If the ability to give yourself a muscle-pummeling massage sounds appealing, a massage gun might be for you. These devices promise to amp up a home massage and soothe your body by melting away knots, increasing circulation, decreasing muscle pain and soreness, and reducing inflammation, among other claims. Definitive scientific evidence of their efficacy is scarce, and they can be noisy and expensive. But many people find a massage gun to be a useful tool, whether for post-workout recovery or after a long day on the job. “As long as you’re not causing any detriment or harm—whether that be to the body or to the pockets—if it makes you feel better, then go ahead and use it,” said Christopher Hicks, MD, who at the time of our interview was a clinical associate of orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation medicine at University of Chicago Medicine.
