Gravity Loosen up heated therapeutic massage gun overview

Ever used a sizzling compress to ease a headache or soaked in a sizzling tub to appease sore muscle groups? Warmth is a straightforward, accessible solution to self-treat quite a lot of points. For this reason firms are actually instantly constructing these advantages into restoration merchandise, just like the Gravity Loosen up handheld deep tissue massager.

As a result of heated therapeutic massage weapons are so new to the market, it’s nearly inconceivable to seek out trusted analysis on them. However in response to a 2021 examine printed within the journal Life, we do know that steady, low-level warmth remedy gives ache aid, improves muscular energy, and will increase flexibility. And localized warmth remedy has additionally been proven to extend blood move — supplying tissues with recent blood and oxygen whereas flushing out waste to assist restoration.

Mix the advantages of warmth with percussion remedy—which could be as efficient as therapeutic massage remedy and foam rolling in decreasing muscle soreness, in response to a 2021 examine printed within the Worldwide Journal of Environmental Analysis and Public Well being — and also you’ve received a one-two punch of feel-good restoration.

I examined the Gravity Loosen up in the course of the week after I ran the New York Metropolis marathon and took it with me on my first ski journey of the season the next week. Right here’s what I assumed.

One of many normal measures of a therapeutic massage gun is revolutions per minute, or what number of occasions the top can hit your muscle in a single minute. The upper the velocity, the upper the depth of the percussion. The Gravity calm down has a variety of 1400 to 3200 RPM, and 30 particular person ranges of depth (you’ll be able to enhance or lower the depth through the touchscreen on the gadget).

Truthfully, I didn’t see a necessity for this many ranges — however I appreciated how straightforward it was to vary the depth (with a single hand!) when transferring from the massive muscle groups of my quads, which I actually get pleasure from pummeling on the highest intensities, to my extra delicate calves. Ultimately, I didn’t discover a lot of a distinction between, say, ranges 15 and 16 or 29 and 30; I’d enhance/lower by about 5 at a time for a noticeable impact.

The Gravity Loosen up comes with six attachments: a ball head, flat head, D-shaped head, U-shaped head, air-cushion head, and a sizzling therapeutic massage head. Most of these are normal for contemporary therapeutic massage weapons, however the one which isn’t normal — the heated head — was the one I used to be most focused on (and used probably the most). It’s made out of steel and comes with three temperature ranges: 96.8°F to 105.8°F, 109.4°F to 114°F, and 116°F to 125°F. With out the percussion engaged, I might really feel the warmth nearly instantly but it surely took a couple of minutes to achieve the very best temperatures; the extra intense the percussion, the much less intense the warmth felt. Although it wou;d be arduous to know if the warmth had something greater than a placebo impact whereas figuring out the kinks throughout post-marathon restoration, however boy did it really feel good on my drained, chilly muscle groups after a full day of snowboarding.

With so many highly effective “mini” massagers in the marketplace — see: the Roll Restoration R1, Hyperice Hypervolt Go 2 and the Theragun Mini — I discovered the Gravity Loosen up to be just a little cumbersome. It’s concerning the measurement of a hair dryer which isn’t an enormous deal for at-home use. However I did need to rearrange issues in my carry-on to suit it. it additionally is available in a pretty storage case that homes all of the attachments and chargers, however that was manner an excessive amount of to journey with, so I opted to solely convey the gun and heated attachment.

Associated: I’ll by no means journey with out the Roll Restoration R1 therapeutic massage gun once more

I’ve a complete drawer filled with chargers for all types of tech, from therapeutic massage weapons to health trackers to vibrating foam rollers, and I want firms would agree on one common charger. It doesn’t assist that the Gravity Loosen up requires two chargers: a 17V energy adapter for the gun itself, and a Kind-C charger for the heated attachment. Happily, I nearly all the time journey with a Kind-C charger and the gun has sufficient juice for 5 hours of use, but it surely’s nonetheless irritating to need to preserve a number of chargers available for a single gadget.

Probably the most well-known percussion gun manufacturers, Theragun and Hyperice, don’t supply heated attachments. Plus, the Gravity Loosen up affords a wider vary of RPM than each (the Theragun PRO, $599, has a variety of 1750 to 2400 RPM whereas Hyperice Hypervolt 2 Professional, $399, has a variety of 1700 to 2700 RPM), and does so at a extra reasonably priced value. Nevertheless, with an amplitude—AKA how deep a gun can penetrate into your muscle groups—of 8 millimeters, the Gravity Loosen up is considerably much less highly effective than these different weapons, which have amplitudes of 16mm and round 14 mm, respectively.

There are a number of different heated therapeutic massage weapons obtainable: The $169.99 Urikar Professional 2 heats as much as 113°F and has a variety of 1200 to 3600 RPM and a 15mm amplitude, whereas the $229.99 Lifepro Fusion FX heats as much as 131°F and has a variety of 1600 to 3200 RPM and a 10mm amplitude. Each are extra highly effective (and costlier), however don’t get as sizzling because the Gravity Loosen up.

What I appreciated most concerning the Gravity Loosen up was the soothing impact of the warmth. And total, it’s extra of a stress-free expertise than the usual jackhammering you may anticipate from a therapeutic massage gun. You’re not going to get the identical degree of penetration as with stronger units, however for those who’re not completely beating up your physique within the health club (or on the slopes) and on the lookout for a tiny efficiency edge, this gadget is comparable sufficient to others in the marketplace—with a extra accessible value together with the additional benefit of warmth remedy.