Between soothing bubbles, motorized rollers, vibration, and a foot scrubber, we loved how the Costway Foot Massage Bath Massager was both a massager and a home pedicure spa all in one. While you won’t get a full massage experience with a foot spa-type massager, the built-in rollers and balls felt great on our feet, and we liked being able to adjust the pressure settings to our preference.

The Serta Foot Warmer envelopes up to four chilly feet in a plush, cozy cocoon of warmth, so it's a great option for anyone who wants to share the warmth. With four levels of heat and an auto-off safety feature, it’s a great value and effective heater. For a slightly more mobile option, consider the lavender-scented Intelex Fully Microwavable Luxury Cozy Slippers. These are microwaveable and allow you to walk around with warm feet. How We Selected When comparing foot massagers, consider what features you want and your budget. Foot massagers typically provide a kneading function, vibration, compression or electro-muscle stimulation. Some foot massagers have the added benefit of heat to assist in easing muscle tension. Most foot massagers offer different levels of intensity and different massage styles to allow you to customise your massage, while others have added pads to target other areas of the body. Snailax Shiatsu Foot Massager with Heat: With a slipper-like shape, this massager has good under-the-foot rollers but that’s about all. There’s very little variation in settings and wasn’t something we thought we would reach for day after day. But this machine does have a couple of disadvantages. The device can be pretty noisy, and the intensity levels may be too intense for some people. Plus, the heat setting is not adjustable, so it's either off or on.Longevity: Some foot warmers can stay hot for longer than others, and lots have automatic shut-off systems that turn them off after a set amount of time. Think about how long you need a warmer to stay hot for, especially if you’re planning on using it for a full workday. Comfort: We looked at the variety of pressure and heat settings, noting if a product felt too intense even on its lower settings (making it less likely to be comfortable for many users). We also considered pressure and heat settings for effectiveness, paying attention to the areas of the foot targeted by the massager and how well it performed when it came to releasing muscle tension and providing relief from soreness. The vibration option worked well but was less appealing to us than the traditional rolling massage feature. On the foot spa side of things, this massager offers a nice, deep tub that can accommodate all foot sizes, but it doesn’t take up much space. We also noted that this massager was a breeze to set up and use, with intuitive controls and smart storage. We felt relaxed and pampered by the time we were done with this massager, and we liked how it combines a traditional foot massage with a soaking spa element. While foot massagers can’t cure arthritis, they can act as a comfort device and alleviate some of your symptoms, says Dr. Feldman, who notes that many of them can decrease the inflammation associated with arthritis. Sometimes, depending on the patient. While foot massagers can be useful for people with neuropathy, people with diabetes still need to be careful about the therapies they use on their feet (and should avoid heating elements, as we mentioned earlier).

Ideally, a foot massager will have a wide range of adjustable settings so you can find the intensity you need on a given day. What’s just right for one person may be way too powerful for another, so look for massagers that feature multiple intensity settings. If you’re considering a foot massager that doesn’t offer a lot of strength adjustability, see if it has a return policy so you can try it out at home; if it turns out to be too gentle or too harsh for you, you’ll be grateful you can exchange it for something that meets your needs. At first glance, this wooden roller doesn’t look like much, but people with plantar fasciitis will thank us for putting the TheraFlow Foot Massager for Plantar Fasciitis Relief on our list as the best massager for this painful condition. Where many foot massagers can’t really get to the source of your woes, i.e. the band of tissue running along the sole of your foot called the plantar fascia, we couldn’t believe how well this unassuming massager worked. Some foot massagers—both the traditional ones and the foot bath styles—come with a heating element that warms up your feet, increasing muscle relaxation and circulatory benefits. You should choose these products carefully, however, making sure that you can fully control how hot the massager gets. You should also be mindful of heating elements if you have certain medical conditions. Heating elements help to improve circulation, says Dr. Weiser, but they warn using these for patients with diabetes that their sensation to feel pain—hot or cold—can be severely compromised. Right off the bat, the CareCoComfi Foot Warmer isn't a massager. What we have here is an ultra-comfortable foot warmer that doesn't cost premium yet does an excellent job of warming up feet with gentle heat. So, if you're fine with that and look for a decent model to keep your legs happy and improve your blood circulation, it'll fit that bill. Then, we spent hours combing the web for the best and most effective products. After taking all of our options into consideration, we determined which to feature based on a few key criteria as recommended by rheumatologists: material, size, heating capabilities, massage capabilities, portability, and price.When it comes to the heating function, the CareCoComfi Foot Warmer works a treat too. It offers a choice of three temperature settings and has a rapid warm-up, letting you warm up your feet and counter Raynaud's Syndrom almost in an instant. The cut-off timer is included too. Thus, if you forget to turn the unit off, it will automatically shut down after 90 minutes of use. Finally, Dr. Feldman says no foot massager should ever cause pain—if a product is simply too aggressive in its massage techniques, pass it over for something gentler. Using the warmer couldn't simpler. There's one single switch on the appliance, allowing you to select the optimal heat settings, and a remote controller. Though the controller is wired, its 2-m cord is long enough to ensure comfortable use.

