Natasha Caleel, a licensed occupational therapist and corrective exercise specialist, uses it with clients regularly and finds it to be a great option for athletes at all levels as well as those trying to reduce muscle tension after a tough day at work. While plenty of people report positive experience with the devices, experts maintain that there will need to be more research into the benefits of percussive therapy to say for sure.

That said, just like many other popular devices (especially electronic devices), massage guns have developed trends.The HoMedics Physio Pro massage gun is unique in the fact it has heating and cooling heads. The heating head reaches 47C in less than two minutes which is perfect for soothing sore muscles. The cool gel head works best straight out of a freezer. Its soft, cooling action is best for shins and the hip flexors, for a post-workout cool down. For example, a 2014 study from the National Library of Medicine in the USA confirmed that percussive therapy 'significantly' reduces DOMS at 24, 48 and 72 hours after exercise. The best budget massage gun is the Vybe V2 Percussion Massager. The user-friendly design is powerful enough to provide deep tissue massage, offering plenty of value for the price.

While stretching and massage therapy achieve similar results, massage guns simplify the process and allow you to get the benefits of a massage when you’re by yourself in the comfort of your own home. With that said, Thomas notes that massage guns can be used in combination with other treatments for optimal results. “Combining dynamic stretches with massage gun usage can be highly effective before workouts. Post-workout, static stretching after using the massage gun on specific muscle groups can help promote relaxation and recovery.” Which Massage Gun Head Should I Use? If your aim is to get some satisfying relief from post-workout muscle strain and to help reduce soreness in your muscles in the days after a workout, the best massage guns are likely to work well for you and are well worth buying.We run each massage gun on its highest setting and record how long each one lasts before running out. The Opove M3 Pro has an impressive battery life of up to eight hours on a single charge, which was the highest capacity among those I tested. That means you can charge it once without doing so again for weeks, depending on how often you use it. The HoMedics Pro Physio features three speed settings, from a lower intensity of 2100 PPM to the highest setting of 3000 PPM. Users can select the setting they feel most comfortable with, or follow the user guide that comes with the gun. This guide tells you which intensity setting to select for which parts of the body, and for how long to use the gun in that particular area. I mentioned that the B37 features 12 millimeters of amplitude—a figure that’s expected from a massage gun of this size—but Ekrin Athletics pairs that with an impressive stall force of 56 pounds, so it’s easy to push the massager firmly against your body without causing the motor to stall. For context, the Theragun Elite, at the top of this list, only has a stall force of 40 pounds. As I increased my training mileage leading up to my race during testing, the B37 provided a deep, to-the-bone massage that left my legs feeling like jello (in a good way). With up to eight hours of battery life on a single charge, I could hypothetically use this massager for an entire day, or pass it around at a race or athletic event where others might need it, too.

However, during your first trimester, it’s best to avoid using a massage gun or having any type of massage since this may increase your risk of miscarriage. The goal. The main function of a heated massage gun is to provide a soothing effect to sore muscles and give a relaxing massage. They’re rarely meant for a deep-to-the bone massage. Cheatham S, et al. (2021). Mechanical percussion devices: A Survey of practice patterns among healthcare professionals. However, with most heated percussion massagers, the stall force rarely goes beyond 30lbs. Apart from one heated massage gun, the Urikar Pro 2 and also the Bob and Brad X6 Pro (which surprised us to be honest) no other gun that we’ve seen in this niche can handle anything over 30lbs. The Theragun Mini was the most powerful mini massager I tested. The main downside was that it's hard ... [+] to fit into its case. JONATHAN BAUDOIN for Forbes

Interchangeable for a customised massage

Combine the benefits of heat with percussion therapy — which can be as effective as massage therapy and foam rolling in reducing muscle soreness, according to a 2021 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health — and you’ve got a one-two punch of feel-good recovery.