Theragun Massage Blues

A Theragun can feel like a gift from the recovery gods, especially when a hard-training athlete is stiff, sore, tight, cranky, or looking for a quick way to loosen up before the next taxing effort. Marty Gallagher’s original question still matters: is a portable percussive massage device a serious athletic tool, or just another expensive feel-good toy? The answer is yes to both, depending on how it is used, what is being claimed, and whether the user respects its limits.

“I Will Give Up My Theragun When They Pry My Cold Dead Fingers From Around It!”

Have Theragun — Will Travel.

The Theragun Massage Blues. In a classic Seinfeld episode entitled “The Masseuse,” Jerry begins dating a massage expert who gives the most incredible massages to everyone she touches, including Kramer, who relates, “Oh my God Jerry — she has the hands of a goddess!” and George, “THAT was incredible!” Yet when it is time for boy-toy Jerry to get one of these transcendental massages, the masseuse is always tired, run down, worn out, beat, exhausted.

Jerry is losing his mind and becoming increasingly obsessed. He craves and expects a deep tissue massage administered by his expert lover. Yet every time he brings up getting a rubdown, or even alludes to it, his pathetic plea falls on deaf ears. His pleading is immediately met with a flat “No!” followed by a take-it-or-leave-it excuse. Eventually, the massage-starved Seinfeld breaks it off with the master masseuse.

Jerry and I have some things in common.

After getting rave reviews from normally cynical athletic friends, I obtained a Theragun PRO massage gun by Therabody. I am a big fan of massage and hydrotherapy and have excellent past experiences with massage as a restorative mode and stress reliever.

My intention was to test-drive the Theragun device and find out what useful purposes it might have for the hardcore resistance trainer intent on shortening the time it takes to regain homeostasis. The quicker the athlete regains normalcy after a hard session, the sooner that athlete can train hard again.

What should the serious athlete expect from a massage device? Could a portable percussive massage gun support the recovery process that follows a successful progressive resistance session? Could it help an athlete warm up, relax tight tissues, reduce perceived soreness, and get ready for the next body-taxing event?

A tool is just a toy if it does not genuinely improve some aspect of the athletic process. I know massage can work as an athletic adjunct — but was the Theragun a tool or just another feel-good toy? I intended to find out.

Theragun PRO percussive massage gun.

Massage, Readiness, and the Charlie Francis Lesson

Sprint genius Charlie Francis massaged his top runners before and again after training sessions. He used the pre-workout massage as a way to gauge the runner’s readiness for the session. If during the pre-workout massage he felt, literally, that the athlete’s muscles were too tight or knotted, he would cancel the session or change the content of the session.

Francis used post-workout massage as part of his recovery strategy. The old language was that massage helped dislodge toxins and waste products. A cleaner modern description is that massage may reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness, perceived fatigue, stiffness, and discomfort for some athletes.

A post-exercise recovery meta-analysis found massage useful for reducing DOMS and perceived fatigue after exercise. A systematic review of massage-gun percussive therapy also found promising effects on flexibility, acute performance measures, and experiences of musculoskeletal pain, while noting that the included studies had methodological or reporting limitations.

In plain gym English: massage guns can help some people feel looser and more ready to move. They are not magic, and they are not a substitute for sleep, food, intelligent programming, or professional care when something is genuinely injured.

The Theragun Arrives, and Stacy Claims It

No sooner had the device arrived than my wife and girlfriend of 25 years, Stacy, took advantage of my inherent spaced-out inattention and immediately began experimenting with the sophisticated device.

The Theragun had different percussive speeds augmented with different tips: end pieces attached to the Theragun body. The tips ranged from broad and wide to thin and pointed.

Theragun app for Bluetooth-guided routines.

Stacy was particularly impressed with the technological support provided. As she related to me, “The Therabody app for iPhone is incredibly comprehensive. It provides a wide range of tactical options.”

She wanted to experiment with the idea of pre-workout massage as a way to improve the about-to-happen workout.

“I was intrigued by the idea that individual body parts could be massaged, warmed up, ahead of different activities. Some of these activities are sports specific, while others relate to overall health and well-being.”

Insofar as connectivity, the Theragun met and exceeded her expectations. “The other interesting feature of the app is its ability to link to health and fitness apps through Bluetooth compatibility.”

The Theragun PRO product page identifies Bluetooth smart-app integration, app-guided routines, a customizable speed range, multiple attachments, and an adjustable arm as key features. That does not prove every app routine creates a specific physiological outcome, but it does explain why Stacy found the device easy to organize around body-part-specific use.