The heat therapy and foot-warming features enhance the overall experience, offering therapeutic benefits and comfort. Moreover, it's incredibly portable and easy to clean, with a removable and washable plush cloth. The foot massager has simple buttons to change modes and a practical cable remote control for added convenience. Since traditional foot massagers employ different types of massage, like kneading and rolling, to pinpoint pain areas, this product is best for people with intense calf or leg pain versus people with foot pain. We tested 12 foot massagers in our Lab to determine the best ones for regular, therapeutic use at home. We also spoke to two experts in podiatry and orthopedics to discuss what to look for in foot massagers. Our testers set up each device and tried them out according to the manufacturer's instructions. The testers all used each foot massager for 20 minutes so they could get a good feel for how an individual massager worked and compare its function to the other massagers being tested. We then evaluated them across five insights: Ivation Foot Spa: We appreciated the number of settings on this product and the deep, relaxing massage it gave, but it never really heated up the way we would have liked (and it’s bulky, making it hard to store). By doing this, we whittled our longlist down and chose a selection of products that we think offer something for everybody. About the author

The best foot massagers to buy in 2023

What’s the secret of this massager? We couldn’t put our finger on just one thing throughout our testing, but we can say this: the device is simplistic, convenient, and designed to deliver truly targeted deep tissue massage to the exact spots you need it. Because it’s manual, not motorized, you can decide how gently or intensely to use it. Even though it doesn’t heat up, vibrate, or provide any motorized kneading, we couldn’t find one thing we didn’t like about it. It’s Worth Noting Rolling, kneading, vibrating, shiatsu—there are all different kinds of massage movements offered by popular products, and it can be hard to know what’s right for you. The best foot massagers to buy in 2023 1. HoMedics Dual Shiatsu Foot Massager with Heat: Best budget shiatsu foot massager Delivering an intense but comfortable massage, we love the FIT KING Leg Air Massager for the foot and calf. While it’s less effective for the feet, you can’t beat the circulatory benefits these massaging boots provide to your legs, especially your calves. Overall experience: Did we like using it? Would we recommend it to our friends and family members? We also thought about what type of person might benefit most from each one (i.e. runners versus people with arthritis) and whether the cost of the product seemed appropriate for the results it could provide.

But Dr. Feldman says that he does occasionally recommend foot massagers to his patients, because they can offer several different benefits: helping with blood flow, relieving muscle tension and relaxing soft tissue, decreasing chronic pain, decreasing emotional stress, and assisting with anxiety. Do foot massagers actually work? Most of these devices include different heating settings. Of course, with heating settings come fire hazards, so some sort of an overheating protection is often present as well. Some warmers aren't just warmers. In addition to their heating capabilities, these devices also incorporate massage functions. More often than not, you get different massage modes too, so you should be able to customise your experience the way you see fit. To control these functions, foot warmers usually feature a control keypad. Other than the heating and massage settings, certain models come equipped with different extra features like an automatic shut-off function or different removable parts.If you’d like to combine your foot massage with a soothing foot soak, see our list of the best foot spas. When should I not use a home foot massager? Lots of advice recommends heating the person and not the home to save money, so things like drinking hot cups of tea and snuggling up with a heated throw can really help. It’s also important to keep your hands and feet warm, as we lose a lot of heat from our extremities. As such, investing in one of the best foot warmers or a pair of the best heated slippers can be a great way to help manage your heating costs this winter. Many foot massagers also offer additional features like heating or adjustable settings on the massage's type, intensity and duration. What's more, some foot massagers are battery-operated and offer more portability, while others run off mains power.