It seems these days everyone wants to try the latest fitness gadget. Sure, fitness trackers have some benefits, but what about other gadgets? How do you know which ones to try, and which should you pass on?
Fitness guns are one of the most popular fitness gadgets today. But unlike some dubious gadgets (like ab stimulators), when it comes to massage guns, you can rest assured that they will bring you measurable benefits. Read on to learn about massage guns and three ways they can help you with your next workout.
How do massage guns help you?
Massage guns deliver percussive therapy, the use of rapid and repeated vibrating pressure on soft tissue. This helps to increase blood flow, which encourages vital nutrients to move throughout the body, aiding in recovery. Percussive therapy can be applied either manually by a physical or massage therapist or with a massage gun.
When applied manually, percussive therapy can cause strain on the therapist due to the effort that they must exert. However, massage guns can be used by therapists to provide the same kind of percussive treatment without the physical strain. Massage guns are also useful for self-massage, as users can apply percussive therapy to themselves rather than relying on a therapist.
Benefit 1: Improved range of motion
One benefit of percussive therapy that has been proven by research is improved range of motion. Researchers from the University of Graz in Austria found that five minutes of percussive therapy on calf muscles by a handheld massage gun had a positive effect on the range of motion of the ankle among the athletes they studied. This was in comparison to a control group that did not use a massage gun.
The athletes studied by these researchers first performed a 10-minute warmup on a stationary bike. They then had their ankle range of motion measured. Next, one group of athletes underwent five minutes of treatment to their calves with a massage gun while the control group sat for five minutes. Finally, all the athletes had their ankle range of motion measured again. Those who had been treated by the massage gun showed a significant improvement in range of motion.
Benefit 2: Increased stamina
Another positive benefit of percussive therapy is increased stamina. A group of researchers from Spain found that it took more repetitions of a bench press to reach fatigue among athletes who had been treated with a handheld massage gun. These results were in comparison to a control group that was not treated with a massage gun.
In this study, participants performed four sets of bench presses at maximum velocity with three minutes of rest in between. One group of participants was treated with a massage gun between each set while the other group, the control group, was not. Those treated with the massage gun had the percussive therapy treatment applied to both the pec major and pec minor muscles for 15 seconds each. Those who were treated with the massage gun were able to complete more reps than those who did not have the treatment.
Benefit 3: More effective recovery from muscle fatigue
The third benefit of percussive therapy is that it provides a more effective recovery from muscle fatigue than other methods. Researchers from Spain and Colombia compared four types of muscle treatment: manual therapy, mechanical vibration, foam roller, and percussive therapy. They found that the muscles of athletes treated with massage guns recovered as well as those treated with mechanical vibration or a foam roller but with less time involved, making the percussive therapy treatment the most effective.
In this study, participants were divided into groups based on treatment type. In each group, both legs were exercised, but only one leg was treated with manual therapy, mechanical vibration, foam roller, or percussive therapy while the other leg was not treated. All participants began with five minutes of warmup on a low-intensity treadmill followed by stretching. Then they repeatedly flexed their ankles using a flywheel with resistance. Last, all participants were treated with one of the treatment types.
The researchers took measurements of the muscles between each step in the process as well as one day and two days later. Percussive therapy required only two minutes of treatment to achieve the same recovery results as the other options that took as much as 15 minutes of treatment. As a result, percussive therapy was determined to be the most effective treatment method for muscle recovery.