Hammer time
Percussive therapy has taken the fitness world by storm. But what exactly is it, and how can it help you?
‘Percussive therapy targets treatment areas by reaching deep enough into the muscle to stimulate and increase the blood flow and hence oxygen needed for recovery’
Of all the perks that come with being a Worldtour cyclist – being able to ride a bike exceptionally fast, the ability to look pro without even trying, getting to travel and race all over the world, to name a few – one of the best must surely be access to a good massage.
A post-ride rub down is a given for them but largely unattainable for normal riders, which is a shame on several levels. Not only is it relaxing, most research seems fairly confident that deep-tissue manipulation can provide several performance benefits too.
Massage guns have been gaining steadily in popularity since Therabody released its first percussive device back in 2008, and they all aim to break down the exclusivity of this sort of treatment by providing similar results at home.
‘Essentially, percussive devices use an attachment powered by a motor to repeatedly hit a targeted muscular area very quickly,’ says Joe Gray, head of product at Myomaster. Gray is a professional rugby player who unintentionally created Myomaster’s first prototype massage gun by welding a stool leg to a dismantled drill to treat the Achilles tendonitis he developed back in 2018. Safe to say, Myomaster’s products have been refined a bit since then.
‘Percussive therapy sounds aggressive but massage guns provide a deep, effective treatment that feels fantastic,’ he says.
Massage guns have been credited with reducing muscle soreness post-exercise, warming up muscles pre-ride, improving mobility, reducing stress levels and promoting recovery. So how is all that achieved?
‘Percussive therapy targets treatment areas by reaching deep enough into the muscle to stimulate and increase the blood flow and hence oxygen needed for efficient treatment
and recovery,’ says Dr Jason Wersland, founder of Therabody. ‘Our devices touch and leave the body 40 times per second. That means the brain cannot acclimatise to the stimulation, which makes the therapy more effective.
‘When used the right way, a Theragun downregulates your autonomic nervous system from fight-or-flight to rest- anddigest, essentially flipping on the “recovery switch” to repair and restore the body.’
Top guns
The rise of massage guns means that several brands are now in an arms race to achieve the best balance of power, weight, noise level and battery life. Each maker has its own USP that it believes lets them deliver the best product.
‘Theragun is the only physician-calibrated percussive therapy device on the market, which has informed our ergonomic design and our thoughtfully designed attachments, among other things,’ says Wersland. ‘For our Theragun mini specifically, we adapted our patented Theragun Triangle ergonomic design to the mini’s portable shape, so it’s easy to hold while still reducing strain on your hands and wrists.’
‘Hyperice’s Hypervolt is the quietest percussion massage device you can find,’ says Shawn Beitelspacher, Hyperice’s endurance and specialty retail VP. ‘ It uses a technology called “Quietglide” so it can be almost silent, meaning it can be used anywhere, anytime.’
He says another key feature a premium massage gun needs to have these days is Bluetooth: ‘In our case you can connect to the Hyperice app, which can automate speed control or guide the user through routines.’
No matter how brands choose to differentiate, their messages on guidance are unequivocal. While these devices offer many of the benefits of massage, the user is not a trained masseuse or physiotherapist, so there is a potential risk of doing more harm than good. The risk is low, but treatment effectiveness can definitely be improved with a bit of instruction.
‘We recommend not to treat a body part for more than two minutes at a time, and with the proper amount of pressure. The Therabody app can guide the user on how to best use a Theragun and optimise the benefits with the correct speed, pressure, grip, attachment and time spent on different areas of the body,’ says Wersland.
‘The risks and benefits of using a percussion device are similar to that of a massage, and just like a massage the experience should be customised to the user’s comfort level,’ says Beitelspacher. ‘The Hyperice app has guided sessions to help the user perfect warmup and recovery sessions, so expert guidance is easy to find.’
What is undisputable is that massage is a surefire way to speed up recovery and help prevent injury, so perhaps now is the time for cyclists everywhere to go for their guns.