Stacy’s Workload: The Perfect Theragun Test Case

Stacy maintains a hyperactive lifestyle. “I am physically always moving. I push my body every day: I powerwalk, lift weights, use the CrossCore, muck stalls, haul water buckets, toss hay bales, ride horses. All parts of my body are taxed and overloaded on a regular basis.”

She began using body-part-specific routines on beat-up areas: neck, shoulders, back, legs, hip flexors, and feet. “I have a myriad of options to address my multiple areas of tightness.”

The Theragun was also used as a relaxation ritual. “I tried several of the activity-specific routines identified in the Therabody app, including the sleep routine, which I found quite relaxing and which could promote sleepiness for someone finding it hard to settle down.”

Effective massage can deactivate an overactive mind for some people. Relaxation often precedes sleep. That said, a massage gun should not be presented as a treatment for insomnia or a replacement for medical evaluation when sleep problems are persistent.

“Lately I have been using the Theragun as a prep tool for the next taxing activity ahead of me. This has given me the ability to push my body harder and longer during the course of a day.”

There is an array of accessories that makes targeted use easier. The multiple tips and the adjustable arm of the Theragun PRO allowed Stacy to reach massage points that would otherwise be hard to access.

Theragun PRO by Therabody with accessory attachments.

Attachments, Tips, and Targeted Use

“With four different arm settings on the Theragun PRO, I can get to all parts of my back, even the hard-to-reach middle back. The multiple tips include a dampener, a large ball, a standard ball, a thumb tip, and a cone tip. The tip on the Theragun that I use the most is the dampener, which has a round, flat surface area.”

The IRON COMPANY Theragun PRO page lists six attachments: Dampener, Standard Ball, Wedge, Thumb, Cone, and Supersoft. The page also lists five built-in speeds, an app-controlled customizable speed range from 1750 to 2400 percussions per minute, 16 mm amplitude, two swappable batteries, and a four-position adjustable arm.

Stacy used the cone tip on small areas of the feet and toes. She also customized the dampener tip for belly massage and reflexology-informed foot work related to her own digestive discomfort.

This is where the claims need to be carefully framed. Stacy’s Crohn’s disease, digestive discomfort, reflexology practice, and personal bodywork methods are her lived experience. A Theragun should not be presented as treating Crohn’s disease, IBS, Parkinson’s disease, or any digestive or neurological disorder.

Stacy’s language is best understood as practical self-care and bodywork experimentation: she felt less tight, more relaxed, and better able to move.

Using the Theragun With Older Trainees

Stacy has also been using the Theragun with many of her clients and students. She works mainly with the 50-to-80-year-old demographic, a group that often arrives with extreme tightness and mobility limits.

“Most older trainees’ postural and mechanical function becomes impaired. This limits range of motion. The Theragun gives me the ability to temporarily take away the tightness. This releases tension and opens up biomechanical pathways. The Theragun enables them to move better. Now we exercise!”

The key word is temporarily.

A massage gun may help an older trainee feel looser before training. It may provide a short window in which movement feels smoother and more accessible. It does not rebuild posture by itself, fix joint degeneration, correct long-standing movement dysfunction, or replace progressive strength work.

“I find that when I work with the 50+ crowd, there are common points of tightness. Typically, I will use the Theragun on a trainee’s neck, back, hips, knees, and calves prior to a workout.”

For older trainees, especially those with controlled or uncontrolled hypertension, circulation issues, bruising, medications that thin the blood, reduced sensation, recent surgery, or unexplained pain, percussive therapy requires more caution. Therabody’s own safety guidance lists multiple circumstances where professional advice is recommended before use.

Parkinson’s, IBS, and the Short-Term Training Window

Stacy uses the Theragun to help a longtime friend afflicted with Parkinson’s disease. “Her muscles preferentially over-fire on the right side of her mid-back, causing her to lean terribly to the left. The Theragun has given me the ability to relax the overfiring muscles on the right. I then use KT tape supportively. This gives her short-term relief from the lean and the ability to then train her movement in a more balanced way.”

Another friend suffers from severe irritable bowel syndrome that continually impedes her training. “Internal discomfort can be extreme enough to cause the left side of her back and her right glute to overfire in response to the discomfort. I have been able to use the Theragun to release these overfiring muscles. Massage creates a short-term balanced pathway. This gives me a training window: while the window is open, we work to strengthen stabilizers in a more balanced way.”

These are compelling coaching anecdotes, not clinical evidence that a Theragun treats Parkinson’s disease, IBS, Crohn’s disease, digestive disorders, or neurological conditions. The useful lesson is narrower and more practical: when tightness temporarily decreases, some trainees may be able to move and practice better for a short period.

