Make Muscle Soreness a Thing of the Past
What is a Theragun?
The Theragun is a large percussive massage therapy device that can be used by people who do intensive professional athletic training or sports or just for someone who does serious training. Some benefits of a Theragun include improving your range of motion and decreasing muscle soreness after a good workout. It also provides concentrated deep-tissue massage to specific muscle areas.
This massage gun can be used before your workout, which will help activate your muscles and increase your range of motion which helps with performance and recovery, reducing the risk of injury because of the increase in blood flow.
A Theragun can also help with general pain relief, back pain, chronic pain, and muscle soreness.
According to the Toronto Athletic Club, the Theragun is designed to “talk to the Nervous System" using these three factors:
- Amplitude – This evaluates how deep the treatment will go into the muscle; the Theragun goes 16mm deep.
- Frequency – This evaluates how fast it pulses. The Theragun uses 2400 pulses per minute on its highest setting and 1750 on its low-speed setting.
- Torque – This evaluates the pressure it uses. The Theragun produces up to 60 pounds of force.
Sleep Enhancer and Stress Reliever
Another known benefit according to CNET, is that using a Theragun can also reduce stress levels and improve sleep. We all know how a good massage can send us off to sleep, so in the same manner, because of its soothing effects, using a Theragun after a grueling workout can relax your muscles so that you have a deep and rejuvenating sleep. Instead of being kept up at night with muscle aches and pains, a bedtime routine of massage therapy will ensure a peaceful sleep.
Perform Better During Workouts
You can use a Theragun as a warmup tool before you work out. Percussive therapy increases blood flow, awakening the nervous system, which results in a better range of motion and softens the tissue in the massaged area. It has a similar effect to foam rolling, but it’s less painful and is a combination of conventional massage and vibration therapy. Using percussive therapy before a workout makes you much less likely to get an injury.
Post Workout Recovery
Percussive therapy with a massage gun will also help prevent muscle soreness from the lactic acid by-product that can build up during an intense exercise session. This recovery benefit can be attributed to mechanotransduction – a term that refers to using some level of force, in this case, a massage gun – to create heat in the muscle. It causes the body to respond by increasing blood flow and nerve stimulation to that area, preventing delayed onset muscle soreness.
Your In-House Massage Therapist
Many athletes go for regular sports massages; this can be time-consuming and expensive. Even though the initial cost of a Theragun will cost more than a massage session, the long-term savings are incomparable. Massage guns cost about $69 on Amazon to around $999 at Therabody for some of the best massage guns. Getting a more budget-friendly massage gun will ensure that you can still work your muscles between the massage sessions, especially when you don’t have the time to go regularly.
Top 10 Theragun Benefits
- Breaks up scar tissue.
- Releases muscle spasms.
- Reduces pain.
- Increases blood flow.
- Decreases lactic acid.
- Improves range of motion.
- Improves body awareness.
- Increases lymphatic flow.
- Makes recovery from an injury more efficient and effective.
- May help to sleep better and decrease stress.
When Not to Use a Theragun
Suppose you have a serious injury like a pulled hamstring. In that case, it is not advisable to use the Theragun as its powerful hammering motion of percussive therapy could potentially damage your muscles. Although a massage gun can relieve pain, it is recommended to consult your physiotherapist or biokinetics practitioner with serious injuries.
Besides some of the benefits that we’ve already covered, making use of percussion therapy also has these additional benefits:
Healthier Immune System
Because massage therapy increases the blood flow, it improves circulation, enabling the white blood cells to travel through the body tissue more effectively, and improving the body’s immune response in stressful situations.
Increased Focus
Another by-product of good circulation and blood flow can decrease stress levels; you may find yourself more focused. This is because optimal oxygen is traveling to the brain.
In Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed learning about the benefits of a Theragun. If you enjoy regular and intense exercise or are a serious athlete, we recommend investing in a good Theragun. It takes some pressure off having to go to the sports massage therapist regularly and will save you money in the long run.