{"id":26586,"date":"2022-05-05T15:04:13","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T22:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/?p=26586"},"modified":"2022-05-05T15:04:15","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T22:04:15","slug":"massage-guns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/massage-guns\/","title":{"rendered":"Massage Guns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Tired Of Foam Rollin..<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thera, Hyper, Hydra..whatever brand \u2013 Gun, is the hot new therapy and performance trend. Whether it\u2019s the gym, basketball courts, therapy clinics, or my sisters living room, seems like everyone is jack-hammering their legs, shoulders, buttocks and anywhere else to find relief. The next generation of heating pad, stretch routine, massage, or even foam rolling, some of the gun claims say they do it all \u2026for a $PRICE.$$<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Let\u2019s dig in to see what all the pressure is about\u2026(I know, I\u2019m so corny! \ud83d\ude09\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q: What is a Massage Gun?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A: They are called <strong>percussion (like striking a drum) massagers<\/strong>, they use a combination of vibration and deep oscillation to massage tight, knotted, sore muscles. Basically, a <strong>mini, body \u201cjack hammer\u201d.<\/strong>\u00a0 As opposed to other modalities, from deep tissue massage to stretching, massage guns are meant to jolt pressure into targeted areas. Physical therapist also use this method, \u201ctapping\u201d, but it can\u2019t be done with this level of frequency, intensity, and time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q: What are the main benefits?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A: It\u2019s thought to\u2026loosening up muscle tissue <strong>(knots)<\/strong> by \u201cpounding out\u201d the muscle fibers that stuck\/bundled together; <strong>reduce muscle soreness<\/strong> by increasing blood circulation by flushing out lactic acid and <strong>reduce pain<\/strong> by exerting mechanical pressure on nerve pain receptors (confusing\/distracting them). The key concept is <strong>Myofasical Release<\/strong> (we covered Fascia in the last email), the massage gun allows you to do it yourself (to a certain degree).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q: How\u2019s the research?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A: New, not a lot of data, but promising. The studies are small (16 to 40 people). There are a lot of studies set to come out and we\u2019ll probably see it does help, but does it help significantly more than other modalities, I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 <strong>But that\u2019s not the point, it is simpler, easier, and more accessible<\/strong> than most treatments. Some claims like \u201cusing a massage gun for 2min had similar benefits as a 15min massage\u201d is unfounded. The research I\u2019ve read, I feel comfortable to say it reduces (short-term) the perception of pain, improves recovery, and increases range of motion before a stretch.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q: You mentioned Foam Rolling?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A: That\u2019s because rolling is another form of myofascial release, similar benefits. It can be painful&nbsp; for some (because they are doing it wrong) and requires more effort (using your bodyweight). <strong>Rolling is great for larger areas<\/strong> of the body and the induction of unpleasant input of pain can act on your nervous system in a beneficial way, some discomfort (not pain) can be good!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q: When is best time to use?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A: It\u2019s best to use when your <strong>muscles are feeling tight, <\/strong>either before or after exercise. It\u2019s <strong>not a preventative tool<\/strong>, using it every day or when your muscles aren\u2019t tight, has not shown to be of benefit. Before a workout you can activate muscle and nerve tissue in tight areas and after a workout, when your muscles begin to feel tight after an intense activity, you can speed recovery by enhancing circulation. If you\u2019re constantly having to use it, you have a muscle imbalance, overuse, or injury issue, massage guns are not going to fix that. The relief is often temporary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q: Any dangers?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A: <strong>Massage Guns are aggressive, using them too frequently or for too long<\/strong> (2min or less per muscle group), can cause damage, further inflame, bruise, and worse breakdown muscle.&nbsp; Remember, you\u2019re targeting\/pounding on muscle tissue and irritating nerves, so go slow and short. Do not use immediately after intense activity. <strong>Those that have issues with blood clotting, osteoporosis, varicose veins, chronic pain (can cause flare ups), should be careful<\/strong>. Do NOT use on front of torso\/stomach, neck, or on bony sites \u2013 front of shins, tops of feet, head, and joints.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q: What should I look for when buying a Massage gun?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A: The cheap ones may not be durable or have enough \u201cstroke depth\u201d, meaning they may not go as deep (which is the whole point). Look for ones that have <strong>multiple settings<\/strong> so you can work on sensitive areas like your calf muscle, <strong>various adaptors and heads<\/strong> (helps with targeting and large\/small muscles) and fits <strong>you\/your hand ergonomically<\/strong> (being relaxed is key when using one)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Q: Do you use one?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A: I haven\u2019t bought one, but I use one at the place I stretch (StretchLab) and workout (THP). I mostly use it during my pre-hab\/workout, 5-10min before. I will target the insertion points of my tight muscles. I used the flat head because it\u2019s more like the vibrational technologies other studies have, and I lay down (keeps me relaxed). <strong>Most importantly, I use NERVE along with it because the percussion (mechanism) is engaging the same processes as NERVE (nerve firing, relaxing of muscle tissue, circulation), but NERVE is doing it physiologically, it allows the percussion to work deeper and thoroughly.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tired Of Foam Rollin.. Thera, Hyper, Hydra..whatever brand \u2013 Gun, is the hot new therapy and performance trend. Whether it\u2019s the gym, basketball courts, therapy clinics, or my sisters living room, seems like everyone is jack-hammering their legs, shoulders, buttocks and anywhere else to find relief. The next generation of heating pad, stretch routine, massage, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26591,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181,180,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-tips","category-higher-education","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.proze.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}