The benefits of going for a regular massage are well documented, everything from improving blood flow and circulation to helping you get a better night’s sleep, reducing aches and pains, and even reducing your stress levels to help you feel more resilient.
Of course, it’s not always practical to go for a massage once or twice a week, even if this is what your body needs… which is why it can be useful to learn a few techniques yourself so you can provide yourself with much-needed relief from the comfort of your home when you’re in between physiotherapy visits.
One particularly useful tool is the massage gun, which has been proving especially popular over the last few years as people increasingly seek out new avenues for self-care.
These guns are handheld devices that allow you to perform percussive therapy on yourself, which is a type of massage that features vibration therapy combined with rapid and repetitive pressure.
The rounded head of the massage gun moves quickly and with force to apply the required pressure to your tissue and muscles, with the aim being to improve mobility and reduce post-exercise soreness.
Also known as percussion therapy, this technique can prove beneficial both before and after exercise, so it’s just a matter of working out when your body responds most favourably to treatment.
To use your massage gun, simply position it over the area you want to treat and then focus on your breathing as you move it over your muscles. You’ll find that breathing exercises and focusing on the exhale will help with any pain you feel as you work. You should not need to press down hard with the gun, however, as it will do all the hard work for you.
Using this kind of therapy can prove very useful when used in conjunction with physiotherapy work and deep tissue massage provided by a qualified professional. If you’d like to find out more, get in touch with the Clear Physio team today.
