Percussion Muscle Massage Gun

Many health care professionals from physical therapists to chiropractors and athletic trainers use a percussion muscle massage gun to provide provide similar effects to manual percussion techniques or tapotement used in therapeutic massage.

A 2021 study in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy surveyed members of the Academy of Orthopedic Physical Therapy, American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy, and National Athletic Trainers Association to determine preferences in use and application.

Most indicate a mechanical percussion device increases local blood flow, enhances myofascial mobility, reduces myofascial restrictions, and modulates pain. Most use patient reported outcomes to document treatment efficacy.

A 2018 study in the The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association found beneficial changes in muscle activation, range of motion and flexibility, strength, and power with a frequency 5 – 300 Hz, and duration from 6 seconds to 30 minutes.

Although there are many uses, I prefer using as part of myofascial treatment, avoiding acute conditions. For pain modulation, the majority of respondents using a percussion muscle massage gun reported using a medium low device speed with a treatment time of 30 seconds to three minutes, but a treatment time of three to five minutes was also common. Most respondents moved the device at a rate between two to 10 seconds along the treatment region for pain modulation.

For myofascial mobility, a medium speed setting was mostly used and a treatment time of 30 seconds to three minutes, moving the mechanical percussion device at a rate between two to 10 seconds along the treatment area to improve myofascial mobility.

Most respondents indicated a precussion manual massage gun increases local blood flow, modulates pain, enhances myofascial mobility, reduces myofascial restrictions, enhance post exercise recovery and pre exercise neuromyofascial excitation, and increase joint range of motion. For outcome measuring, most used joint range of motion, pressure pain thresholds, patient reported outcomes, movement based testing and muscle performance.

Mechanical percussion devices are an emerging type of myofascial intervention used by a variety of health care professionals.