There’s not anything higher after a hard exercise consultation or an extended day hunched over your desk than an extended, expensive rub down. Unfortunately, a lot of us don’t have the time, finances or inclination for ordinary classes with a masseuse.
Enter non-public rub down weapons. While massagers of vintage might vibrate in a popular location, those newer, greater effective hand held machines (additionally known as percussion massagers) supply pulsing, fast bursts of stress deep into the muscle fibers. Many additionally have adjustable attachments that may be implemented to different-length muscle groups.
But can a hand held device update the expertise of an educated practitioner? Ioonna Félix PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CTPS, webweb page supervisor at the HSS Westside Sports Institute Rehabilitation and Performance Center, breaks down the buzz. (Side note: It’s a terrific concept to talk on your physician earlier than incorporating a non-public rub down tool into your ordinary restoration routine, specifically when you have any preexisting situations like osteoporosis or diabetes or are on any medications.)
How They Work:
Massage Gun paintings in numerous ways. They can launch tight and stressful myofascia, the connective tissue that surrounds muscle tissue and bones. By stimulating sensory cells at the pores and skin, the tool interrupts the contraction of close by muscle tissue and, thus, relaxes them, explains Félix. Stimulating the cells also can override the feeling of ache – kind of like whilst you rub your toe after smacking it right into a desk leg. “It can assist reduce the ache sign going to the location,” she adds. Finally, whilst a muscle turns into tight and sore, blood go with the drift to the location slows. A rub down tool can assist growth that oxygen-wealthy blood go with the drift, assisting the muscle to heal.
When to Use:
They’re useful for a few purposes, says Félix. If you’re feeling tight from sitting too much, or in case you’re confused and achy and simply want a touch loosening up, a hand held tool can assist to loosen up and soothe your muscle tissue. Start with, say, your calf and provide it a mild 10- to 15-2d byskip with the tool. Be cautious approximately how lengthy you maintain it at the location. Too lengthy and you may overwork the muscle, aggravate it, and in all likelihood reason bruising. Do 3 to 5 sweeps in that one location, then search for every other location of tightness.
Félix additionally likes the tool as a groovy down after a tough exercising. “If you’ve simply performed a heart-strengthening, or a plyometric, consultation for example, wherein you’ve intensely used your entire body, the rub down tool is a pleasing manner to help in restoration and now no longer permit the muscle tissue to tighten up,” she says.
A rub down gun also can assist to workout knots in a single unique location pre-exercising. “After an lively warmup at the bike, for instance, you may run the tool over any location that also feels tight for 10 seconds or so, to 3 times, to provide it a touch greater attention,” she says.
When Not to Use:
Other purposes, now no longer so much. Félix advises to tread cautiously on the subject of traces and sprains. “If you’ve simply harm your self and feature a tremendous quantity of ache or swelling, you need to now no longer be the usage of a rub down gun,” she says.
If your pores and skin receives crimson or angry even as massaging, stop. Let ache be your manual and go into reverse if it hurts or is uncomfortable in any manner. You can be urgent too tough or for too lengthy. Also, be cautious in no way to apply the tool without delay on bones, nerves, or joints, as those gadgets are supposed best for the muscle tissue.
Features:
There are dozens of options, from the maximum simple to the Rolls Royce of massagers. Look for an alternative that first-rate fits you. “You do not always want the top-of-the-line, fanciest model, and also you do not want to spend loads of greenbacks in case you do not have it,” Félix says. Prices begin at approximately $one hundred and move up from there. Some matters to search for:
Portability. If you intend to take it to the fitness center or the park, you’ll need one which’s compact and mild sufficient to in shape without problems for your bag.
Noise. If you’ll use it in public, get one which works quietly.
Multiple speeds. At least speeds is helpful. “As your muscle tissue grow to be greater bendy and pliable, you could need to be a piece greater competitive with the rate to provide it a fair deeper rub down,” says Félix.
Remember, a rub down gun is best one device for your arsenal. “The first-rate manner to address myofascial tightness is thru the entire spectrum,” Félix stresses. That consists of stretching, rub down therapy, foam rolling and, in case you need, a rub down gun. “It’s now no longer one in lieu of the other.” And, she adds, there’s no actual evaluation among a certified expert rub down therapist with years of specialised education and a machine. A rub down therapist could be capable of visit a miles deeper degree greater properly than any tool.
