a local massage therapist. And there are also some people who aren’t too comfortable with the massage setting or the act of someone physically touching their body. Fortunately, there is a low cost, convenient, and personal way you can reap similar benefits to a full massage session in the comfort of your home or office.

Portable massage devices come in a variety of different forms. Some are specific to parts of the body, while others can be used on several different body locations. Here’s a breakdown of the different types of portable massagers you can buy:

Full Back Massagers – These massagers provide a firm massage pressure while you lay back in your chair. The massaging heads can move up and down the spine from the base of the neck to the low back. While pressure is usually increased the more the user lays back, the speed of the massage heads can increase depending on the product settings.

Neck and shoulders massagers – These massagers are like the full back massagers but provide local massage effects to the neck and top of the shoulders. Users can increase the pressure by pulling on the straps that hold the massager in place. Speed and percussion intensity can be adjusted if the product allows.

Percussion massagers – Unlike the massaging heads of full back and neck massagers, percussion massagers can vary in frequency and speed of percussion while providing a massaging effect to a localized area on the body. They can also be manipulated to massage different parts of the body, like the legs, hips, arms, chest, and shoulders.

Ease of portability and low-profile design make these types of portable massage devices perfect for using in the workplace. While not everyone experiences health issues from their work place, your work environment can be a stressful. Increases in stress can have negative effects on blood pressure. If you experience these issues in your workplace, you should consider the using a portable massager that can help simulate the effects of a massage from a trained massage therapist in order to help reduce stress and lower your blood pressure.

The workplace also involves prolonged periods of sitting. While not everyone develops low back pain, many will experience it at some point in their life. This is where you can utilize the benefits of a full back chair massager to help with low back pain relief.

Massages have also been proven to help with nonspecific headache relief. So, if you have been curious about massage but are uncomfortable with another person providing the massage or it’s just too expensive to get on a regular basis, consider a portable massage device.

As with any health or fitness protocol, consult your doctor to make sure personal massage devices are safe for you to use.