Medical Breakthrough Massage Chair Review 2024

Massage therapy is a powerful tool for relieving pain while relaxing the body and mind. The problem is that not everyone has the money to visit a chiropractor regularly for these benefits.

That’s why medical massage chairs are worth the consideration. They provide innumerable health benefits that make it feel like the chiropractor resides at your home.

We explore one of the top-rated recliners in our Medical Breakthrough Massage Chair review. Read on!

Medical Breakthrough Massage Chair Design Overview

Medical Breakthrough chairs are less about luxury and more about providing therapy. The brand was started by a group of chiropractors, if that should tell you anything.

With 100+ years of combined medical experience, they designed a line of top-rated massage chairs to deliver the physical and mental relief that users want, so less time is spent at an actual doctor’s office.

Of course, this comes with a hefty price tag. The chair we are looking at today, the Medical Breakthrough 8 massage chair, costs upwards of $10,000+.

So unless you suffer from chronic pain that has you running to the chiropractor frequently, you might want to look elsewhere. It is not your typical hobbyist chair. It’s an FDA-approved medical device designed for full-body relief.

The Medical Breakthrough 8 is part of a line of massage chairs that includes:

The 8 and 9 are the most advanced models, featuring the Chiropractic Body Twist and Full Body Reflexology Massage Therapy. What sets these chairs apart is the extensive body area they cover, utilizing multiple types of massage technology at once.

The Medical Breakthrough 8 dimensions are 36 x 53 x 52 inches and weigh 404 pounds. In other words, this is a huge and heavy chair. Fortunately, the company made it a bit easier to maneuver with wheels on the base, but you’ll need to ensure you have space in your house for it.

The adjustable leg extension is engineered to fit your height comfortably, accommodating someone up to 6’5”.

Now, you may be wondering how something this big with the ability to recline and extend will fit in your house. Fear not—Breakthrough Medical includes space-saving technology, so the chair has 3” of clearance from the wall when fully reclined.

For perspective, that’s above average for clearance. Generally, 5” and less is ideal.

Overall, it’s not the sleekest, sexiest piece of furniture to tie your interior design together, but to be honest, that’s not what the Medical Breakthrough 8 is here for. It’s a therapeutic beast (at least we’d hope for that jaw-dropping price).

We’ll navigate the features next to find out if it’s worth the dough. But we can tell you that it is jam-packed with breakthrough technology you won’t find with other high-end chairs on the market.

Medical Breakthrough 8 Features

There are numerous features with the Medical breakthrough 8 that help fix posture, improve sleep, and relieve pain. If you’re a seasoned hobbyist, you’ll probably notice a few features that you’ve never seen on the market before. Let’s take a look!

True 4D Deep Tissue Massage System

For a high-end chair, you’d want to see 3D or 4D rollers, and Medical Breakthrough certainly delivers, with a 4D experience that goes deep—deep into the tissue, that is.

What sets 4D rollers apart from 3D is the speed and depth. These rollers are designed to closely mimic the hand movements of a professional masseuse, speeding up or slowing down according to the amount of tension in an area.

Medical Breakthrough not only utilizes 4D roller technology, but they’ve included specialized rollers meant for the lower back.

These rollers are supposedly more intense than a typical setup, working out the painful knots and stiffness that these muscles are prone to.

Engulfed Arm Massage System

One of the areas where the Medical Breakthrough massage chair 8 excels is that it offers a true full body massage, covering areas of the body that many chairs do not.

This is especially true for the arms; they’ve created a massage system that covers the upper and forearms, wrists, hands, fingers, and even the fingertips from every angle.

Full Body Reflexology Massage Therapy

You might’ve seen reflexology rollers used with some mid to high-range massage chairs, but how about a full-body reflexology massage?

While reflexology is commonly applied to the feet and hands, the Medical Breakthrough 8 and Medical Breakthrough massage chair 9 targets the pressure points in the neck, shoulders, waist, lumbar region, feet, calves, upper back, and hips.

Reflexology focuses on the main pressure points of the body. A masseuse will apply gentle pressure to these points to remove “blocked energy” for healing.

The perks of this type of massage are that it gives the user a different way to experience a full body massage than just 4D rollers. You get plenty of variety with techniques and strategies that you typically don’t see with many chairs.

Full Body Scan

The full-body scan isn’t anything new, and you’ll even see this offered with low-range chairs. The chair utilizes sensors to scan the body and locate the main pressure points in the back.

