Ask any variety of health specialists, and most will let you know that the very best Theraguns actually are a reduce 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 pretty much as good. The standard of the instrument, the depth, and energy of the motion are all superior.”
If you happen to’re searching for a splurge-worthy therapeutic massage instrument so as to add to your restoration routine, Theragun looks as if the plain alternative. However when you think about simply how a lot the model’s choice has expanded lately, making your decide could also be a bit more durable than anticipated. With fashions that include a number 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 specialists about what makes these instruments—and percussive massagers on the whole—so widespread.
Our high picks
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Store the very best Theraguns
Sore calves? Tender shoulders? Knotty again? The answer to the aches and pains awaits.
Finest General: Theragun Prime
The Prime is precisely what we consider after we consider a Theragun: highly effective, easy to make use of, and extremely efficient. “My neck and shoulders are continuously tense—one fast session with the Prime can unravel every week’s price of knots in minutes,” Sarah Felbin, SELF’s senior commerce editor, says. “I at all times really feel refreshed and relaxed after utilizing it.”
Skilled therapeutic massage gun customers will recognize 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 greatest contortionist impression,” Felbin says). And people who need extra steerage round utilizing their Prime can discover its capabilities via Therabody’s app, which seamlessly connects to the gadget.
Weight: 2.18 kilos | Battery life: 120 minutes | Attachments: Ball, dampener, micro-point, thumb
Finest for Theragun Newbies: Theragun Reduction
If you happen to 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 would possibly 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 little bit 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
Finest for Journey: Theragun Mini
A number of SELF staffers, in addition to SELF Residence Health Award testers, contemplate the Mini their holy grail for on-the-go muscle aid. Clocking in at lower than a pound and operable with one hand, it received’t overwhelm your health club bag or really feel exhausting to make use of for quite a lot of minutes. “The gadget makes it simple to work on cussed tight or achy areas whilst you’re simply sitting round,” one in all our Award testers mentioned. “No have to get on the ground and battle with a foam curler.”
Just like the Reduction, the Mini is one other nice possibility if you happen to’ve tried standard-sized therapeutic massage weapons and located their settings to be too intense. “[The Mini could] do all the things the bigger model did, however it was extra compact and felt a little bit gentler,” Christa Sgobba, SELF’s director of health and meals, says.
Weight: 14.10 ounces | Battery life: 150 minutes | Attachments: Ball, dampener, thumb
Finest for Unwinding: TheraBody SmartGoggles
We tried the SmartGoggles once they first got here out in 2022—our tester discovered them severely modern, simple to make use of, and genuinely soothing. Worn like an everyday sleep masks, they include inside 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 a protracted day,” our tester wrote in her assessment.
Weight: 14.80 ounces | Battery life: 150 minutes | Attachments: N/A
Finest for Facial Massages: TheraFace Professional
Half crimson mild remedy gadget, half microcurrent instrument, half massager, all-around luxe private gadget, the TheraFace Professional is an actual deal with on your self-care routine. It received 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 mentioned. “It was tremendous simple 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 mild remedy ring, microcurrent ring, three percussive attachments (cone, flat, micro-point)
Incessantly requested questions on Theraguns
What are the advantages of percussive therapeutic massage?
Percussive therapeutic massage is notably totally different from different therapeutic massage instruments within the sense that it seems like one thing is quickly hammering into your muscle mass. “In contrast to 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 impression from the gadget because it pulls away and punches again into your muscle mass, somewhat than sustaining fixed contact with them, Marshall notes.
The results of this propulsive therapeutic massage is extra relaxed, broken-up scar tissue in our muscle mass and elevated blood to the world 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 specialists contemplate therapeutic massage weapons to be so helpful for warm-ups and restoration routines: Earlier than your exercise, they will stimulate circulation and assist your muscle mass loosen up. Afterward, they will 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 effectively, and so they work with specialists on an ongoing foundation to vet and refine their know-how.
“Theragun is the gold commonplace in relation to being the lead innovator of therapeutic massage weapons and different wellness merchandise,” Dr. Busy says. “They had been the primary firm to introduce such a product and have continued to evolve their line, repeatedly enhancing via the event of recent attachments, vibration modes, and mannequin sizes.”
After all, their value level can’t be ignored. There are many different, cheaper therapeutic massage weapons on the market that’ll get the job completed. However if you happen to’re firmly set on shopping for a Theragun, Therabody provides licensed refurbished fashions at diminished costs.
Your Theragun shall be best on knots in your higher again and shoulders, as effectively as massive 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 totally different sensations and ranges of depth. Rounded heads work effectively for basic muscle teams; thumb- or bullet-shaped heads goal knots; and cushioned or dampened heads work effectively with extra delicate or tender areas, LaNeve explains. “Match the instrument to your wants: softer heads for restoration, firmer ones for tight spots,” he says.
On the entire, therapeutic massage weapons are thought of secure for most individuals to make use of—simply don’t use one instantly in your neck or over your bones, Marshall says. And if you happen to’re presently bruised or coping with an harm, keep away from utilizing your massager in these affected areas too.
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