The roller assembly of your premium Floridian Brand massage chair is one of the most important things to understand. The rollers are the components that provide touch sensations like that of a human massage therapist.

Roller Track

The first part of the roller assembly is the roller track which acts like a railroad track. The track guides the roller arm, which contains the physical rollers themselves.

Roller Arm

The roller arm moves up and down the roller track, following the contour of your back. The roller wheels, which will provide the massage motions to your back, are attached to the roller arms.

Most massage chairs will have two roller arms, one for each side of the spine. And some models may have four roller arms. One handles the upper part of the back. And the second set handles the lower half of the back down to the hamstrings and glutes.

Massage Chair Roller Dimensions

The roller arm is what extends from the track and transfers force to the roller balls to produce the massage. The technology that controls how these roller arms move is called dimension.

2D Massage Rollers

In a 2D massage chair, the rollers can only move in two dimensions, up and down along the length of the back and side to side across the width of the back.

You adjust the intensity feel in a 2D massage chair by increasing the speed at which the rollers move—the faster the rate, the more total sensation.

If you like a gentler massage and are on a tighter budget, a 2D chair may be your option. 

3D Massage Rollers (More on 4D Rollers in a minute)

Three and Four D massage chairs add another dimension to massage chair roller movement. Instead of the up and down, left, and right movement, the rollers can move in and out.

This added depth allows the rollers to move forward, perform deep tissue massage, or retract outward for a less intense massage. Each Floridian Brand 4D massage chair model can be manually adjusted to how deep the rollers will push into the muscle, allowing you to control the intensity of the massage.

Roller action comes close to mimicking a professional massage therapist’s hand with massage techniques such as kneading, Swedish, and shiatsu.

4D Massage Rollers

Four D is a term to indicate the additional capabilities of massage chairs that move in the three dimensions – up and down, left and right, in and out, but also have an additional capability. This additional capability in the 4D massage chairs is speed adjustment – how fast or slow the rollers move.

4D massage chairs give one the highest possible level of customization. They will bring the most personal, realistic massage feel.

For example, think about a human masseuse pushing deep into your tissue and making rotations with his or her thumbs. They rely on the sensitivity in their hands to guide them. Not only the varying intensity but also the speed, and it constantly changes during the session.

The 4D difference

In a 4D chair, a chair can adjust the rotation speed around a problem area such as a knot, giving you a more human-like massage experience. And this change in rhythm – slow to quick, and sometimes quick to slow – makes the 4D massage rollers unique.  But be aware that different massage chair companies deliver this change in roller speed using various techniques.

Remember, many 3D massage chairs can manually adjust the speed of the rollers. But this doesn’t affect the rhythm of the rollers during the massage and is not controlled by the chair technology itself.

In conclusion, we have covered the basics of Massage Chair roller technology. We have identified the components that give an in-home massage chair therapy session that human touch. We have hopefully provided some clarification into the nuances between 3D and 4D massage chair technology.