After the user’s dimensions are confirmed, the rollers automatically adjust themselves to align with the body. This improves the accuracy of the massage, ensuring the rollers hit every area of the neck, shoulders, and back.

Truth be told, this technology isn’t always 100% accurate across the market—even for an expensive model like the Medical Breakthrough 8. Some manual adjusting may be needed after the scan.

Zero Gravity Sleep System

Zero Gravity is also a popular feature you’ll see with low, mid, and high-range chairs.

This special recline position elevates the legs above the heart, releasing gravitational pull on the body. In other words, you feel weightless—like floating in space!

It takes immense pressure off the spine, a blessing for people who suffer from chronic back pain. It also facilitates blood circulation and makes the user feel incredibly relaxed.

The thing is, Zero Gravity seating is more or less the same across the market. What sets a chair apart is the number of positions offered. Low-range chairs typically provide only one, while mid to high-range chairs have at least 2-3.

This gives the user more flexibility to pick a position that feels the most beneficial for their unique needs.

So what’s in store with the Medical breakthrough 8? Their team saw the benefits Zero-G has for people who suffer from sleep disorders, so they differentiated their chairs from the pack with a Zero-G massage especially formulated for sleep.

The chair reclines and uses airbags to help the user find the most comfortable angle, which is huge since you get complete control over your positioning.

Then, a calming massage is performed to help the user drift off into sweet slumber.

This is something different we’ve never seen before and extends therapeutic benefits from chronic back pain to mental wellness.

Intense Heat Therapy

A massage chair may offer heat, but does it get hot enough? It’s one of the chief complaints we often see with other massage chairs.

Medical Breakthrough focused on this crucial detail by redesigning the standard heating pad technology. They implement their own heated therapy massage system to ensure users can enjoy a soothing, hot massage that melts muscle soreness and tension.

Hip Twist

The Hip Twist is another first for the massage chair market, debuted by the Medical Breakthrough 8 model.

This tantalizing technique twists the body from side to side, utilizing airbags to hold the body in place while moving the hips simultaneously.

It is a highly therapeutic technique for people who experience pain and tension in the waist area. Twisting releases pressure on these muscles while also compressing the organs for improved digestion.

Medical Breakthrough 8 Accessories

To be honest, we found the accessories offered by the Medical Breakthrough 8 to be a bit lackluster.

Why doesn’t it have Bluetooth connectivity? Earlier Medical breakthrough models have it, so this is surprising to us.

Instead, you get a USB port to charge your smart devices and an archaic USB flash drive to plug in and play music saved off of your computer. Hello, what year is it again?

Breakthrough 8 Massage Chair Programs

Hands down, the golden egg of the Medical Breakthrough massage chair 8 Plus is the immense variety on hand to customize your massage. Plus, you get a unique menu of specialty massages to choose from.

The Human Hand Massage System can be selected for a massage that applies techniques, including kneading, tapping, kneading & tapping combo, Shiatsu, knocking, and rolling.

The company encourages the user to combine these techniques with the air massage and reflexology systems to get the most stimulating experience. You won’t get full-body reflexology on other models since it is unique to the Medical Breakthrough 8.

There are a whopping five intensity levels, which is rare, and you can customize the rollers’ width by choosing wide, medium, or narrow.

You can combine these manual settings with any of the specialty programs below.

Full Body Stretch

Stretching is a feature not commonly offered by massage chairs, but it’s a favorite for users who enjoy yoga or Thai massage.

It offers excellent benefits, such as improving range of motion, loosening tight muscles, and relaxing the mind and body.

The Medical Breakthrough 8 massage chair uses airbags to hold the hips in place while gently pulling the legs down to administer a subliminal back stretch—perfect for relieving back pain.

Air Massage

Air massage is another popular specialty program that uses inflated airbags to compress the muscles. This is a less intense massage than deep tissue kneading, relaxing the entire body and stimulating the surface muscles.

The Medical Breakthrough 8 has one of the best air massages we’ve seen, boasting over 167 air cells placed at strategic points throughout the chair.

With this many air cells, your entire body is covered, even the arms, lulling your body and mind into relaxation after a stressful day.

Shoulder Massage

The shoulders are one of the areas of the body that holds a lot of tension, especially if you sit at a desk for hours. But ironically, not many ergonomic recliners cover the shoulders, and if they do, it’s with standard movements that may suffice for the back but not the shoulder area.

The Medical Breakthrough 8 fixes this problem by gifting the shoulder region with extra-large or “humongous” rollers designed especially to cover every angle. For tall people, this is great news, ensuring your upper body won’t miss out on the fun.

