Ask any variety of health consultants, and most will let you know that the perfect Theraguns actually are a lower above the remainder. “I’ve used them since they hit the market years in the past,” Darleen Marshall, CPT, a NASM-certified private coach, tells SELF. “I’ve had different manufacturers and so they’re simply not nearly as good. The standard of the device, the depth, and energy of the motion are all superior.”
For those who’re on the lookout for a splurge-worthy therapeutic massage device so as to add to your restoration routine, Theragun looks as if the apparent alternative. However when you think about simply how a lot the model’s choice has expanded just lately, making your decide could also be a bit tougher than anticipated. With fashions that include plenty of attachments, travel-friendly massagers, and units that focus on exact areas of the physique, Theragun has a ton of high-quality choices—and we’ve narrowed them all the way down to the easiest right here. Learn on for our picks and to listen to from consultants about what makes these instruments—and percussive massagers usually—so widespread.
Our prime picks
On this article
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Sore calves? Tender shoulders? Knotty again? The answer to the aches and pains awaits.
Greatest General: Theragun Prime
The Prime is precisely what we consider once we consider a Theragun: highly effective, easy to make use of, and extremely efficient. “My neck and shoulders are always tense—one fast session with the Prime can unravel per week’s price of knots in minutes,” Sarah Felbin, SELF’s senior commerce editor, says. “I all the time really feel refreshed and relaxed after utilizing it.”
Skilled therapeutic massage gun customers will respect the Prime’s triangular form, which is much simpler to maneuver than historically formed fashions (“I can goal my higher again with out doing my finest contortionist impression,” Felbin says). And people who need extra steerage round utilizing their Prime can discover its capabilities by means of Therabody’s app, which seamlessly connects to the machine.
Weight: 2.18 kilos | Battery life: 120 minutes | Attachments: Ball, dampener, micro-point, thumb
Greatest for Theragun Newbies: Theragun Reduction
For those who don’t want all of the bells and whistles however nonetheless need the total Theragun expertise, go together with the Reduction. It has the identical user-friendly form, however much less energy—good for newcomers who may discover the Prime overwhelming on the utmost setting.
“My dad is a licensed therapeutic massage therapist and swears by the OG Theragun Reduction for myofascial launch after understanding, lengthy days the place you are feeling a bit of sore, or simply recreationally if you really feel like you want a therapeutic massage,” Paige Levinson, SELF’s particular initiatives coordinator, says.
Weight: 1.37 kilos | Battery life: 120 minutes | Attachments: Ball, dampener, thumb
Greatest for Journey: Theragun Mini
A number of SELF staffers, in addition to SELF Dwelling Health Award testers, think about the Mini their holy grail for on-the-go muscle aid. Clocking in at lower than a pound and operable with one hand, it gained’t overwhelm your health club bag or really feel exhausting to make use of for various minutes. “The machine makes it straightforward to work on cussed tight or achy areas when you’re simply sitting round,” one in all our Award testers stated. “No must get on the ground and struggle with a foam curler.”
Just like the Reduction, the Mini is one other nice choice when you’ve tried standard-sized therapeutic massage weapons and located their settings to be too intense. “[The Mini could] do the whole lot the bigger model did, however it was extra compact and felt a bit of gentler,” Christa Sgobba, SELF’s director of health and meals, says.
Weight: 14.10 ounces | Battery life: 150 minutes | Attachments: Ball, dampener, thumb
Greatest for Unwinding: TheraBody SmartGoggles
We tried the SmartGoggles once they first got here out in 2022—our tester discovered them critically modern, straightforward to make use of, and genuinely soothing. Worn like an everyday sleep masks, they comprise internal massaging nodes that focus on your temples, forehead bones, and in between the eyebrows. In addition they present vibration, compression, and warmth remedy throughout.
“I discovered the therapeutic massage nodes to be simply agency sufficient to ease rigidity with out creating extra ache factors, and the addition of warmth felt so soothing—particularly after an extended day,” our tester wrote in her evaluation.
Weight: 14.80 ounces | Battery life: 150 minutes | Attachments: N/A
Greatest for Facial Massages: TheraFace Professional
Half crimson gentle remedy machine, half microcurrent device, half massager, all-around luxe private gadget, the TheraFace Professional is an actual deal with on your self-care routine. It gained a 2023 Wholesome Magnificence Award for simply how a lot it may do for our tester in a single fell swoop. They famous its smoothing and depuffing results, in addition to its mild massaging energy.
“The percussive attachment actually helped relieve some TMJ ache I used to be having,” they stated. “It was tremendous straightforward to make use of and comes with a high-quality organizing pouch that makes it good for each storage or journey. It’s so versatile—I like it!”
Weight: 3.95 ounces | Battery life: 38 minutes | Attachments: Cleaning ring, LED gentle remedy ring, microcurrent ring, three percussive attachments (cone, flat, micro-point)
Ceaselessly requested questions on Theraguns
What are the advantages of percussive therapeutic massage?
Percussive therapeutic massage is notably completely different from different therapeutic massage instruments within the sense that it seems like one thing is quickly hammering into your muscular tissues. “Not like foam rollers or fundamental vibration instruments, percussive massagers supply deeper muscle activation and extra exact focusing on,” Ben LaNeve, a private coach at Life Time Annapolis in Maryland, tells SELF. You are feeling an precise influence from the machine because it pulls away and punches again into your muscular tissues, quite than sustaining fixed contact with them, Marshall notes.
The results of this propulsive therapeutic massage is extra relaxed, broken-up scar tissue in our muscular tissues and elevated blood to the realm that’s being massaged, Eric Busi, DPT, an orthopedic bodily therapist at Maven Bodily Remedy & Efficiency in Santa Monica, California, tells SELF. That’s why consultants think about therapeutic massage weapons to be so helpful for warm-ups and restoration routines: Earlier than your exercise, they’ll stimulate circulation and assist your muscular tissues loosen up. Afterward, they’ll break down set off factors and ease soreness, Dr. Busi says.
What makes Theragun so particular?
Theragun was one of many very first names in therapeutic massage weapons—they did it early, they did it properly, and so they work with consultants on an ongoing foundation to vet and refine their expertise.
“Theragun is the gold normal relating to being the lead innovator of therapeutic massage weapons and different wellness merchandise,” Dr. Busy says. “They had been the primary firm to introduce the sort of product and have continued to evolve their line, repeatedly enhancing by means of the event of latest attachments, vibration modes, and mannequin sizes.”
In fact, their value level can’t be ignored. There are many different, cheaper therapeutic massage weapons on the market that’ll get the job carried out. However when you’re firmly set on shopping for a Theragun, Therabody presents licensed refurbished fashions at decreased costs.
Your Theragun will likely be simplest on knots in your higher again and shoulders, as properly as giant muscle teams liable to soreness like your quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, and forearms, LaNeve says.
Fashions that include a number of therapeutic massage heads can present completely different sensations and ranges of depth. Rounded heads work properly for basic muscle teams; thumb- or bullet-shaped heads goal knots; and cushioned or dampened heads work properly with extra delicate or tender areas, LaNeve explains. “Match the device to your wants: softer heads for restoration, firmer ones for tight spots,” he says.
On the entire, therapeutic massage weapons are thought-about protected for most individuals to make use of—simply don’t use one straight in your neck or over your bones, Marshall says. And when you’re at the moment bruised or coping with an damage, keep away from utilizing your massager in these affected areas too.
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