---
title: "Massage Guns: Boost or Bust?"
date: 2023-11-04
categories: ["Recovery & sleep"]
url: https://www.semiprocycling.com/digest/massage-guns-boost-or-bust
author: Damian Ruse (SEMIPRO Cycling)
---
# Massage Guns: Boost or Bust?

![](https://www.semiprocycling.com/digest/images/47509324d43ff8d58bac8ff6.webp)

![](https://www.semiprocycling.com/digest/images/6f2e87c874c8da0ed8b63156.webp)

[The Double-Edged Sword of Massage Guns: Unlocking Performance or Undermining It?](https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5142/8/3/138)

Yaho!

So, you've probably heard about massage guns, right? They're also called percussion therapy devices. They've become pretty popular lately for their **potential to help with stuff like range of motion, flexibility, and recovery**.

Basically, they're handheld devices that give your muscles a bunch of quick pressure bursts. The idea is that **they might help ease muscle soreness and stiffness**, which could give your overall athletic performance a little boost.

**But here's the thing:** while these massage guns might be great for some stuff, they might not be so great or **could even potentially make other key athletic things worse**, like strength, balance, acceleration, agility, and explosive activities.

It just goes to show that human performance and recovery is pretty complicated, and a single tool like **a massage gun isn't going to be a cure-all**.

**The good stuff we've seen from using massage guns could be mainly mechanical, vascular, and neuronal.** This could mean they're helpful for increasing blood flow, reducing muscle tension, and enhancing neurological function.

But here's the catch: **we still don't fully understand the physiological effects of these tools**, which means there's still a lot we don't know.

So, what we really need is more high-quality research, especially research that involves different types of people, comparison groups, and intervention parameters.

For deeper understanding, read the full study here: [https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5142...](https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5142/8/3/138)

## On my mind: The word 'Base'

Something I've been thinking about this week is the word 'base' in the cycling training lexicon. The term has no scientific meaning, and I am exploring this idea for a new video, but it does have a meaning to me, and that is to not overlook the basics. In other words, don't ignore the foundation, because how long can a tree remain standing without the roots? That's my base.

Ridewell!

Damian