Full disclosure: Hey everyone! I have an affiliation with Amazon. This simply means that if you click on any of the links I provide here on this page and decide to make any purchases through them, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me to pay for costs associated with running this website and other expenses I incur along the way. At the end of the day, what's MOST important to me is that you spend your money wisely in order to get the highest quality gear at the best possible price for YOU. I believe the Opove M3 Pro is the best bang for your buck, which is why I use it and recommend it. - Jim
Massage guns have become increasingly popular over the past few years and they can come in pretty handy whether you're looking to use them on yourself or on patients within the clinic. They can no doubt be a great piece of arsenal to have in your toolkit, but if you're anything like me, you want to get the highest quality equipment at the most affordable price possible.
I am including a bunch of information on this page to help provide as much insight as I can for you regarding an informed decision when purchasing a massage gun. But the quick takeaway is this: While the gold-standard is the Hypervolt Hyperice, you can get the Opove M3 Pro (link takes you to Amazon), which is what I use. It's about half the price all while retaining 90% of the Hypervolt’s power and abilities. If you’re curious to learn more, keep on reading.
The gold standard massage gun is widely considered to be the Hyperice Hypervolt Percussion Massage Device. It is essentially the Ferrari or Lamborghini of the massage gun world. We have one at the clinic where I work at, and I can attest to its brilliance; the thing is durable, quiet and more powerful than any of its competitors.
The problem is that while I do feel it’s the absolute best massage gun out there, you pay a Ferrari-sized price for it in comparison to nearly all other massage guns. If money is no issue for you, by all means, pick one up as you wont be disappointed. But, most of us would prefer to save some money, if at all possible. So, the question is: Is the price justifiable when there are so many other massage guns that are ALMOST as good?
If you'd like to see a video comparison between the Hyperice Hypervolt and the Opove M3 Pro, you can check out my video in which I compare the two!
HOW THE OPOVE M3 PRO STACKS UP AGAINST THE GOLD-STANDARD
Many people use generic, knock-off versions of the Hypervolt and swear that it’s just as good, while others claim that these versions break or stop working rather quickly or that they have nowhere near the power as the Hypervolt.
I am a believer that you often get what you pay for, and while I’ve wanted my own Hypervolt for quite some time, it’s just a bit too far out of my price range at this stage of my career. If it’s in your price range, I would get it for sure, but if not, I would personally recommend the Opove M3 Massage Gun (click link for Amazon). You can pick it up for approximately half the cost of the Hypervolt.
I went with this particular device after reading reviews and watching YouTube videos until I was blue in the face. I like getting my money’s worth and being an owner of the Opove M3 Pro, I can gladly say that I absolutely got the quality and function that I was seeking. It’s cost is easily justifiable for its performance, durability and reliability.
Remember, any tool only works as good as your application technique and only when it's appropriate to use!
WHAT'S INCLUDED WITH THE M3 PRO?
The M3 Pro comes with a carrying case, four different attachment heads, a standard charging cable and a quick reference book for common areas of the body that you can use the device with. You also get a thirty-day money back guarantee.
Chances are that you’ll still be satisfied if you go with a less expensive massage gun, but here are some key questions to ask yourself:
- Are you planning on using it solely on yourself or on patients in your clinic? Clinic use will be much more demanding and frequent use for the device, which may be an issue if it’s a rather cheap massage gun.
- Will it be staying in one location (such as a clinic or your home) or will you be transporting it quite frequently. If it’s the latter, make sure that you get something that has a proven track record for durability and that it comes with a decent carrying case.
I can’t attest to the quality or performance of the literal hundreds of generic-brand massage guns on the market - they may be amazing or total duds. What I CAN attest to is that I’m always the type of fellow who tries to pay for the highest quality gear that I can reasonably afford. I believe that most of the time we get the quality that we pay for. It’s entirely possible that you could pick up a much cheaper massage gun than the Opove and still be satisfied. My own beliefs based on all the research that I’ve done are that none of the brands that are cheaper than the Opove have the same power output and/or life-expectancy.
Someone like me who uses my device on both myself and many of my patients, I need to have good peace of mine that I’ve got something with quality and dependability behind it. Since I’m not just using it on myself, I need to know that it can handle higher work volumes and still stand the test of time. Again, there very well could be devices that are just as good for a cheaper price than the Opove, but I’m not personally willing to risk my money on it.
GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING MASSAGE GUNS
It’s important to understand what massage guns can and can’t do when it comes to using them. While I won’t get into overly scientific or clinical detail for this section, I will present some basic information that I believe should be helpful for you when it comes to knowing what you can expect from these devices.
Therapists & licensed professionals: Massage guns can be a nice adjunct to incorporate into treatment, but if you’re treating patients, make sure you have accurately sub-classified their pain in order to ensure that a massage gun will indeed be an appropriate intervention and/or beneficial for them.
Individuals: While you aren’t expected to know or determine the root cause of your muscle discomfort, if you find discomfort to be worse after using a massage gun for a prolonged period of time, and if your soreness/discomfort is unaffected (or worse) after attempting to treat it yourself, it would be a wise move to seek professional insight as to what may be the underlying cause.
WHAT ARE MASSAGE GUNS USED FOR?
Massage guns are often used as a way to reduce what individuals perceive to be muscle tightness and muscle soreness (ultimately leading to feelings of mild pain/discomfort or restricted movement). For the sake of this webpage, we will assume that an individual using one of these devices does indeed have discomfort or movement restriction that is coming from acute (i.e. not chronic) muscle tension or soreness and not from any other conditions (such as neurogenic or neuropathic pain, etc).
HOW DOES A MASSAGE GUN WORK AND WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
Massage devices use oscillating movement from an applicator tip to produce intermittent pressure (vibration) onto tissues within the body (most often for muscle tissue). These oscillations in pressure have been shown to improve blood flow and circulation of fluid in and around these targeted muscles. This not only feels good, but also helps the individual to feel more relaxed in the region of tension/discomfort through the massage input.
Ultimately, increased blood flow and fluid dynamics around tissues that are being targeted from the oscillatory intermittent physical pressure can be beneficial in different ways. It can help to down-regulate (decrease) muscle tension, help muscle tissue better remove built-up metabolic byproducts within or near muscle tissue following exertion-based activities such as working out or training.
Also, it just feels really, really good as well!
Some benefits of massage guns include:
Reduced muscle soreness following physical activity
Enhanced recovery from physical activity
Improved fascial mobility
Enhanced localized fluid dynamics (such as blood flow) over the area
Decreased resting muscle tension (note: the hardcore academic portion in me wants you to know that this is perhaps a bit oversimplified, but muscle tension can indeed be altered through mechanical vibration).
A FUN FACT REGARDING VIBRATION'S ABILITY TO BLOCK OUT PAIN:
The vibration produced by the applicator tip can essentially distract the brain from sensations of pain or discomfort while the vibration is being produced by providing a different sensation for the brain to focus on (this is known as the gate theory). I won't get into the geeky details (although I kind of want to), but if you'd like to learn more about this phenomenon, check out the wikipedia article on gate control theory for pain. Just a forewarning, it's pretty geeky (which I love)!
WHO USES OR CAN USE MASSAGE GUNS AND WHERE DO YOU USE THEM?
Massage guns are often used by two populations:
- Clinical professionals (such as physical therapists, chiropractors, osteopathic doctors, etc) for their patients.
- Non-clinical professionals (i.e. the "average joe"). These individuals can be athletes, weekend-warriors or even individuals who aren’t regularly physically active but want to alleviate some muscle discomfort on themselves.
You certainly don’t need to be a licensed clinical professional to use one of these devices. That’s the beauty of these things. You just need to know that you don’t want to use them over bony surfaces, directly over your heart or on your neck (especially the front or side).
WHERE EXACTLY ON THE BODY DO YOU USE A MASSAGE GUN?
Massage guns are designed to be used on any area of your body in which there is muscle tissue (in other words, you don’t want to use it directly on top of bony areas). So, using on softer areas of the body is the way to go (think of the front and back of your thighs, mid and upper back, calves, glutes and parts of your arms). Since massage guns are designed to provide benefits to muscles, it makes sense that they should be used over top of areas with muscles. If using the massage gun feels uncomfortable over a certain area, it may likely be best to avoid using it on that area.
It’s not worth using on the side or front of your neck, so stay away from those areas.