How to use a massage gun or vibration massager

Using a hand held massager — In this article we will show you how to safely and effectively use your massager

Hand held massagers have allowed us to have massages without needing the expense and appointments of a professional therapist. However, most people don't get the benefits they should because:

they get the wrong machine or
don’t don't use it properly.

To help you get the best massage possible we will discuss how to choose an appropriate massager then use it safely and effectively.

Overview

Professionals have been using vibrating massagers for decades. These have excellent scientifically proven benefits . In recent times vibrating massagers have become more available for personal use. However, for the following reasons most users do not get anywhere near the those professional benefits.

Using conventional massage techniques rather than those appropriate for vibrating massagers (many professionals do this).
Too many manufacturers focus on gimmicks rather than how their machines work.
There are a flood of massagers built by factories with no interest in building serious therapeutic devices, and just want to cash in.

Vibration massagers

What are vibration massagers

Vibration massagers are those that have a vibration pad that sits on the surface sending therapeutic vibrations deep into your muscles. The advantage of these are as follows.

The scientifically proven effects of vibration massage — Summary of the scientifically proven effects of vibration massage

Proven benefits of therapeutic vibration

As this diagram shows the therapeutic vibrations from a vibration massager have a host of excellent therapeutic effects. For more information please see our article The scientifically proven effects of vibration massage- with clinical applications .

Excellent penetration

Just like ultrasound (vibrations at a different frequency) the vibrations from a professional strength vibration massager are able to easily penetrate deeply into your muscles.

Excellent safety

Vibration massagers do not drive their heads in like percussion massagers so are extremely unlikely to cause damage or injury.

Extremely easy to use

We will discuss hints and precautions, but basically all you need to do is sit the head of a vibration massager over the part to be massaged and let the vibrations penetrate.

Massage guns (percussion massagers)

What are percussion massagers

Rather than sit on the surface and send in therapeutic vibrations percussion massagers are designed to drive their heads in like a jack-hammer. The following infographic gives an overview of the differences between this and vibration massagers.

Deceptive and false claims about percussion massagers

Marketers claim that percussion massage gives the benefits of vibration, but in addition have increased penetration and adds the benefits of conventional massage. However, looking at the infographic it should be obvious that these claims are deceptive and misleading. We will sumarise the main issues below, with more detail in our article Are massage guns effective- beyond the hype .

Massage guns do not deliver decent amounts of therapeutic vibrations

As shown in the infographic below massage guns do not deliver anywhere near the vibrations a proper vibration massager does. Further, because driving their head in does damage massage guns cannot be safely run at the effective therapeutic vibration frequencies (see Are massage guns effective- beyond the hype ).

Massage guns do not penetrate further

Like ultrasound, therapeutic vibrations can easily penetrate much deeper (and safer) than the head of even the most powerful massage gun.

Massage guns do not add significant conventional massage benefits

There is no evidence that they do this, and it is extremely unlikely that pushing the head of a massage gun is in any way comparable to the massage provided by a professional therapist.

Picture from a massage gun trial — For the clinical trial scientists used head one, which as you can see "gives" and stops the head penetrating

Massage guns are not scientifically proven

Massage gun marketers claim that by driving their heads in percussion massagers give added benefits. However, as discussed in our article Are massage guns scientifically proven , when massage guns are tested in trials they modify them so they do not drive their heads in. To get half decent results and not hurt the patients they remove the "percussion" to make their massage guns more like vibration massagers. Of course those details are hidden in the fine print.

Example

This picture is taken from a "percussion" massager trial. The researchers chose to use head one which as you can see is designed to give and not drive into the muscles.

Infographic: The difference between vibration and percussion (massage guns)

Infographic: Pure vibration massage vs driving heads in (percussion)

Ineffective “consumer” machines

A few years ago a team of UK university researchers found that massagers built for the public were ineffective because manufacturers were more concerned with how their machines looked on shop shelves than how they worked (1)⁠. If anything it is now much worse with huge numbers of factories with no interest in making serious therapeutic devices making massagers and massage guns to cash in.

Consumer grade massager — Testing a consumer grade massager fitted with a proper professional massager head

Example of an ineffective “consumer machine”

A while back we were sent the machine pictured. It is actually a well known and popular brand, however it was practically useless. Like most similar machines it came with a host of gimmick shaped cheap plastic heads, so I glued on a decent one. When I tested it the power was low and the head did not go up and down enough to efficiently transfer the vibration. Where the vibrations from a proper vibration massager feel like they are going right through you this machine felt like it was just buzzing the surface.

