Massage guns are simple devices that all pretty much do the same thing – they provide percussive therapy with a fast back and forth motion that sends vibrations deep into your tissues. These vibrations help improve blood-flow, which helps to relieve tension in muscles and reduce inflammation.
You can pick any massage gun with good reviews, and you're likely to experience great relief from pain and stiffness. However, there are variances between machines, and some will suit you better than others. 3 important variances to look for are amplitude, speed, and stall force:
Amplitude
Amplitude, measured in millimeters (mm), is how far the massage head travels in its back and forth motion.
Typical amplitudes fоr a massage gun range from 7 mm to 16 mm. The greater the amplitude, the further the head travels, and the deeper the tissues it targets.
If you have hip osteoarthritis for example, and you have dense and sizeable hips, and you want to target the muscles around your hips, then you may want to look for a higher amplitude device.
For knee osteoarthritis and back pain on the other hand, perhaps a mid-range amplitude would be best.
For hand osteoarthritis, you would be better off with a lower amplitude device with a soft head, which is more of a vibration than a percussion device.
A high amplitude device feels more intense, so it's more suitable for athletes with a high pain tolerance. If you are frail or you shy away from pain or discomfort, then you may find a medium or low amplitude device more comfortable to use.
I haven't yet come across a device where you can change the amplitude, the amplitude always seems to be fixed.
Another thing to note, is that a lot of these cheap Chinese (and even many well-known Western brand) devices don't talk about their amplitude. This is usually because the device has a low amplitude, and since most people don't know to look for amplitude in a massage gun, the sellers are happy to profit on your ignorance.
Speed
Speed is measured in revolutions or percussions per minute (rpm or ppm).
The higher the speed, the more intense the massage. Unlike with amplitude, you can change the speed on most massage guns, with common ranges being from 2,000 ppm tо 3,200 ppm.
I personally prefer to use the highest speed setting on my low amplitude device (2,900 ppm), whether I'm using it for my knee osteoarthritis, lower back pain, muscle soreness, or healing injuries. The slowest speeds seem like they do absolutely nothing. So my personal preference with a low amplitude device, would be to go for a device with the highest speed setting possible. With high amplitude devices however, low speeds can still seem intense.
Your best bet would be to try different speed settings on a device and see which you prefer. If you can't try before you buy, just go for a device with a wide speed range, and keep in mind that if it has a low amplitude (less than 10 mm), then the higher the top speed, the better.
Stall Force
This is the amount of force it takes to make the hammering action of the head stop. It is typically measured in pounds (lbs) of pressure.
If you've used a massage gun before, you'll know that you can get a deeper massage if you use force to push the hammering head of the machine deeper into your flesh.
A heavy duty massage gun will have a high stall force, which will allow you to push it in really hard and it will keep hammering away to give you a super deep massage.
A lot of cheap Chinese machines show off with how fast their vibrations are, but they don't tell you about their device's low stall force. This prevents you from being able to get a more powerful, deeper massage, because the machine stops as soon as you try to push it in a little harder. So like with amplitude, you should always know the stall force of a device before you buy it.
Other Qualities
Get a device with multiple different removable massage heads that can be used to target different areas of the body. You're likely to find that you use one head 99% of the time, but the others do sometimes come in handy for other areas of your body.
Get the right balance of battery life and portability. The longer the battery life, the larger the battery, and the less portable the device.
Find the right balance between intensity and noise level. Higher amplitude and higher speed devices are louder, keep this in mind if you're going to be using the device at the library, next to a sleeping baby at night, or on the bus.
My First Massage Machine
Back when I purchased my first massage machine maybe over a decade ago, there was just the one reasonably priced good machine on the market – the Scholl Muscle Therapy Percussion Massager. I still use this one today, it provides a good amount of pain relief, but it could be better.
I wish sometimes that it had a more brutal setting that really punished my soft tissues hard, so I could get greater pain relief, or get the same benefit in less time. I don't know what its official amplitude is, but judging by how much its head moves back and forth, it seems really low – maybe 5 mm or less. As a result, it takes quite a bit of time – around 5 to 10 minutes before I can start to feel the benefit.
Its speed ranges from 2,400 to 2,900 ppm, I only ever use the highest speed setting, because the lower speed settings are not intense enough.
Though I haven't measured it, it seems to have a VERY high stall force. I can't get it to stop no matter how hard I push it down into my flesh with one hand.
However, a high stall force by itself isn't enough. What I feel it needs in order to hit those bigger muscle areas hard, is either a higher amplitude or a faster speed, or a slight increase in both parameters.
A low amplitude machine like this however, is perfect for smaller areas of my body, such as my wrists.
Two other disadvantages of this device is that it's corded, and the removable heads are either too hard (so you can't go anywhere near bone), or a rubbish shape.
Thankfully, nowadays, there are countless better massage guns available, many of which are portable, have higher amplitudes, faster speeds, better head attachments, and more…
Examples Of Good Modern Massage Guns
High (16 mm) Amplitude Massage Guns
Theragun PRO Massage Gun
In short: super high amplitude & stall force = super deep & powerful massage.
This is a favorite amongst athletes, due to its high amplitude (hence good ability to penetrate deep into dense muscle tissue), durability, super powerful stall force, and solid heavy design. It is also used a lot by massage therapists, due to its long battery life, heavy weight, and ability to handle extended periods of use.
The main complaint for this device is that it's quite heavy and bulky. There are some complaints of it being too noisy, but Theragun have recently reduced the noise levels, with 4th generation devices being much quieter than previous ones.
Having looked over the reviews online, it seems quite a few people have tried other cheaper massage guns, and have not regretted forking out the extra money for the Theragun Pro because of its higher amplitude and deeper percussions.
