How effective are massage thumpers, guns, blasters and pummelers?

These products are typically useful for sore/tight muscles (top/second layer) and possibly prevention of future injuries but can also inhibit pain (not always good) and/or aggravate an underlying weakness or injury.

When/why these tools may help

1) General soreness, mild inflammation, early fascial/soft tissue adhesion or fibrosis (scar tissue) formation as a result of overuse.

2) The maintenance and mobility increase of old, established or chronic injury/scar tissue (but unlikely to fix permanently).

3) Pain inhibition – same effect as rubbing a sore muscle (where the ‘Achy’ sensation from C- fibers axons are temporarily overriden by the A-Beta sensory fibers).

4) General warming up/activation/mobilization prior to workout (depending on intensity/dose)

Why/when these tools may not help

  1. These tools are unlikely (depending on specificity, depth and orientation of injury) to be specific/accurate in the release of adhesions/scar tissue, especially between soft tissue layers that are stuck together.  The reason is that the force they use is more of a ‘pummeling’ (up and down) motion that can’t generate the direction, relative motion or specificity to release between muscles, tendons and other soft tissue structures that many injuries require. They are therefore unlikely to get to the root/underlying cause of most injuries.
  2. Many injuries are based on alignment, technique and dysfuction elsewhere in the body and addressing the symptomatic area may be only a partial solution or potentially take away the necessary compensation mechanism.
  3. When a muscle or tendon already has mild inflammation and mico-tearing (usually present after all exercises sessions, especially exercises that is new, harder, faster, longer or with an eccentric-heavy (lengthening under a load component), using tools can add additional inflammation, adhesions, recovery time and potentially increase or accelerate the injury process.
  4. Often, muscle tightness/hypertonicity is naturally there to protect a joint (or compensation for another weaker/inhibited area of the body) that has underlying damage or dyfunction. In this case, these tools artificially and counterproductively expose that muscle and/or underlying joint to further damage.

In Summary

As will anything, if you choose to use one of these devices as an intervention, start glently and observe your results after similar exercises sessions such as an increase or decrease in your recovery time as well an ongoing overall assessment of your injury/soreness, and look for trends to optimize your approach if necessary.