Foot/Calf Massage

People who suffer from chronic foot and leg pain can benefit greatly from the advanced reflexology roller system in the Medical Breakthrough 8’s footwells.

It’s called the Complete Reflexology Foot Massage, named for the three rows of rollers covering the entire foot area. Even better, this system can apply multiple massage techniques to satisfy all user preferences.

And that’s just the beginning…

They added scraping therapy or Gua Sha, which stimulates microcirculation of soft tissue and boosts blood flow from heel to toe.

Power-lifts further support the lower extremities to induce that relaxing weightless sensation similar to Zero Gravity.

Finally, 20 air cells envelop the calves for the grand finale. Combined with the foot suspension, multiple rollers, and scraping, you get a world-class foot massage that relieves and reinvigorates even the most exhausted gams.

Compared to other chairs on the market, this setup is phenomenal as most chairs feature a set of mechanical rollers under the feet and only a handful of airbags on the calves.

But what’s missing from the Medical Breakthrough 8 is heat in the footwells. For the price, we were surprised to see that this wasn’t included, especially since heat increases the therapeutic value considerably.

Medical Breakthrough 8 Massage Chair Pros vs. Cons

PROS

CONS

Medical Breakthrough is a brand that takes massage seriously. After all, their chairs are designed by medical professionals.

With that being said, the Medical Breakthrough 8 is not supposed to be a luxury toy for the casual hobbyist. It’s designed for people who suffer from chronic pain and want to receive effective therapy at home instead of going to the chiropractor often.

The Medical Breakthrough 8 is highly therapeutic, with a complex system of massage technology “layers” that apply multiple techniques and sensations from head to toe, all at once.

It includes Full Body Reflexology rollers, deep tissue 4D rollers, specialized shoulder and lower back rollers, and 167 air cells.

Medical Breakthrough also added specialty massage programs, including their exclusive Hip Twist, only found in the 8 & 9 models. The Body Stretch is also a highlight massage that isn’t found in many chairs on the market.

Overall, the quality and therapeutic variety of this chair are indisputable. But you’re going to pay for it. At over $10,000, you’re making a significant investment. But if you’re trying to reduce time and money spent on regular chiropractor appointments, you’ll make back your money in due time.

We Recommend the Medical Breakthrough 8 Massage Chair for…

Medical Breakthrough 8 Plus Warranty

Medical Breakthrough offers a 3-year warranty from the date of purchase. They’ll even send a technician to your home to fix your massage chair at no cost. You can get more information here.

Comparable Products

Curious about how the Medical Breakthrough 8 stacks up against other high-end massage chairs? We’ve included a few similar products for you to consider.

If the price of the Medical Breakthrough 8 is too high for you to fathom, consider the popular 6 model. It doesn’t have the Hip Twist, Full Body Reflexology, or 4D rollers, but you’re still guaranteed a top-of-the-line therapeutic experience with industry-standard features.

Exquisite Rhythmic Kahuna Massage Chair: Kahuna is another brand respected for its therapeutic prowess in the industry. Its line of ultra cushy massage chairs caters to all larger/taller body types, with one of the best yoga stretch programs on the market. What’s convenient about this particular model is that it has a memory function to save your favorite features and settings.

OHCO M.8 Luxury Massage Chair: If you’re looking for more luxury for a similar price, the OHCO might be your best bet. It comes packed with high-end features to enhance your experience, including Bluetooth, aromatherapy, air ionizer, and full-body heat. You also get a sleek, attractive design with outward swinging doors and massage programs developed by a bonafide Shiatsu master in Japan.

Medical Breakthrough Massage Chair Review Conclusion

Medical Breakthrough is a reputable brand comprised of doctors who design highly therapeutic massage chairs. Medical Breakthrough 8 is one of the company’s popular models that incorporates cutting-edge, exclusive technology, such as the Hip Twist and Full Body Reflexology.

To conclude this Medical Breakthrough massage chair review, we recommend this expensive chair for those who want to cut down on chiropractor visits with at-home massage therapy. This chair is effective for relieving chronic back, shoulder, foot, and leg pain.

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Official Manufacturer Support

References & Resources:

• Medical Breakthrough, Official Brand Website.
• The Impact of Massage Therapy on Function in Pain Populations, Oxford Academic.
• Massage Therapy Guide, Health Direct.
• Therapeutic Massage for Pain Relief, Brigham Health Club.