Chair, Seated or Onsite Massage as it's sometimes called, is credited to David Palmer, who is considered the "father of contemporary chair massage".  The term "Onsite Massage" was introduced in 1986 to describe the process of massaging seated clients.  In his TouchPro Chair Massage History report, David said he coined the term because at the time, the vast majority of Chair Massage was literally taken to the client "onsite", mainly in the workplace, rather than the client coming to the chair.  Today, that has changed for we see at lease half of the chair massage business in the United States involves the clients going to the chair in fixed locations such as: malls, supermarkets, airports and saloons, making the term "onsite" somewhat meaningless".  However, "he had come to refer to this work as simply "Chair Massage" to juxtapose it nicely to "Table Massage" and, for variety, he sometimes use the alternative term "Seated Massage"".

Beginning with Apple Computer in the early 1980s, it's amazing to see the far-reaching impact of Chair Massage in many countries around the world.  Today, in the United States, more and more companies offer massage therapy not only as a perk, but also to increase their employees productivity and morale.  Thus, we see major corporations like Apple Computer, Boeing, United Airlines, PepsiCo, Sony Music, law firms, manufacturers and hospitals offer onsite massage for their workers.

The benefits of Chair Massage are invaluable, though the sessions are usually only enough time for a coffee break.  There is no lubricant used in its application and the recipients are fully clothed.  This type of massage is user-friendly and it is one of the best ways to introduce clients to massage and the practitioner's touch.