What are professional massage guns?
Massage guns sound… & look kind of dangerous but in truth it’s just a portable handheld device used for a percussion style massage & vibration therapy in order to help your recover faster from the gym, training, or sports.
While it might look like a power tool it is highly effective in sports recovery. Massage guns deliver fast & pulsating bursts of deep pressure into the fibres of your muscles. They come with some adjustable attachments that are clipped on to target each muscle group correctly.
When the gun is placed on your muscles you set the frequency at which you would like to be self massaged & these high-tech pieces of equipment get to work to target the areas that you need to relax in order for faster recovery time.
The science behind it says that it stimulates the sensory cells on your skin to interrupt the muscle contraction helping your muscles to fully relax post work out.
The Benefits of using massage guns
1. Relieves stress and relaxes the body by releasing tension and fluid deep in the muscles to increase tissue metabolism.
2. Increases blood and lymphatic circulation, which allow more oxygen and nutrients to reach the muscles.
3. Encourages healing of atrophied muscles by waking them up to allow for faster healing with increased flexibility.
4. Releases lactic acid build-up in the body, often a result of intense exercise.
5. Stimulates nerve receptors, which cause vasodilation in the skin and muscles to improve mobility.
6. Breaks up scar tissue by deeply massaging collagen fibres to alleviate pain and relieve constriction.
7. Enhances the range of motion by creating more flexible joints and reducing the risk of strains and sprains.
8. Improves overall wellness to get better sleep & feel more relaxed.
Parts of the body that mainly benefit from massage guns
Arms
Neck
A massage gun is a very powerful tool so you want to be cautious applying pressure to your neck for long durations. When you turn on the gun put the setting at its lowest frequency & hold it to the areas of the neck that are night. We recommend only doing it for 10 seconds at a time in the strained area. Maximum time spent massaging the neck should only be 2-3 mins.
Back
Many of us suffer from back pain so having one of your friends apply the massage gun on your back can come as huge pain relief. We suggest starting higher up the back & coming down slowly & with the frequency on as low as possible as the back is very delicate. Again around 2-3 mins back massage is more than enough to get you feeling relaxed and remove the stiffness from your back.
Shoulders & Arms
The shoulders are connected to several different muscles groups so best to try to get the best usage of the massage guns features here. Utilising the different attachments for the top of the gun will maximize relaxation. We suggest starting at top of the shoulders near the neck while working your way down to the forearm.
It is important to keep your thumb pointing upwards & keep your arm extended. It is also paramount to do the reverse side of the arm below the arm & work on the deltoid muscles as well. We suggest only using the massage guns for 2-4 mins in this area in a low-frequency setting.
Inner & Outer Thighs
When working out the inner thigh as it generally doesn’t pain as much as other leg muscles. However, people are missing out on the huge benefits of massaging that area. Once again starting at the top & move the gun down towards the upper part of the knee. You can then move back up again & carry out the massage to this part of the body for no more than 2 minutes.
Calves
The last area to talk about is the calves. A lot of people… don’t realize the amount of strain put on this muscle group. To maximize the efficiency of the massage gun it’s best to be in the seated position. Then starting at the top of the muscle work your way downward & back up again. When you apply this technique for about 2 mins you will feel a huge amount of relief on muscles that take a beating almost every day.
When should you avoid using massage guns?
At Royal Recovery Rooms, one thing we are very clear about is that you should focus on your muscle groups. Massage guns were not designed to massage more delicate parts of the body such as tendons, joints, nerves or bones.
Here is a list of times you should avoid using massage guns
- It is not recommended for tendons, joints, nerves, or bones
- If you have a recent bone break or fracture
- You should avoid massage guns against recent unhealed scabs & wounds
- Massage guns should not be used cancerous lesions on your body
- Do not use a massage gun on highly sensitive parts of the body
Guidelines for using our Massage Guns
Again like all of our services our team will be on hand to assist you to get the most out of our professional massage guns. We will have about 10 to 14 different guns available at any given time so there should always be 1 readily available for usage.
Conclusion
So there you have our small guidebook on our massage gun usage. If you have any further questions on how our equipment at Royal Recovery Rooms please send an email to royalrecoveryrooms@gmail.com or contact us on 087 – 391 1294 to book your appointment now!