Choosing a machine

You are far better off getting a genuine vibration massager rather than a massage gun or one of the flood of ineffective machines that are built by factories with no interest in building serious therapeutic machines. For guidance please see our article How to choose a massager . In saying that, most professional standard vibration massagers are built for professionals such as myself to use on patients, not for personal use. When we were looking for something for our patients we built our own. For more information please see this video .

How to use a vibrating massager

In this section

How to use a vibration massager
How to use a massage gun or percussion massager

How to use a vibration massager

For this section we will use our General Purpose Massager , but the same principles apply for any quality hand held vibration massager.

Professional guidance
The basic technique
Pain or discomfort
The massager contact and direction
Choosing the best setting
How long to apply the massager for
Using over cloth or clothing
Using the weight of the machine
Which head to use
Where not to massage

Professional guidance

Serious hand held massagers are built to provide genuine therapeutic benefits to help with musculoskeletal problems, and these can be complex. Because of this if you have a problem to be safe and get the best possible results we ask that you discuss usage with a professional familiar with your own needs. He or she can help work out what you need and the best way to manage your problem.

Using a hand held massager 2 — You sit the massager on the part to be massaged and let the vibrations soak in

Basic usage technique

The basic usage of a vibration massager is simple. You sit the massager on the part to be massaged and let the vibrations soak in. Remember that it is the vibrations that do the work so there is no need to press in or move the massager around. Once a part has had sufficient massage move the machine to the next spot that needs massaging and repeat.

Deep painful massage — There is no need for pain when using a vibration massager

Pain or discomfort

Whereas manual (eg. by hand) massage therapists sometimes use painful pressure to get to a deep spot, vibration massagers use vibration to penetrate. There is no need to press in or cause pain. In fact pain can cause muscles to tense which can work against massage. If you experience pain or discomfort we recommend you either slow the massager to a comfortable level or stop.

The massager contact and direction

To get the maximum penetration the head of the massager needs to make the best contact, so it should should sit flat on the part to be massaged. At moderate speeds the weight of the machine should be enough to maintain contact. However, as speed increases the massager head will have a tendency to patter (bounce up and down). When this happens either slow the machine down or apply a moderate amount of pressure until the head stops pattering.

Also, the vibrations of the massager are maximum coming straight out of the machine, so these must be directed to get the best effect.

Choosing the best setting

As discussed in our article The best setting for your massager , the frequency of the vibrations is most important. This is the rate of vibrations, and is measured in Hz (cycles per second). For the main benefits such as relaxing muscles, increasing circulation and speeding recovery the therapeutic range is 30-60 Hz, with around 50 being the best. Many machines express speed as rpm, so this is 1800-3600 rpm, with optimal being around 3000 rpm.

Best speed for the General Purpose Massager

50 Hz is approximately 85-90% of full speed on one of our General Purpose Massagers .

It is unsafe to use this speed with a massage gun

Massage guns come with hard plastic heads and the powerful ones drive them in up to 16mm. Driving something into your muscles 16mm 50 times a second could cause carnage, so Theraguns have a maximum of 40 Hz, but even that is way too fast. A survey of professionals found that most used their massage guns on “slow” or “medium” (2)⁠. This is way outside the therapeutic range.

Clock — Starting point: 30 seconds per trigger point

How long to apply the massager for

The duration of application should always be guided by your professional. However a typical starting point is 30 seconds at a moderate speed for a typical trigger point (60 for chronic deep trigger points). There may be multiple trigger points in an area, each needing an application of massage.

Like most hand held massagers our General Purpose Massager is a sealed unit. This keeps out dust and moisture but holds in heat which can damage or shorten the life of parts. Always allow to cool after 15 minutes of use.

Using a hand held massager 3 — Use over cloth or clothing to avoid infection or skin irritation

Use over clothing or a cloth

To prevent irritation, minimise the risk of transmitting infection, and help keep the head of the massager clean please use over cloth or a layer of clothing. You will not need to rub with the massager so there is no need for oil or other lubricants.

Horizontal vs vertical — It is much easier when the part you are massaging is horizontal

Using the weight of the massager

Our General Purpose Massagers only weigh about 1.3kg, but holding this weight for a prolonged time can cause fatigue. We recommend that you position the part to be massaged horizontal. That way the weight of the massager is supported by the part being massaged and the massager only needs guiding to maintain position. The weight of the massager then is often enough to apply downwards pressure on the head.

Which head to use?

