I never thought I would be writing about massage guns. I have always though of being a massage therapist was hands on work. I even frown at the cupping craze and the scraping too craze. I had been hearing so much about them, that I finally tried on that one of my friends recommended.
I purchased the Achedaway Pro in the Fall of 2021 as a present to myself to use at home. I took it into the office to try on a few of my regular clients. It was fun and it seemed to help. One client bought one for themself and the other client said it seemed too powerful to use on their own…and I think they may be right, although I trust the first client in using it successfully, knowing they have more experience with self massage tools.
I used it at home mainly on my legs and once in awhile a shoulder or upper arm. The thing about these tools is you can’t really use them on your back by yourself.
In January, I got a new client that had a really tough to get out triggerpoint in their upper back/edge of scapula area and front of shoulder (pecs). They had a few sessions and it got a lot better but still was not 80-100% better so I decided to bring in the gun. One session with using the Achedaway Pro just using it on a few spots for about 30 seconds to a minute brought significant relief! I had them try it themselves to see if they could have used it themselves. Reaching around to the upper back was possible but the same angle and same amount of pressure could not be applied. This is partly why I think this is a tool that should be used by trained massage therapists.
Compare to Cheaper Massage Gun Models
So I had to know… was this model the best? It’s a bit more expensive than the cheaper models and not quite as expensive as some. I asked in my local Facebook group of massage therapists and got a variety of answers. Everyone said they like their model and it worked well. Of course I went and bought two of them to compare. I bought the DACORM Butyce and then the Bob and Brad T2 Massage Gun, Percussion Muscle Massage Gun and honestly there is no comparison. Both are smaller and lighter and easier to use, but they both felt just like a tickle even on high. I have only used the Achedaway Pro on Low and a very little on medium just to see. It is not painful. It seems to be a combination of percussive and vibration while the other two seem to be more vibration.
Using Massage Guns
So I talked to a few other people who I know have some of the smaller, cheaper massage guns and most of them said can’t find the charger or they don’t use it for various reason. They don’t know HOW to use it.
That is where the skill of knowing the body, the muscles, joints and nervous system comes in. A skilled massage therapist should be able to figure out how to really use these to make them more effective.