Massage guns are handy devices that can efficiently deliver the benefits of a professional massage. Its effectiveness at DIY home therapy is why it’s now an increasingly common investment. An established tool in an athlete’s arsenal, this device has also been popping up in typical households everywhere.
People who have problems with sore muscles after training, or other conditions that require regular massages, may consider buying a gadget they can use by themselves. Keep in mind that even the massagers for home use are not that naïve as they seem, and you really need to know what you do, so you can prevent injuries. Many people who don’t know how to use them may overdo it, which is not beneficial at all.
Anyway, if you know what you do, you may consider investing in a massage gun, or any other type of massage device for your home. But, you need to know a few things before you do that.
Read on to discover how this can be part of yours, too.
Why it works
A good-quality massage gun would be powerful enough to help with even the most stubborn aches. It’s designed to penetrate into the innermost layers of your muscle tissue. And it does so at high speeds, giving you the benefits of vibration therapy as well.
As you know, the lactic acid between the muscles causes the pain you hate. Massage devices can help break it, so you can bring back their ability for contractions, without a lot of pain. That’s one of the reasons to consider investing in it because the buildup of the lactic products in your muscle fibers will make you feel tired and weak, even though you are active all the time. Also, it may affect your mental condition too, because we all know it can be really exhausting when we are in pain, and we can’t do anything as usual.
Here’s how a massage gun affects your body on a physiological level:
It stimulates your muscle fibers
The rapid percussive motion allows your muscle spindles to acclimate to intense physical activity – a lot like what stretching does. As a result, your muscles get a boost in overall mobility, leading to more satisfying and less injury-prone workouts. This makes the massage gun a great tool to help your warm-ups along. And as you suppose, it prevents the lactic acid and its products buildup in your body, which means less pain after a workout or some physical activity your body is not used to usually.
It increases blood flow to your muscles
Better circulation is one of the first things that happens in every good massage. And the massage gun is sure to deliver exactly that.
Increased blood flow means better warming up, less pain, more oxygen, preparing for giving more effort to something, and so on. Our blood is responsible to bring oxygen to every cell in the body, and if the flow is increased, it will boost our strength and appropriate hormonal response to the activities we perform.
The increased blood flow brings both heat and oxygen to your muscles. This further prepares your muscles for an intense workout ahead. Moreover, it also helps increase the flow of all the necessary nutrients to recover sore muscles and even injured joints.
It untangles muscle knots and tension
A muscle knot is exactly as troublesome as it sounds, and it can be really painful if not treated immediately. It’s a type of muscle tension that feels like tiny, painful lumps that can disrupt mobility and lymphatic flow, which ends up in a lot of pain and tiredness. Compromising the latter would also affect your immune system and metabolism. A massage gun has the facility to go deep enough to effectively untangle these muscle knots.
Again, make sure you know how to handle this device, or ask someone who is more experienced to help you out with it, because you surely don’t want to cause even more pain and issues by using it improperly.
It calms the nervous system
With its rapid percussive movement, a massage gun can temporarily block pain signals to your brain. This decreases your stress hormone levels, ergo your anxiety; and you enter a more relaxed and rational state. For these reasons, a massage gun is an excellent tool for boosting focus and improving sleep quality.
Many people find massages calming and relaxing, and there are those who hate them. No matter in which group you are, if you suffer muscle soreness, the massage gun will help you cope with the pain better, and be functional even the next day, or the same day later.
Why do you need one
What a massage gun offers to go well beyond the context of athletic activities. Its encompassing health benefits can help people who are engaged in a wide range of activities and lifestyles.
For the perfect unwind after a long day
Whether you’ve been at your desk, running errands, or doing chores all day, you’re bound to feel sore/fatigued somewhere. Such tasks could also be mentally taxing enough to cloud your mind for the rest of your night.
A quick self-massage can help you relax and ease any back pain and muscle fatigue. For this purpose, a powerful yet lightweight and dead-silent unit like the Hydragun massage gun does the job perfectly. It doesn’t take much to find the one for you. Make sure you buy it from licensed stores, with proven quality, so you can be sure you are doing the right thing, and use it properly.
For starting on a new workout
It’s always tough to be a beginner at anything. It can be challenging to increase the weight, or when you change the way you exercise, target different muscle groups, or perform different exercises. And this feeling gets more daunting when your own body is at stake.
A massage gun helps ease some of these fears by helping you get a quality warm-up. It would help you specifically with muscle awareness and flexibility. In addition, it can help speed up your progress by helping you with muscle recovery.
For sports and intense training
At some point, you might have seen one of your favorite athletes on social media enjoy a nice post-game massage. Physical therapy is part of every elite athlete’s life, and it can benefit pros and amateurs alike. Due to its ability to emulate a traditional massage, this device has become a must-have in every gym bag. Maybe you need to give it a try too.
For minor injuries and other quick fixes
For starters, it’s typically a bad idea to directly message any injured muscle or joint. But with a gentle approach, massaging the muscles around the injury often helps with recovery. In fact, the idea for the massage gun was initially conceived with this purpose in mind. It even helps prevent injuries by conditioning your muscles and stopping minor strains in their tracks, to boot.
The Bottom line
The benefits you can get from a massage gun might be more than you’d expect. And your lifestyle doesn’t have to fit a certain mold for you to maximize its potential. That’s due to its ability to affect your body in very fundamental ways. When used with the right knowledge, it can be part of your daily self-care routine, so we will repeat it once again – follow the instructions and learn how to use it properly, so you can avoid additional pain and unwanted injuries.