This often comes down to personal preference. However, our massagers work by sending vibrations into the tissues, which the larger flat head does very well. The multi projection head is not for "digging in", but helps resist pattering at higher speeds. The smaller head is useful for accessing some harder to get to areas.

Warning: smaller heads are not got better penetration

Many “experts” advise to use smaller heads such as the common hard plastic “bullet” heads to give better penetration. As discussed above it is the vibrations that penetrate and have the therapeutic effects. Using these smaller heads reduces the amount of vibration delivered, while increasing the risk of causing damage.

Where not to use a vibration massager

Because it is only the vibrations that penetrate vibration is generally very safe as long as you stick to massaging healthy muscles. However, please note the following precautions.

Always avoid the following

Bony parts, including joints and your skull
Varicose veins or swollen or inflamed areas
Skin disorders or open wounds
Injuries or bruising
Tumours, phlebitis, haemorrhage or thrombosis
Exposed arteries and veins, including near the collar bones, the armpits, crook of the elbow, front groin, back of the knee

Discuss with a professional

Have a pacemaker or have a heart condition
Are pregnant or suffer diabetes
Have any chronic medical condition including bleeding disorders

How to use a massage gun

As discussed above it is the vibrations that have the therapeutic effects. By driving their heads in rather than sit on the surface and send in therapeutic vibrations massage guns (percussion massagers):

send in less therapeutic vibration, and
potentially cause damage or injury.

Do what the scientists who do trials in massage guns do

While massage gun marketers tell you that this is a good idea, the scientists who conduct clinical trials on massage guns clearly do not think so. They modify the massage guns so they do not drive their heads in and act more like a vibration massager. Your best option is to buy a genuine vibration massager in the first place, but if you have a massage gun you can do like the scientists have done. The two things you need to do are:

Modify the gun and usage so it acts more like a vibration massager
Use the vibration massager techniques described above

Modify the gun and usage so it acts more like a vibration massager

In the clinical trials the scientists used two main techniques to stop the heads of their massage guns driving in and to increase the amount of vibration massage.

Use a soft or “damper” head

Throw away all the hard plastic heads that look like they would be at home in a jackhammer. It is better to use larger softer heads that have a bit of “give” in them. For example, this picture taken from one of the trials. The scientists chose head number one rather than one of the hard plastic ones.

Holding massage gun at an angle — Note that a large ball attachment is being used, and held at an angle so the head does not drive into the muscle.

Angle the machine so it does not drive in as much

The pads of genuine vibration massagers go up and down about 4-5mm. This is ideal for vibration transfer. Powerful massage guns drive their heads in up to 16mm which is way too far. However, you can hold the machine at an angle to reduce this.

Common mistake: using techniques suitable for conventional massage rather than vibration

Manual massage techniques vs vibration massage

As this diagram shows, when lumberjacks started using chainsaws they need to use completely different techniques. Likewise, mechanical vibration massage works differently to conventional massage so it also need different techniques. Despite this when using mechanical vibration most people, including professionals, still use conventional massage techniques.

The problems this causes

Just like swinging a chainsaw like an axe, when using a vibration massager like conventional massager the results are far from ideal. Doing so reduces the effect and increases the risk of injury.

Incorrect use reducing the effectiveness

When using mechanical vibration you need to allow the vibrations to “soak in” to have their therapeutic effects. Moving the machine around does not allow this. This video shows “YouTube Gurus” demonstrating massage that would be practically useless.

The heads they are using are very poor at transmitting vibrations
They are moving the heads not allowing vibrations to “soak in”
The bit of rubbing they are doing will have practically no effects

Increases the risk of injury

Conventional massage techniques press into your muscles. When doing this with a massage gun you are effectively using a jackhammer.

Examples of "YouTube Gurus"

Advice for specific uses, conditions and muscle groups

One of the major benefits of having your own hand held massager is that it allows you to have practically unlimited quality massage therapy. This opens up a host of opportunities. Please see the following for some examples.

Professionals

DrGraeme massagers were originally built by Dr Graeme for use in his clinic, and to prescribe to his patients for additional self use at home. Now these are used by colleagues and other professionals for similar purposes. If you are a professional and wish to know more about this therapy, or possibly get a sample massager to trial please check out our practitioner page.

References

McDonagh D, Wilson L, Haslam C, Weightman D. Good vibrations: Do electrical therapeutic massagers work? Ergonomics. 2005;
Cheatham SW, Baker RT, Behm DG, Stull K, Kolber MJ. Mechanical percussion devices: A survey of practice patterns among healthcare professionals. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2021;16(3):766–77.

CONTENTS