Nowadays, muscle massager gun is not only popular in sports circle but are used by many office workers. It has great effect on exercise relaxation. It looks very easy to use fascia gun as if hitting an uncomfortable part of the body. Is it really true?
In fact, there are still many precautions for the use of the fascia gun. Improper operation may bring great danger. How to use muscle massager gun?
A. Applicable and contraindicated groups of fascia gun
Applicable groups:
1. Professional athlete with a lot of exercise;
2. Sports lovers, often go to the gym or exercise self-disciplined;
3. People who are sedentary for a long time and basically do not move, mainly referring to office workers who sit for several hours at a time.
Contraindicated groups:
1. Pregnant women;
2. People with acute contusions;
3. People with health problems.
Now let's talk about the use of different massage head. Generally, massage gun is equipped with four different massage heads such as ball head, conical head, U shaped head and flat head.
1. ball head
It is suitable for relaxation of various parts of the body and for back massage. Due to the spherical 360-degree design without edges, it can better fit the back muscles and relax the waist.
2. Conical head
It is suitable for acupoints, small muscle groups etc., and can locate massage acupoints. For example, massaging Jianjing acupoint can relieve neck and shoulder pain and frozen shoulder.
3. U shaped head
Applicable to both sides of the spine, the U-shaped head avoids the spine and acts on the erector spine on both sides, improving the stability of the spine, and preventing and improving spine and other related problems.
4. flat head
The impact strength is greater, and it is suitable for parts with thick muscles, such as the quadriceps femoris, gluteus maximus, etc. of the calf. Its strong impact can hit deeper into the muscles for a better massage experience, but also a more sour post-workout relaxation experience.
Of course, many people have a lot of misconceptions about the use of fascia guns. Today, we will focus on three easy-to-occur misunderstandings.
C. Misunderstandings of fascia gun
Misunderstanding I: If there is pain after exercise, use the fascia gun to relax and massage.
A:The fascia gun can relieve tension symptoms such as muscle pain and tension, but muscle pain with redness and swelling during exercise may be acute inflammation. Do not use the fascia gun to press the injured part, otherwise it will aggravate the injury.
Misunderstanding II: when relaxing muscles with a massage gun, it’s more comfortable if the strength is greater and it's longer.
A: If the force is too strong or the time is too long, there is a risk of injury. Under high frequency vibration, the force first passes through the skin, fat and fascia layers, and then into the muscle layer; the force passes through each tissue, decreasing in intensity layer by layer. The skin, fat layer and fascia layer are the first to be stressed. If the force is too high, it is easy to bruise the surface tissue and even slightly tear the muscle.
Misunderstanding III: Fascia Gun can be used on all muscles of the body.
A: fascia gun can not be used on below parts:
1. Carotid artery
Although the walls of the large arteries are thicker, continuous exposure to gravity will also damage them. After thrombosis, once the thrombus forms and falls off, as blood flows into the brain and blocks the cerebral blood vessels, it will cause an ischemic stroke.
2. Chest
Due to its proximity to major organs such as the heart and lungs, shock injuries may occur.
3. Armpit
The armpit is full of lymphoid tissue and nerve lines, or damage to lymphatic inflammation, or damage to nerve lines, resulting in hand paralysis.
Correct usages of muscle massager gun
1. Move along muscle lines
Anyone who has cut meat should know that muscles are textured. If they slashed the knife casually, it would most likely make the meat itself look different. In fact, so do people. When using the fascia gun, remember to massage in the direction of the muscle texture, preferably not here or there. This will not only reduce the relaxation effect, but also cause unnecessary damage.
2. Relax for 3-5 minutes on each position
Adjust the dwell time of the fascia gun according to the different massage heads. For example, the front area of the conical head is smaller, the intensity is more concentrated, and the use time does not exceed 3 minutes; the ball head area is larger, the muscle strength is more average, the time can be relatively extended, but not more than 5 minutes.
3. The fascia gun adopts a high-speed vibration method, which is transmitted layer by layer to the outer skin → fat → fascia, and finally reaches the deep layer of the muscle. Because the skin is the first force, when the high-speed vibration is applied, pressing harder will make the epidermis. The tissue appears bruised, red and swollen, and even minor lacerations in severe cases!
Suggestion: When using the fascia gun, it is necessary to control the force, use it in more muscles, and avoid using it in the thinner muscle layer.
