Exercise is a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle, and recovery is an equally important part of the process. Managing and promoting muscle recovery can help you get the most out of your workouts, and one of the best ways to do that is by using a massage gun. These high-tech tools help to minimize muscle and speed up rehabilitation so you can get back to the gym sooner, and feel better when you do.
Like many things, massage therapy became much less accessible during the pandemic, and the market for personal massage guns exploded to fill the void. There are tons of options out there when it comes to shopping for a new massage gun, and finding the best one for your needs can certainly be a challenge. So let's break down the ins and outs (so to speak) of how these percussive massagers work and why they can be so helpful.
A massage gun uses the force of percussive therapy -- also known as vibration therapy -- to manipulate your body's soft tissue. They're essentially backed by the same as the optimal tool for treating a sore muscle after a workout. From recreational gym-goers to professional athletes and people with chronic pain, a lot of people love percussive therapy from these powerful massagers.
Percussive therapy has been shown tohelps muscle while reducing muscle pain, lactic acid buildup and muscle fatigue. It can also help prevent delayed onset muscle soreness. A percussion gun allows you to focus on a certain muscle group or muscle knots for immediate pain relief. It can also improve your range of motion and flexibility, encourage blood flow, help with muscle stiffness and more. Percussive therapy may even help with stress and sleep. Also, not that you should invest in a muscle massage gun for this reason alone, but the look insanely Insta-worthy. Just be careful using a massage gun if you have any injuries beyond a muscle ache from a tough workout.
We've tested more than 30 massage guns at this point, and the following six are CNET's picks for the best massage guns for 2022 for muscle recovery and pain relief. We'll continue to update this best massage gun list.
