Moving your body is essential for both your physical and mental health – and taking part in a sport that you love can boost your fitness levels and strengthen your body. Did you know recovery is just as important as the exercise itself? If you don’t take the time to stretch and rest your body post-workout, you could end up with an injury that keeps you from being active. Below, we’re going to take an in-depth look at how you can find the best massage guns for your budget, to aid recovery and prevent aches and pains.
If you are considering buying a massage gun, there are so many ways in which your body can benefit, whether you are an athlete, you take part in recreational sport, or you simply need a new way to relax and soothe your body. Massage guns1 help to ease and reduce the muscle soreness you feel after a hard workout, meaning that you can get back to performing at your best.
The interchangeable heads and speeds of a massage gun mean you can tailor the sensation to suit you, such as deep tissue massage or light relaxation. If you take part in sports regularly, using a massage gun means you can prevent and recover from injuries more easily and ease muscle cramps, back pain, and shin splints2.
How to choose the best product
So, with a huge variety of products on the market, you might be wondering how you’re going to choose the right one. There are a few features to look out for that can help you decide, these include:
- Motion: You can choose from massagers that offer vibration or percussive massagers that apply force. Vibration is great if you’re looking to relax and soothe a specific area of the body. A percussive product uses force to reach muscles and provide deep relief. Percussive massagers3 are best for athletes that need to improve circulation and recovery.
- Portability: If you’re going to use your massage gun in the house, this point isn’t too important, however, if you travel or you need to take your new product with you to work or the gym, you should make sure that it is not too heavy. You may want to check whether it comes with a case too.
- Reviews: Take your time to research reviews on products you may be interested in. Getting to know what others that used the massage gun think of how it performs means you can get an open and honest opinion to help you decide whether it’s worth your money.
- Design: The way that your massage gun is designed is essential for use. You’ll need to choose a product that can reach areas of the body easily, so products that are ergonomic4, easy to hold and rotate are advantageous.
Pricing
It is important to work out a budget when choosing a massage gun, as they differ in price depending on a few factors. High-end products tend to feature additional extras like Bluetooth and a variety of attachments. They are often more complex when it comes to the speed and intensity of the relief that they offer. But if the most high-tech product isn’t something that you’ve got your heart set on, you can choose a massage gun that does the job for a more modest price.
Do they work?
You don’t want to spend your money on a product that doesn’t do what you need it to – but learning how to use your massage gun correctly and consistently helps your body to recover and relax. If you don’t want to commit to the most high-end product just yet, choosing a budget massage gun means you can see if it benefits you at a fraction of the price. Here are a few you could choose from:
Addsfit Max
This massage gun is one of the best if you are looking for a deep muscle massage. An emerging brand that offers a great quality product at an affordable price point – with a long list of attributes perfect for targeting sore muscles, you’d find it hard to find another that offers as much as this massage gun for the price point.
The massage gun features five silicone heads5, all varying in hardness, so you can work muscles over different parts of your body. The detachable heads are quick and easy to use, and they mean that you don’t have to change the entire attachment when you want to feel a different sensation. If you’re looking for a powerful massage gun that packs a punch when you need it most, this product could be the best affordable option.
TriggerPoint IMPACT Buffer
Another good budget option when looking for a massage gun is the TriggerPoint buffer, which is different to other massage guns on the market. Instead of using percussive motions, it uses both oscillation and vibration for a relaxing massage wherever you need it. It helps to warm up tissue around the body and is controlled by a dial, meaning you can choose the speed most suited to you. Like the Adds fit max, it comes with detachable heads, and its ergonomic design makes it easy to hold when in use. Although it is heavier than others, you can take it with you on the go for relief if you’re traveling – all for under $150.
TOLOCO Massage Gun
If you’re sticking to a budget, this massage gun is worth taking a look at – it is perfect if you suffer from sore muscles, aches and pains post-workout so that you can get back to performing at your best in no time. But it’s not just those of us that take part in sports that can benefit, you can also use it to eradicate stress6 from your day. It comes with 10 changeable attachments, and you can choose whether you prefer deep or light relief. For a budget option, this product offers both a touch screen and 4-hour working time, at a price point of less than $100.
- Martin, Jack. “A critical evaluation of percussion massage gun devices as a rehabilitation tool focusing on lower limb mobility: A literature review.” (2021). ↩︎
- Guo, Suimin, et al. “Efficacy of kinesiology taping on the management of shin splints: a systematic review.” The Physician and Sportsmedicine 50.5 (2022): 369-377. ↩︎
- Klimowska, Natalia, Karol Jaskulski, and Agnieszka Zdrodowska. “The influence of percussion massage on knee’s range of motion in two positions.” Biomedical Human Kinetics 15.1 (2023): 181-184. ↩︎
- Davis, Kermit G., et al. “The home office: Ergonomic lessons from the “new normal”.” Ergonomics in design 28.4 (2020): 4-10. ↩︎
- Huang, Yu-Ming, et al. “Three-Dimensional Printed Silicone Bite Blocks for Radiotherapy of Head and Neck Cancer—A Preliminary Study.” Applied Sciences 10.5 (2020): 1688. ↩︎
- Basak, Debasish, Mohammad Nasir Uddin, and Jake Hancock. “The role of oxidative stress and its counteractive utility in colorectal cancer (CRC).” Cancers 12.11 (2020): 3336. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Suchi