Is a Impact Massage Gun Better Than Stretching

Complex stretching may be less effective in reducing muscle tension and aiding post-exercise recovery compared to impact massage guns. Your deep muscle tissue and other remedies that are hard to achieve solely with a stretch can be stimulated by using an impact massage gun, increasing local blood flow, and speeding up the muscle repair process.

1. Mechanism Differences

Impact Massage Gun Mechanism

• Deep muscle tissues are forced to vibrate by impact force.

• Individual motor with adjustable vibration amplitude to meet the needs of different muscle groups.

• A large number of high-frequency stimulations in a short time, rapidly and fully relaxing muscles.

Furthermore, a study from the Journal of Exercise and Rehabilitation Research discovered that using an impact massage gun can help reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) by 30%. In contrast, stretching on its own can only reduce muscle soreness by 12%. This tremendous level of force can penetrate the fascia layer in just a few seconds, rapidly relaxing muscle tension and improving muscle adhesion.

Stretching Mechanism

• Increases muscle fiber length under tensile force.

• Strengthens muscles and joints, which contributes to flexibility.

• Improves the elasticity of muscles and tendons, reducing the risk of sports injuries.

A study in the Journal of Musculoskeletal System Research and Therapy found that regular static stretching can only act on the superficial fascia level of muscles and has no relaxation effect on the deep fascia. This unique mechanism allows massage guns to reach much deeper into muscles compared to stretching, which does not always get as deep into areas that need it most, resulting in a more efficient recovery process.

2. Muscle Recovery Speed

Pulse massagers can reduce the muscle recovery time after exercise by a significant amount. The Journal of Rehabilitation Science and Sports Medicine shows that an impact massage gun can decrease muscle recovery time by 35%, whereas stretching alone can only shorten it by 10%.

Comparison of muscle fatigue and tension on a 0–10 rating scale (muscle fatigue) and N (muscle tension) respectively after 24 hours using different methods:

The effects of the impact massage gun are much better than simple stretching. Combining stretching with a massage gun can also improve muscle fatigue and tension, as shown in the table above. ABEGET Impact massage guns can also increase local blood flow, which results in quicker transportation of nutrients and oxygen, as well as faster removal of metabolic waste, all aiding in recovery.

3. How the Deficiencies of Stretching Are Complemented

Stretching is important in sports rehabilitation for enhancing flexibility and increasing joint range of motion; however, it is debatable whether a deep muscle relaxation effect occurs or not. Hence, it is important to list the primary similarities of both and use impact massage guns as a useful alternative in areas where stretching falls short.

• Impact massage guns have been found to enhance deep muscle tissue activation by 40%, compared with only 15% from stretching, as reported in one study published in the International Journal of Sports Rehabilitation and Training (2023).

• According to a survey conducted by the Sports Rehabilitation Research Center, the sliding ability between muscle fibers increased by 18% after using an impact massage gun for 2-3 minutes, while stretching alone improved this number by only 7%.

• Stretching primarily involves one-directional pulling of the muscles, while the impact massage gun can stimulate muscle groups from multiple angles and frequencies.

To combine stretching with the Pro fascia gun, we need to divide it into two situations before and after exercise, and then cross-combine them to achieve the best effect.

• Pre-exercise: Stretching opens up the muscles and enhances joint mobility. After that, using an impact massage gun for deep activation can reduce muscle threshold before performing the exercise.

• Post-workout: Dynamic stretching helps loosen the muscles, followed by the impact massage gun to release muscle tension and boost recovery.