Ask any variety of health consultants, and most will let you know that one of the best 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.”
Should you’re searching for a splurge-worthy therapeutic massage device so as to add to your restoration routine, Theragun looks like the plain alternative. However when you think about simply how a lot the model’s choice has expanded lately, making your choose could also be a bit more durable than anticipated. With fashions that include a lot 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 perfect right here. Learn on for our picks and to listen to from consultants about what makes these instruments—and percussive massagers typically—so widespread.
Our high picks
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Store one of the best Theraguns
Sore calves? Tender shoulders? Knotty again? The answer to the aches and pains awaits.
Greatest Total: 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 continually tense—one fast session with the Prime can unravel per week’s value 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 admire 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 by way of Therabody’s app, which seamlessly connects to the system.
Weight: 2.18 kilos | Battery life: 120 minutes | Attachments: Ball, dampener, micro-point, thumb
Greatest for Theragun Newbies: Theragun Aid
Should you don’t want all of the bells and whistles however nonetheless need the complete Theragun expertise, go together with the Aid. It has the identical user-friendly form, however much less energy—excellent 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 Aid for myofascial launch after understanding, lengthy days the place you are feeling a little bit sore, or simply recreationally whenever you really feel like you want a therapeutic massage,” Paige Levinson, SELF’s particular tasks 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 Residence Health Award testers, contemplate the Mini their holy grail for on-the-go muscle reduction. Clocking in at lower than a pound and operable with one hand, it received’t crush your gymnasium bag or really feel exhausting to make use of for various minutes. “The system makes it simple to work on cussed tight or achy areas when you’re simply sitting round,” one in every of our Award testers stated. “No have to get on the ground and struggle with a foam curler.”
Just like the Aid, the Mini is one other nice choice in case you’ve tried standard-sized therapeutic massage weapons and located their settings to be too intense. “[The Mini could] do every part the bigger model did, but it surely 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
Greatest for Unwinding: TheraBody SmartGoggles
We tried the SmartGoggles after they first got here out in 2022—our tester discovered them significantly modern, simple to make use of, and genuinely soothing. Worn like an everyday sleep masks, they comprise interior massaging nodes that focus on your temples, forehead bones, and in between the eyebrows. Additionally 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
Greatest for Facial Massages: TheraFace Professional
Half pink mild remedy system, half microcurrent device, half massager, all-around luxe private gadget, the TheraFace Professional is an actual deal with in your self-care routine. It received a 2023 Wholesome Magnificence Award for simply how a lot it might do for our tester in a single fell swoop. They famous its smoothing and depuffing results, in addition to its light massaging energy.
“The percussive attachment actually helped relieve some TMJ ache I used to be having,” they stated. “It was tremendous simple to make use of and comes with a high-quality organizing pouch that makes it excellent for each storage or journey. It’s so versatile—I adore 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 completely different from different therapeutic massage instruments within the sense that it looks like one thing is quickly hammering into your muscle groups. “In contrast to foam rollers or fundamental vibration instruments, percussive massagers provide deeper muscle activation and extra exact concentrating on,” Ben LaNeve, a private coach at Life Time Annapolis in Maryland, tells SELF. You are feeling an precise impression from the system because it pulls away and punches again into your muscle groups, 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 groups 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 contemplate therapeutic massage weapons to be so helpful for warm-ups and restoration routines: Earlier than your exercise, they’ll stimulate circulation and assist your muscle groups 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 effectively, and so they work with consultants on an ongoing foundation to vet and refine their expertise.
“Theragun is the gold normal in terms of 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, constantly enhancing by way of the event of recent attachments, vibration modes, and mannequin sizes.”
In fact, their value level can’t be ignored. There are many different, inexpensive therapeutic massage weapons on the market that’ll get the job performed. However in case you’re firmly set on shopping for a Theragun, Therabody affords licensed refurbished fashions at decreased costs.
Your Theragun can 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 completely 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 device 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 immediately in your neck or over your bones, Marshall says. And in case you’re at present bruised or coping with an harm, keep away from utilizing your massager in these affected areas too.
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