Benefits
Increased Circulation
One of the most notable benefits of massage gun therapy is increased circulation. While a massage gun may only increase blood flow within a localized area, it can promote whole-body circulation when used in conjunction with a full-body massage.
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Because massage guns can expedite the massage process by providing rapid, percussive vibrations, patients may experience a greater increase in overall circulation than with standard massage therapies. When proper use of massage gun therapy is paired with healthy nutrition and daily exercise, the body’s blood vessels and arteries have the greatest chance of becoming stronger.
Poor circulation can be detrimental to every biological system. Our bodies depend on freshly-oxygenated blood to properly function, and sluggish circulation has been associated with a wide variety of health conditions and illnesses, including:
• Painful muscle cramps
• Constant fatigue
• Swelling in the arms and legs
• Difficulty focusing or thinking
• Chronic joint pain
• Varicose veins
• Cold feet or fingers
Maintaining excellent circulation is vital to enjoying a healthier life. Blood helps our bodies rid themselves of toxins, transport infection-fighting white blood cells to trouble areas, and keep oxygen levels high. When our blood, arteries, or blood vessels suffer long-term damage, our major organs quickly follow suit.
Improved Muscle Recovery
Fitness gains often require a little extra exertion. Challenging yourself to lift heavier weights, do more reps, or incorporate more trying exercises into your routine often results in a stronger, healthier, and fitter body. However, pushing the envelope often means suffering the delayed consequences, namely muscle soreness.
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Feeling sore and achy the day after a particularly challenging exercise routine is perfectly normal. However, that doesn’t mean it’s pleasant. Delayed-onset muscle soreness, better known by its acronym DOMS, affects millions of people. It typically kicks-in around seven hours after a rigorous workout and can last up to 48 hours.
Intensely painful muscle soreness or an ache that lasts for several days may signify significant muscle or ligament tearing, resulting in a sprain. In this case, massage therapy may not be the appropriate response. Still, the majority of individuals who experience post-workout pain will notice a decrease in severity within a day or so.
This period of rest and recovery could be shortened or reduced with the help of massage therapy. A massage gun can provide targeted relief to localized areas, ensuring that only the most damaged muscles receive immediate and intense care. The sudden increase in circulation across treated regions could encourage rapid muscle repair that occurs on a cellular level.
Once these microscopic muscle tears have healed, you can get back to challenging your body with regular exercise. Always allow yourself plenty of recovery time after experiencing DOMS. Otherwise, you could do greater damage to your body and prolong your overall recovery time.
Lower Stress Levels
Another potential positive effect of massage gun therapy is a reduced stress level. More than 50% of US adults experience moderate to severe stress on a day-to-day basis. As such, stress management has never been more crucial or beneficial. Additionally, excess stress has been associated with everything from cardiovascular disease to a massively shortened lifespan.
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But to understand how massage gun therapy could help reduce feelings of stress, you must first understand the human stress response. Fortunately, it’s a relatively primal and instinctual biological response that exhibits two primary calls to action:
• A feeling of rage, anger, or unearned confidence that accompanied by a burst of energy and desire to attack, or
• Sudden and intense feelings of mortal fear, often accompanied by anti-social feelings and behaviors
This is often called the ‘fight-or-flight’ response. It’s most likely a genetic leftover from our earlier, more primitive days. The earliest humans encountered considerable threats in the form of treacherous terrains, unexpected poisonings, and vicious natural predators.
When forced to confront these threats, we had two options. We could either fight back against the threat, or we could run away. Hence, fight or flight.
Lymphatic Stimulation
The lymphatic system doesn’t get a lot of press. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t crucial to our continued well-being and health. In fact, the lymphatic system is one of the primary systems involved in the body’s immune response. Just as the nervous system extends from our brains to our fingers and toes, the lymphatic system is spread throughout the human body.
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The typical human adult has about 600 lymph nodes scattered throughout their soft tissue. These hidden nodes act as tiny bunkers or protective forts, sending out disease-fighting lymphocytes at the first sign of danger. Lymph nodes are crucial to the whole body’s ability to fight infection.
Consequently, they can be found deep within the body, cushioned against organs, and just underneath the surface of the skin. When a person is ill, they may experience swelling or tenderness near the lymph nodes beneath their arms or by their vocal cords. This sign is indicative of a lymphatic fluid build-up, which is itself a symptom of infection.