Another thing I noticed from online reviews, is that a few people have claimed that they get fast or almost instantaneous results from using this device. That's a huge selling point for me, seeing as it takes 5 to 10 minutes before I feel any pain relief with my old Scholl device.
Weight: 1.3 kg
Amplitude: 16 mm
Speed: From 1,750 to 2,400 ppm
Stall force: 60 lbs
Noise level: 65 to 71 decibels
Battery life: Up to 5 hours (split between two batteries)
Warranty: 2 years
Price: £549
Click here for more information and to order the Theragun Pro
Theragun Elite Massage Gun
In short: almost as powerful as the Theragun Pro, but smaller.
The main differences from the Theragun Pro, is that the Elite is smaller, lighter, quieter, and has a shorter battery life. It still however, has the same high 16 mm amplitude, and hence still provides an impressive level of intensity.
Its 40 lbs stall force is lower than the Theragun Pro's 60 lbs, but 40 lbs is still very high for personal use and compared to other devices.
With a lower stall force and being lighter, this machine is marketed more for personal use than for professional use on others by massage therapists.
Weight: 1 kg
Amplitude: 16 mm
Speed: From 1,750 to 2,400 ppm
Stall force: 40 lbs
Noise level: 66 to 68 decibels
Battery life: Up to 2 hours
Warranty: 2 years
Price: £375
Click here for more information and to order the Theragun Elite
Medium (12 mm) Amplitude Massage Guns
Theragun Mini Massage Gun
If you want something portable, but still want to either target bigger muscle groups like the hamstrings or glutes, or otherwise need as deep a massage as possible, then the Theragun Mini may be a better option than the low amplitude devices below.
However, the higher amplitude comes at a cost – it has a shorter battery life (2.5 hours) than the low amplitude devices below (3.5 to 4 hours), and it's much louder.
One clear negative I can see about this device, is that I would have expected the stall force (20 lbs) to be higher given the price point of £175.
From the online reviews, I can see that this machine is praised for its ability to give a deep powerful massage, despite being small and portable.
Weight: 650 g
Amplitude: 12 mm
Speed: From 1,750 to 2,400 ppm
Stall force: 20 lbs
Battery life: 2.5 hours
Noise level: 50 to 65 decibels
Warranty: 2 years
Price: £175
Click here for more information and to order the Theragun Mini
Low (Less Than 10 mm) Amplitude Massage Guns
HoMedics Pro Physio Massage Gun
In short: great build, powerful despite low amplitude, thermo & cryotherapy heads.
Don't let the low amplitude of this machine fool you. Its solid build and high speeds of up to 3,000 ppm can still give you an intense massage.
What sets this machine apart from the rest is that it has a heated head that can get to 40ºC in under 2 minutes, and a cold gel head. You can put the cold head in the freezer for a few hours and then use it for a nice cryotherapy massage.
The main complaint is that it's heavy. This is more of a problem with a low amplitude machine like this, because you generally have to use low amplitude devices for longer periods of time to fully relax your muscles.
Weight: 914 g
Amplitude: 10 mm
Speed: From 2,100 to 3,000 ppm
Stall force: 18 lbs
Battery life: 3.5 hours
Noise level: doesn't say
Warranty: 3 years
Price: £299.99
Click here for more information and to order the HoMedics Pro Physio
Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Pocket-Sized Muscle Massage Gun
In short: portable, yet powerful, with long battery life
This is a well-made portable machine that's designed for use on the go. It's light, the size of your hand, has long battery life, and ultra quiet (so you can use it on the bus without getting stared at).
The amplitude may be super low (which helps it to be quiet), but it has a lot of power, and with a top speed of 3,000 ppm, you'll get a great vibrational massage on the go. It also has an impressive stall force of 32 lbs, which means you can push it into your flesh hard (without it stopping) for a more intense massage (although in the review video below, it was found to be 23 lbs, which still is quite impressive for a machine this small).
Its low price means you might consider having something like a theragun for use at home, and one of these for a more convenient massage on the go.
At the time of writing, this device has over 2,000 reviews on amazon, with an average of 4.8 stars! That's very impressive. As always, we don't know how many of those reviews are incentivised or fake, on looking through them, they seem to be mostly from genuine happy customers.
I can see that this machine is mostly praised by its reviewers for its portability and high stall force (which allows you to press down harder to get a more intense or deeper massage).
Weight: 430 g
Amplitude: 7 mm
Speed: From 1800 to 3,000 ppm
Stall force: 32 lbs (although in one review video it was found to be 23 lbs, which still isn't too bad)
Noise level: 34 to 42 decibels
Battery life: 4 hours
Warranty: 1 year
Price: £89.99
Click here for more information and to order the Bob and Brad Q2
Which Massage Guns Would I Want To Purchase?
Since I do regular high intensity exercise, I would like to get the Theragun PRO to use at home, AND the Bob and Brad Q2 for use on the go. Since the Theragun is so expensive, I'd probably get the Bob and Brad Q2 first, and consider purchasing the Theragun later if I felt that I could use the high amplitude.
For now, I'm happy with my old Scholl machine. Thanks to my other natural methods of pain reduction, I can't justify spending even £89 for the Q2 just yet. I'll likely get it out of curiosity in the near future, when I do, I'll let you know what I think.
Useful Resources
The guy in this video owns a lot more massage guns than I do, I recommend you check it out if you want more help with making an informed decision on which massage gun to buy.
I've watched the video and put all of the information Scott reveals in the above video in a nice table, where you can much more clearly see which devices have the best features suited to your particular needs. I'll send you a free copy of this Excel file, if you answer the following quick question for me: