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Is there a STW preferred massage gun?
(Ha!)
I'm sure someone will be along shortly to say "Just get a lacrosse ball" or something like that. I have one that I got off of Amazon, Wattne is the brand name, it's a few years old now and the tech has definitely moved on but it's been worth it's weight in gold for me treating small strains and generally managing tired muscles. I think mine cost around £50, and I was a little sceptical as some of the branded Theragun ones were about £300 at the time, but honestly it's been faultless and is very well put together and solid. I'd buy again tomorrow if I needed a replacement and could source one.
So to actually answer your question, check reviews on retail sites and pick one that suits your budget.
Lacross ball... And a black and decker jigsaw...
Nah, cheap amazon works here because essentially ^that is what they are and theragun take the piss
L.O.U.I.S.E.
The oft maligned Louise also has a gun?
My wife showed her mum the one she'd got, and amongst other questions, she wanted to know if you were supposed to use it directly to the skin or with a t-shirt/towel in between.
The way she asked this was by switching it on, looking assumed at the amplitude of the vibration, and uttering the phrase 'do you use it externally or internally?'.
I thoroughly enjoyed the realisation dawning on her face and the subsequent hurry to explain what she meant.
We've got an Aldi/Lidl (cant remember) middle aisle special and yes, its better and more effective than I thought - often spend ten or 15 minutes the evening of a big ride with it on whilst I watch TV, particularly thighs, and it does seem to reduce the DOMS effect the day after.
Its been especially useful for any two days events/races to keep some freshness in the legs for a race on Sunday!
Pulsio Air, the mini one got on an offer via instagram about 12 months ago. very good and very well made for the £69.99, just got a bag of extra attachments actually. Only issue with them is if you need to do back or shoulders/neck area you still need someone to help. I bribe the kids to do my problem shoulder!
On offer just now which matches when i bought mine last year black friday nonsense, should be £150
Just wondering if something like this would be a help for the lower back/hip injury I’m suffering with at the moment. I stepped back and fell over a large flower pot in the garden, fortunately I went sideways instead of back, so no serious head injuries, but I landed hard on paving slabs with some gravel on, impacting my pelvic area between my spine and hipbone.
I’ve aggravated an old muscle injury in the same place, and it’s been incredibly painful; a visit to my doctor resulted in being given physio exercises to do, but it’s so painful even bending. I’m on Naproxen and co-codamol for arthritis, which helps, but I’m thinking something like this would help ease the bruising that’s causing the pain, it’s in one very specific spot, which isn’t a joint.
The original injury was caused by me twisting while dragging a desk out of the corner of my office at the time, which was, as it turned out, the worst thing I could do - the pain was excruciating, I apparently went grey and had to lie flat on the floor for half an hour, before I could even stand up, and every so often, it flares up, which is what’s happened now; I nearly passed out just getting out of the bath last week!
Anything that might help relieve the discomfort other than relying on drugs would be appreciated.
We got a Wahl corded one, had it for about a year now, very pleased with it.
Used one for about 18 months, a couple of times a week. Definitely good for recovery, seems to go some way to reduce DOMS. Mine is a 'Bob and Brad'.
It has worked perfectly over that time and holds a decent charge
Prompted by a post on here I bought one of the jigsaw massage kits, tried it on my Dewalt coordless, but then bought a Bosch 12V coordless jigsaw to use it with as it was so good.
Got me through a lot of arm problems one summer when I was going a lot of DIY, having problems with numb fingers, golfers elbow, tennis elbow, etc.
It is seriously powerful - there is a ball shaped attachment and a cone shaped one - I end up using the cone shaped one mostly at an angle - use desicated coconut oil to lube the skin then use the cone at an angle across the skin, much safer and effective.
Have also used it to find the reason why I was getting randomly localised knee pain, which was at the front of the knee but the problem turned out to be with the muscles behind the knee. Used the intense vibrations of the jigsaw massage gun to exlore my good leg vs the problem leg and locate areas that felt different. Had seen several therapists who hadn't help until I found the problem with the massage gun, which might not have happened with a less powerful one.
I also have some of the Thumper range, but they are less powerful.
I also have found that one of those Gua Sha massage blades has been very useful, possibly a good combination.
Physio was very reluctant to accept my diagnosis and wasted two weeks exploring my inflexibility and other areas, seeming to actively avoid the area I said must be the problem
I have a super cheap one, the only real frustration it has compared to better ones is teh controls- you can only go "up" in a cycle, like a cheap bike light, which is constantly slightly annoying. But the actual mechanical function is absolutely fine.
For me they really shine when you're on the edge of cramping in an awkward bit. Like yeah, maybe I could get there with my roller or whatever, but can I do it without triggering some sort of cramocalypse? It's so much easier with the gun.
I've got a massage gun and I'll just point out that, for most areas, you really need someone else to operate it. So if your a singleton, good luck!
There's also a sweet spot in how heavy the unit is and it's from factory. Mine is pistol grip type and quite heavy so it's awkward to hold for longish periods at odd angles (where a willing partner helps)
Ive often wished for a unit I could fix to something solid (or bolt to a wall) and then move the correct part of the body into the correct position/hold...
We have one of the large Theraguns, had it about 3yrs. The triangular handle is really helpful
3 months ago we bought a mini Theragun . In many ways it’s better than the large one. Lighter , quieter and slightly different action
I got this one from Costco, it gets good reviews and the battery charge seems to last forever. And although I am impressed with it the novelty of using it wore off fairly quickly, not sure why as I think they do help.
Another " Bob and Brad " user here, gets used a lot and works well.
I’ve got a massage gun and I’ll just point out that, for most areas, you really need someone else to operate it. So if your a singleton, good luck!
They're fine for legs in my experience, which, given this is a cycling forum, is what a lot of people are looking for. Not so good for upper body. If I want to work my back or neck, I'll generally use a foam roller or ball in a sock for trigger points.
I've got a Bob and Brad gun after seeing a lot of recommendations. It's probably a generic Chinese gun rebranded, but the problem with Chinese stuff is filtering the good from the bad, I'm happy to leave that up to Bob and Brad and pay a small amount extra.
Yeah I'm probably only interested in quads and maybe calves. Sounds like nobody has been disappointed with cheap options so that's good.
Another happy Bob and Brad user here. I got the Mini q2 which I think was around £60 discounted on Amazon with a code from the B and B website. Figured if it saves me one or two trips to the physio then it will have paid for itself!
but I’m thinking something like this would help ease the bruising that’s causing the pain
I am no expert but the warning I got with the instructions that came with mine was to very much limit how much you use at any one time as overuse can cause bruising in itself.
A maximum of 2 minutes in any one spot. More is not necessarily better!
Picked one of these up today. Mrs Rock has bad knots in her shoulders so we will have a go with this. £35. 2year guarantee.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3100110?clickSR=slp:term:massage%20gun:1:122:1
Only question you need ask is, is it cat approved ?
Knew this had been a recent topic - physio this morning suggested I get a massage gun to release tight quads, which are aggravating a knee problem.
Her advice was "something about 30 quid off Amazon". Which is half her hourly rate, so worth a try!
The Argos one I linked above is really quite a good little device (albeit I have no benchmark to compare it too.)
However, we have done four, 2 minute sessions daily on Mrs Rocks shoulder knots and she says they feel much better, and certainly I can’t feel them in her shoulder blades as they were ruddy obvious.
I've got a Theragun, a cheap Amazon one (£35) and a Jigsaw attachment one. The Theragun is significantly better than all others, it solved the hard to reach places problem too with the triangle handle and I'm a long way from flexible.
Bought the cheap one to take on holiday as the Theragun was new and wasn't sure about taking it through the airport. Never used it since. There wasn't much in a decent session with the Theragun and a massage so as long as it stopped me going to 6+ massages, I figured it was worth a try.
The Jigsaw had the power to get deep but often threw the attachment off, never felt 100% safe especially when reaching around (oh er!) to my back.
For occasional use cheapy or Jigsaw attachment are a good option but for regular use the pulse pattern, ergonomics and ability to get deep it was worth investing in the better ones for me. Not used it much since I sorted my back but should really make use post training.
Are they any good for knotted up neck muscles?
Need to be careful round here as there are some important nerves there !
I bought a Thumper sport massager ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thumper-E501NA-Sport-Massager/dp/B009GEQNJS/ref=asc_df_B009GEQNJS) for my eck, rather than risk the jigsaw power.
I already had the single ball hand one but this is easier to use on your own and having the balls symmetrically around the neck is very relaxing and effective.
Got mine from eBay for a good price.
The Jigsaw had the power to get deep but often threw the attachment off
You might need an extension arm which keeps the head away from the baseplate.
I also switched to the 12V coodless Bosch for dexterity, I can't imagine that if I had stuck with the original Dewalt that I would have found it so useful. Having easy swapable batteries is also useful.
Thanks all.
I picked up a second hand one off FB marketplace for £20 from someone five minutes drive from my house. It's marvellous.
It's pointless on any other setting but the highest but it deleted the quad pain I normally get after running which was exactly what I wanted it for.
Curious, although I probably have every shape of foam roller and massage ball going.
How about compression sleeves for recovery? I've got some cheap DVT sleeves from the pharmacy and think I feel the benefit for wearing them after a big ride...
Anything that might help relieve the discomfort other than relying on drugs would be appreciated
anti-rotation strengthening exercises. And general trunk strength work
Yep, I was given this one last Christmas, I suppose it could be more powerful, but it's enough to relax a spasmed trap or back muscle. For actual massage I prefer the ones wit the rotating heads that kneed the muscles.
www.next.co.uk/style/su027914/844971?
The odd shape actually makes it really easy to get to pretty much any muscle solo as you can grip it under or over hand on either the inner or outer handle.
I can imagine self administering this might be a bit awkward.
I do Mrs Rock from behind, once takes her top off I’m done in less than five minutes.
I do Mrs Rock from behind, once takes her top off I’m done in less than five minutes.
Show off.