Massage gun therapy can stimulate many of the body’s subdermal and visceral lymph nodes. During a period of optimal health and wellness, this gentle stimulation could help trigger the passage of lymphatic fluid throughout the body, helping to transport healing lymphocytes to sites where they may be needed.
Alternatively, such stimulation may help reduce swelling in ill patients, particularly around the lymph nodes. Massage gun therapy may also expedite recovery in those with bacterial and viral infections, especially those with infections that have triggered a widespread lymphatic response.
Pain Relief
Drug-free pain relief can be difficult to come by, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Massage gun therapy may be an excellent source of safe and relatively natural pain relief, especially for individuals suffering from chronic pain. The gentle vibrations of the massage gun can help to loosen stiff joints and increase localized circulation.
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This could cause initial pinpricks of pain as the surrounding muscle tissue contracts and expands around swollen joints. However, after several minutes of targeted treatment, that same muscle tissue may relax and become flushed with fresh, oxygenated blood.
When there is less pressure being placed on pain-producing nerve endings, fewer pain signals are being sent to the brain. All-natural pain relief doesn’t have to involve needles, excessive dietary supplementation, or dangerous prescription pain relievers.
The right massage gun and massage therapist could make a significant difference in your pain management plan. Getting rid of pain may be as simple as reducing your body’s ability to send agonizing and immediate pain signals. For this reason, many individuals may decide to combine massage therapy with TENS unit treatments.
Still, standard massage and high-pressure massage administered with massage guns could help accelerate the muscle-relaxation process that can result in lowered pain levels. When muscles are relaxed, individuals may also experience a boost in flexibility.
Improved Immunity
Another notable side effect of massage gun therapy is improved immunity. Many patients report a boost in their natural immune function after experiencing a quality massage. While more research is needed to confirm how massage helps support the immune system, several possibilities are worth discussing.
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We know that massage often helps strengthen the circulatory system. The dilation of arteries and blood vessels could help white blood cells and bacteria-fighting lymphocytes rush to areas where they’re needed most. However, massage gun therapy also stimulates the nervous system, helping the brain to release relaxation-inducing chemicals.
When stress levels begin to decrease, immunity naturally rebounds. As such, it seems that the two most likely culprits behind massage’s immune-boosting effects are improved circulation and increased levels of serotonin.
Better Sleep
One of the unexpected benefits of high-quality massage gun therapy is better sleep. About 70% of American adults don’t get enough sleep, and that number only reflects the portion of the population who were willing to be completely honest about their sleeping habits. The actual number may be far higher.
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Many people choose to diminish their sleep needs, preferring to focus on diet and exercise for improved health. But restful sleep is just as vital as nutrition, hydration, and regular exercise. Without it, you could begin to experience a significant decline in:
• Focus
• Cognitive function
• Cardiovascular health
• Alertness
• Libido
A consistent lack of sleep can also cause premature aging, feelings of depression, and unwanted weight gain. Getting an inadequate amount of sleep each night can significantly shorten your lifespan, resulting in early death, most likely from heart disease.
To give yourself a fighting chance at living a long, healthy, and enjoyable life, you’ll need to get at least eight hours of restful sleep each night. While this can be challenging, particularly for those who work multiple jobs, have young children, or suffer from insomnia, massage gun therapy may be able to help.
There are quite a few things you could do to improve your overall sleep quality and enjoy better, higher quality rest. Massage therapy is one of them. That’s because massage therapy can encourage the body to release serotonin, a chemical that can help you feel relaxed and calm.
Regular massage may also help correct problems with your circadian rhythm, ensuring that your body releases the right amount of melatonin each night just before bedtime. In general, holding to a specific routine can help you feel calmer and more prepared for sleep each night.
It’s also vital to get plenty of exercise and eat lots of fresh, nutritious vegetables and fruits. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day and meditating to keep stress levels low is also a fantastic way to improve your sleep quality.
Still, massage gun therapy can be particularly helpful, especially when administered regularly. You could even schedule your sessions before work and enjoy a boost in focus.
Increased Focus
Along with better sleep, massage gun therapy could help you experience a surge in focus. Of course, the most noticeable peak in focus levels tends to occur within the 12 hours immediately following a massage session. That’s most likely because the body is still humming with various forms of stimulation.
