Guide · Percussion

How to use a massage gun

Short passes on muscle, never on bone or joints, and stop well before it hurts. The trial evidence supports acute gains in flexibility and reduced soreness; it does not support grinding on one spot until it goes numb.

Per muscle

1–2 MIN

Studies

On bone

Amplitude

— UNPUBLISHED

THE BASIC PATTERN

Move the head slowly across the muscle belly rather than holding it in one place. A minute or two per muscle group is consistent with the session lengths used across the trials. Let the device's weight do the work — pressing hard is not what makes it effective, and on most units it simply stalls the motor.

WHERE NOT TO USE IT

Directly on bone — shins, kneecaps, elbows, spine, collarbone.
On joints rather than the muscle around them.
On a fresh injury, a bruise, or anything swollen.
On the neck and throat, where every manufacturer warns against it.
Anywhere that hurts sharply rather than feeling like pressure.

WHAT THE TRIALS ACTUALLY FOUND

The percussion evidence is real but narrow. Pooled trials show acute improvements in range of motion and reductions in perceived soreness. What they do not show is a lasting change in strength, or a benefit that persists days later independent of how you feel. That is a useful tool, described accurately.

THE SPEC YOU CANNOT USE

Depth of treatment is governed by amplitude and stall force, and neither Therabody nor Hyperice publishes either figure on any model. So the practical guidance has to be about technique rather than settings: move continuously, stay on muscle, and stop when it stops feeling useful.

Worth knowing

If you have seen an amplitude figure quoted for a Theragun or Hypervolt anywhere, it was an estimate. Not one of the twelve current models from either brand publishes it.

Questions

COMMON QUESTIONS.

How long does the battery last?

Hyperice publishes up to four hours of runtime for the Hypervolt 3 Pro, Hypervolt 3 and Hypervolt Go 3. Therabody publishes 150 minutes for the Theragun PRO Plus, Prime Plus and Mini G3, and 120 minutes for the PRO, Prime G6, Sense G2, Mini Plus and Relief. At one to two minutes per muscle group, that is a lot of sessions between charges.

Which speed setting should I use?

The published specifications do not tie a speed to a body part. The ranges are narrow anyway - every current Hypervolt runs 1500 to 2500 RPM, and the Theragun Mini G3's three settings are 1750, 2100 and 2400 percussions per minute. Because amplitude is unpublished, speed alone will not tell you how deep a device works. Pick what feels tolerable and keep the head moving.

Is a more expensive massage gun more powerful?

Price buys features you can verify, not a published depth figure. Across the current line-up a Hypervolt Go 3 is $149 and 1.6 lb, a Theragun PRO Plus is $649.99 and 3.6 lb, and what changes in between is speed settings, runtime and how many attachments are in the box. Amplitude and stall force - the two specs that would describe depth - are unpublished by both brands on every model.

Is it safe to use if I am pregnant, on blood thinners, or have a pacemaker?

Ask a clinician. Manufacturers publish contraindication and warning lists in the manuals that ship with these devices, and those are the ones that apply to your device. No massage gun from either brand is FDA cleared, so there is no cleared indication to rely on. Anything involving pregnancy, blood thinners, an implanted device or a diagnosed condition is a question for your doctor, not a product page.