1: Enhances Athletic Performance
Percussion massage can take your sporting performance to the next level.
Mixed martial arts experts Evolve, explain that the technique works aggressively, deep into your muscles.
This increases your blood circulation and the distribution of oxygen, particularly in the area that the treatment is applied.
They go on to describe how this form of massage:
Decreases post-workout muscle pain and cramps, which accelerates the body’s ability to heal and recover… it’s also used by world-class athletes as a pre-competition warm up.
They’re right — many professional athletes have endorsed the benefits of percussion therapy.
Watch below as Olympian, Paul George demonstrates how a gun massager, in this case a Theragun PRO, is an essential part of his workout routine:
2: Prevents Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the pain that you feel a day or two after a particularly strenuous workout.
This soreness is thought to occur as a result of microscopic damage to the muscle fibers that were worked during the exercise.
Chiropractic physician Dr. Joe Muscolino, highlights how research has shown percussive massage to be just as effective as an actual massage when treating DOMS.
He describes how the treatment, when delivered through a massage gun, can break up fibrous adhesions, relaxing tight muscles and significantly reducing soreness.
3: Makes You More Flexible
There are many different ways you can work on your flexibility, such as practicing yoga.
Percussion massage can also help you flex a little more easily.
Research conducted at the Institute of Human Movement Science in Austria, sought to discover just how much it could improve range of motion.
They examined the effect that just five minutes of treatment from a Hypervolt gun massager could have on the calf muscles.
Amazingly, the five minute massage increased range of motion in the calf, leading them to recommend it as an approach for optimizing the flexibility level of athletes.
4: Helps to Manage Pain
Percussion massage therapy could offer hope to the millions of people living with chronic pain around the world.
A study published by the University of Oxford, found that deep brain stimulation can have pain-relieving effects.
MyoMaster, creators of the MyoPro massage gun, state that percussive therapy can create high frequency stimulations that can block or mask the pain.
They describe how the vibration and amplitude produced by a massage gun can send signals to the brain faster than pain signals can travel, effectively overriding and therefore decreasing the pain experienced.
5: Improves Your Sleep
Therabody, known for their popular Theragun range, are one of the leading names in percussion massage.
Sleep tracking specialists Biostrap, worked in partnership with Therabody and ran a research project to understand the health advantages of massage guns, particularly on sleep.
73 participants were asked to use a Theragun 30 minutes before they went to bed, for five weeks.
Incredibly, results showed that 87% fell asleep faster after using the percussive device.
70% of participants also recorded fewer sleep disruptions than they had prior to taking part in the trial.
With sleep problems becoming increasingly common, it’s sure to be great news for people desperate for a good night’s rest!
6: Increases Blood Circulation
Percussion massage, though relaxing, can really get your blood pumping!
Hydragun claim that the vibrations created by percussion massage can help to increase your blood flow.
This increase in blood circulation can reduce inflammation and tension in the muscles.
Watch below as renowned physical therapist and CrossFit trainer Kelly Starrett, demonstrates how you can use a TimTam gun massager to boost your circulation and blood flow:
7: Helps to Break Down Scar Tissue
Massage as a therapy, is known for helping to break down scar tissue.
Percussion massage is considered to be a style of massage that is particularly effective.
The reason for this is because it works deeper into the muscles, breaking down the collagen fibers that can cause restricted movement.
Sports therapists, like MSK Sports Injury Clinic, will actually use percussive devices on patients with scar tissue to help improve flexibility and speed up recovery.
8: Aids Recovery from Injury
When you’re recovering from an injury, you want it to be swift and, eventually, painless!
Sports therapy professionals Fortitude, explain that percussive massage can speed up the recovery process.
That’s because it creates contractions that can strengthen your muscles, even when you’re not able to participate in exercise.
Effectively it’s working your muscles when you can’t, helping to prevent muscle atrophy, and getting you back on your feet (and in the gym!) quicker than you would without it.
9: Helps to Prevent Injuries
As well as speeding up recovery from an injury, percussion massage can actually stop you getting injured in the first place!
That’s because you’re able to build greater muscle strength in your workouts, through a combination of warming up and recovering more effectively, which has been proven to lower the risk of injury.
10: Reduces Symptoms of Stress & Anxiety
Manufacturers of the Exogun tool report that massage gun therapy can have advantages for people living with anxiety.
Though there is no independent research to back this up, they explain that the percussion technique stretches your muscle fibers and helps to relax your joints.
This creates ‘a calming effect’ that soothes not just the body but also the mind.
Also distraction techniques are commonly recommended for people living with anxious thoughts, as a way to reset your attention.
Using a gun massager is a healthy way to move your focus elsewhere during stressful periods.
11: Supports Physical Therapy Work
If you work as a physical therapist or if you’ve experienced their work, then you’ll know that the profession is hard on the body.
Brands and Projects Director of Pulseroll, Neil Fitz-Harris, speaking on the BBC podcast Sliced Bread, reports that many physical therapists use massage guns as part of their treatment plans.
He explains that they appreciate how it saves their hands, wrists, elbows and backs, as it stops them having to apply too much pressure through their own body.
12: At-Home Use
The final benefit of using a massage gun, has to be the fact that you can enjoy it in the comfort of your own home!
By investing in a percussive tool you’re able to experiment with the treatment to find exactly what works for you.
The convenience also makes it ideal if you’re looking for a massage gift for someone special.
As they’re portable too, they’re perfect for a post-workout recovery routine at the gym.
13: Affordable
The massage gun market has exploded in recent years. There is now a varied selection across a wide cost spectrum, meaning the treatment can be affordable to try.
(Also compared to the monthly cost of a massage or physical therapy, it could provide value of money for you!)
Percussive massage guns vary hugely in price from $100 up to $600 for the top of the range Theragun.
Luckily there are lots of affordable Theragun alternatives that provide you with another option.
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