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Massage gently urges your body’s blood vessels to widen. It also gives your lymphatic system’s immune-boosting cells a pass to travel the express lane around the body. Not only does this help life-sustaining oxygen and nutrients reach every part of the body more quickly, but it could also help your brain experience a breath of fresh air.
Oxygen is crucial to brain function. When the brain is deprived of oxygen, it can fail to send the necessary electric signals to keep the body alive. An increase in oxygen throughout the body results in an increase in oxygen in the brain, which may result in improved cognitive function and a heightened sense of focus.
Though oxygen bars are not as popular as they were in the early 2000s, oxygen therapy is still a viable treatment option for those with respiratory illnesses or academic-related anxiety disorders. Oxygen supplementation is a fantastic alternative to prescription pharmaceuticals, especially for those with sensitive kidneys or chronic liver disorders.
But keeping oxygen tanks in your home can be dangerous and expensive. Massage gun therapy could offer an immediate and noticeable boost in blood-level oxygen ratings, helping to save patients a little time and peril. The next time you’re feeling stressed-out before work, imagine how much calmer you’d feel after some massage gun therapy.
Scheduling your massage sessions before triggering activities like important work meetings, awkward family dinners, or crowded commutes may help you handle the day with more vigor and confidence. Tap into your unlocked focus potential by using massage to your advantage.
Conclusion
Several potential benefits are associated with massage gun therapy. These include increased circulation, reduced muscle recovery time, and lowered stress levels. Lymphatic and nervous system stimulation is another widely-reported side-effect of massage gun therapy.
Some patients may also experience localized pain relief, increased flexibility, and reduced scar tissue thickness. Additionally, massage gun therapy may help improve joint mobility, heighten the body’s immune response, and result in better nightly rest.
Somewhat conversely, this type of therapy could also result in an immediate sensation of increased focus and energy. Still, results are bound to vary from person to person. The best way to find out how effective this type of massage therapy might be for you is to consult with your physician or professional massage therapist.
Richard A. Lehman, LMT, CSCS
FAQ
How to use deep tissue massage gun?
Use the massage gun between 90 and 120 seconds per each muscle group moving up and down. Again, you’re doing this throughout the muscle belly, not near joints. This will help relax your muscles
When to use massage gun?
Massage guns can be used before a workout to “wake up” the muscles or after a workout to facilitate recovery. They’re also a useful tool for non-athletes. Using them after workout can prevent the accumulation of Lactic Acid which is a reason for the sore muscles.
A massage gun can be helpful for reducing general tension, stress and even help you sleep better by “downregulating the nervous system. It is recommended using the device for two minutes on each muscle group (arms, glutes, legs) before bed to help you feel relaxed and calm.
Can a deep tissue massage gun cause a damage?
Muscle strains are usually painful, so you probably don’t want to use your massage on a pulled hamstring. Using the massage gun on partially torn muscle fibers may cause further damage. In general if your muscles are not injured and you use the gun either to warm-up your muscles or disperse the lactic acid after an intense exercise. Continuous pressure or vibration on the same spot can cause tissue damage and extreme soreness
What are the different heads for on a massage gun?
Five massage heads: flat head for the whole body, U-shaped head for massage of the cervical spine, small round head for joints, Tree-shaped head with cushioning effect for users who are new to use or not suitable for vibration therapy, and large round head for large muscle groups
Can the massage gun be used as a pain relief tool?
The massage guns are best known as a workout recovery device, but they were actually developed specifically as a pain management tool by a chiropractor. As a pain-relief tool, they can be helpful for a variety of ailments including tension, knots, aches, pains and yes, sore muscles.
Is a massage gun good for sciatica?
A massage gun can help sciatica by helping with the pain, releasing tension and increasing blood flow in the muscles surrounding the sciatic nerve and help release the pressure on the nerve.
Can a massage gun break up cellulite?
The study concluded that regular use of a personal fascial manipulation massage tool, which is a low-cost alternative to invasive surgeries and luxury creams, can be effective in reducing the appearance of cellulite
Can a massage gun replace stretching?
A massage gun can warm you up your muscles. However a massage gun is not a replacement for a pre-workout warmup and stretching.
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