That window should be used for careful training, not for grand medical claims.

Massage Is Not Just for Humans

Theragun massage gun for horses and other animals.

Massage is not just for humans. Stacy is a professional horse trainer and riding instructor. She works with different types of horses in varying states of fitness. She owns two horses; one has severe muscular imbalances. She also works with client horses that have muscular imbalances. Horses, unlike people, cannot talk about or describe their discomfort.

“I have learned horse bodywork and horse chiropractic work over the years. Chiropractic protocols release tightness leading to better balance. The Theragun has given me the ability to accelerate these methods and become a great pre-workout tool. I use the Theragun on my horse prior to a training session. I use it on myself prior to a riding session as I find pre-workout massage promotes better relaxation under saddle and on saddle.”

When horse and rider are relaxed, great training sessions occur.

“My big horse has tight shoulders and hips. Her left hip is slightly rotated downward with an overfiring right glute, causing the rotation of her left hip to be slower than her right. This adversely affects the functionality and mobility of her shoulders.”

“The Theragun has given me a greater ability to target tightness in her body and release overfiring muscles. This has resulted in a horse that comes to her work happy and not worried. Her body can work more effectively and efficiently under saddle.”

Animal use should be treated as a professional bodywork context, not a casual experiment. A horse cannot tell you that the pressure is too much, the spot is painful, or the vibration is making the situation worse. Veterinary guidance is appropriate when pain, lameness, injury, neurological signs, swelling, heat, abnormal behavior, or performance decline is present.

Tool, Toy, or Both?

I have a great yearning for my wife to massage my tight-ass parts with the Theragun, especially my feet. I suspect there is a single trigger point on one of my toes that, if hit with the Theragun pointed tip using just the right pressure and frequency, will unleash a gusher of psychological trauma dating back to my childhood and this will change me as a person moving forward.

That is my hope.

Stacy is considering it, but she is quite busy as of late.

So is the Theragun a tool or a toy? My answer: it can be both. It is entertaining, satisfying, and almost dangerously easy to overuse because it feels good. That makes it toy-like. It can also be organized around warm-up, relaxation, mobility, soreness management, and short-term training readiness. That makes it a tool.

The difference is discipline and judgment.

Equipment Notes: Theragun Options at IRON COMPANY

For readers comparing percussive massage devices and related recovery tools, IRON COMPANY lists them in the vibration exercisers and massage guns category.

The Theragun PRO by Therabody is the larger, professional-grade option discussed throughout this article. Its listed features include app-guided routines, Bluetooth integration, multiple attachments, adjustable arm positions, 16 mm amplitude, and a customizable 1750–2400 PPM range.

The Theragun Mini by Therabody is the compact version. It is listed with three speeds, 12 mm amplitude, a standard ball attachment, and an internal lithium-ion battery. It makes sense for travel and quick on-the-go use when the full-size PRO is more device than the situation requires.

Safety Note for Percussive Massage Guns

Do not use a massage gun over open wounds, rashes, infections, tumors, bruised tissue, suspected fractures, surgical sites, hardware, blood clots, areas with unexplained pain, or areas with reduced sensation. Use caution or seek professional guidance when there is uncontrolled hypertension, vascular disease, bleeding disorder, severe neuropathy, connective tissue disorder, pacemaker or ICD, recent injury or surgery, medications that thin the blood or alter sensation, or acute illness.

Do not press hard enough to bruise the tissue. Do not use a pointed attachment aggressively over bone, the throat, the face, the abdomen, or sensitive structures. Start with the broadest comfortable attachment, the lowest effective speed, and short exposure.

Percussive massage can help some athletes feel looser, warmer, and more ready to train. It does not diagnose injuries, treat chronic disease, replace physical therapy, or make reckless training smart.  

About the Author

As an athlete Marty Gallagher is a national and world champion in Olympic lifting and powerlifting. He was a world champion team coach in 1991 and coached Black's Gym to five national team titles. He's also coached some of the strongest men on the planet including Kirk Karwoski when he completed his world record 1,003 lb. squat. Today he teaches the US Secret Service and Tier 1 Spec Ops on how to maximize their strength in minimal time. As a writer since 1978 he’s written for Powerlifting USA, Milo, Flex Magazine, Muscle & Fitness, Prime Fitness, Washington Post, Dragon Door and now IRON COMPANY. He’s also the author of multiple books including Purposeful Primitive, Strong Medicine, Ed Coan’s book “Coan, The Man, the Myth, the Method" and numerous others. Read the Marty Gallagher biography here.