Theragun Is Great, But There Are Other Good Massage Guns For Less - BuzzFeed News

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You don’t have to be a serious athlete or fitness buff to appreciate a massage gun. Sure, their intention is to release tight muscles and increase mobility, but they can also help if your neck gets sore from sleeping on the wrong pillow or your hips are tight after a long hike. And a muscle massager is less expensive than going to see a massage therapist.

Tony Gentilcore, cofounder of high-performance training facility Cressey Sports Performance and a certified strength and conditioning specialist, said that the convenience of using a massage gun is a great perk. “People who work out, who are training, they are going to get sore and a massage gun gives them easy access to soft tissue therapy that doesn’t require them to travel or pay the price of a massage therapist.”

How do muscle massage guns work?


Massage guns offer a different sort of therapy than you’d normally get from a massage or physical therapist, even ones who specialize in sports. These massage guns offer a percussive massage treatment, which combines elements of traditional massage and vibration therapy, Leada Malek, a licensed physical therapist and board-certified sports specialist with her own virtual practice, told BuzzFeed News.

“Massage can reduce tension in muscles and impact flexibility by reducing muscle stiffness, increasing blood flow and so forth,” she said. “With the massage gun, the idea is that you combine those treatments to prepare for activity and/or prime for recovery.”

Gentilcore said that massage guns can temporarily improve your range of motion, but those improvements aren’t going to stick unless you also incorporate other methods to help maintain that new range. Muscle massagers generally provide transient, short-term benefits, though that’s really all they’re intended to provide, he said.

In a small 2020 study in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, researchers looked at the effect of five minutes of handheld percussive massage on the calf muscles of 16 healthy men who were recreational athletes. They found that there was an increase in the range of motion similar to what you would get with a conventional massage. Massage in general (using hands rather than a massage gun) has been associated with small improvements in flexibility and delayed onset muscle soreness.

How and when to use a muscle massager


Laura Pachnos, a senior coach at Solidcore in New York City who is also a certified instructor in vinyasa yoga, spin, and Pilates, recommends using a massage gun if your muscles feel tight when you wake up or before a workout. She incorporates it into her own stretching routine, especially after heavy lifting days.

“Basically if you’re feeling like you need it, do it,” Pachnos said.

Though they’re a great option for loosening up tight muscles, Malek advises against using massage guns on any acute injury or areas of inflammation, such as a muscle strain. You should also avoid using them on a bony prominence, which is any part of the body where the bone is directly under the skin without a padding of fat or muscle.

She suggested staying away from bony points and smaller joints altogether, and using the softest attachment anywhere that feels tender. “If you’re feeling more soreness or pain or bruising, you definitely overdid it,” said Malek.

Which massage gun should you get?


Personally, Malek likes massage guns that beat at a higher-than-average amplitude. The Theragun Pro, for example, beats at 16 millimeters of amplitude and 40 beats per second, while other less expensive options may not have comparable motors so they’re working at a different level of impact. That intensity is her preference, but she did note that a slightly weaker motor likely won’t alter the effects dramatically.

One thing she did recommend is a massage gun that comes with different head attachments. Various muscles and parts of the body require different kinds of pressure, so having multiple options lets you target each area safely and effectively.

Our experts specifically mentioned Hypervolt and Theragun as the most sturdy and reliable massage guns, and they also have the strongest motors and number of attachments. Both companies make a wide variety of muscle massagers that meet different needs and have different price points as well.

Pachnos favors Hypervolt since it’s less expensive than Theragun and offers all of the same features and results (in her experience). However, she also purchased a generic massage gun on Amazon for her dad and found it to be just as good.

The best muscle massager for you may depend on your activity level, the type of exercise you do, how or where you plan to use it, and your budget. All of these are great options, Theragun included, so you really can’t go wrong.