Are massage guns (percussion massagers) safe?
Massage guns (percussion massagers) are widely marketed but are they safe, or even effective? Colleagues mention seeing damage caused by... Read Article
Massage can give great relief for fibromyalgia, but while some massages work well others don’t, and there is always the potential for the wrong massage to hurt or cause your fibromyalgia to flare up. Also, scientific studies show that while individual massages can give temporary relief, to get long term improvement you need regular massages over time.
This means that you will need to be able to do at least some self massage, or it will become very expensive. In this article we will show you which massages work the best and how to do very effective self massage for fibromyalgia.
The way we will do this is to:
To get a good overview please check out our short video demonstration of massage for fibromyalgia.
To help work out the best massage for you we looked at i) the clinical trials, ii) other scientific information, and iii) the clinical considerations. For details on these please our article The best massage for fibromyalgia
In this section:
Studies show that while general massage techniques can give some relief, techniques that target (myofascial) trigger points (tender lumps in your muscles) give better results. Scientists have found that these are the major cause of fibromyalgia, and treating these gives great relief. For more information please see this article.
Because fibromyalgia sufferers are highly sensitive so you need a technique that causes minimal pain, and start conservatively then increase as you become more tolerant. This is a big issue, because most massage techniques that target the important deep muscular issues use painful pressure.
All the clinical trials of massage for fibromyalgia we found bar one used from 10 to 30 applications, but still only gave incomplete relief. Also once the massages were stopped the symptoms gradually returned. This means you will need:
The muscular conditions that need massaging are usually widespread on your body, therefore fibromyalgia massages tends to be prolonged “whole body” massages.
Because of 3 & 4 at least some therapy will need to be self therapy, or it will be extremely expensive and inconvenient.
Your best option is to use vibration massage. It is the only massage that fits these well. For those not familiar this is where vibrations are used to penetrate and have their therapeutic effects. There are very large advantages in using vibrations to penetrate rather than the physical pressure used in conventional massage.
In the next section we will show you how to choose a vibration massager and how to use it to get the best results.
In this section we will outline what you need to look at when choosing a suitable vibration massager to treat fibromyalgia. We will then show the two DrGraeme massagers that are ideal. For more information please see our article How to choose a massager
You will need a strongly built massager that gives professional standard therapeutic vibration massage. These are the main specifications and features you will need.
You will need a massager that can deliver therapeutic vibrations from 30-50 hz (cycles per second). Speeds are often quoted as RPM, so this is 1,800-3,000 rpm.
Please note that you will see machines with things like buttons, multiple speeds and led indicators. This is just pure gimmick and something that can easily fail. You are better off with a simple variable speed control like you would find on a quality power tool
Many of the areas you will need to massage are hard to reach, so you will need a massager with a proper ergonomically designed handle. You will not be able to reach these areas with a “Massage gun” shaped machine.
To transmit the therapeutic vibrations you need a comfortable flattish head. Manufacturers often include a variety of different heads, including shaped hard plastic ones that are designed to drive into the muscles rather than transmit vibrations. These are a gimmick, and the last thing you need with fibromyalgia.
Most “vibrating” massagers sold nowadays are percussion massagers. As we discuss in our article Vibration vs percussion massage, these are designed to drive their heads in like jackhammers rather than to deliver therapeutic vibrations. That is why most come with the previously mentioned hard plastic heads. Think of percussion massagers as like meat tenderisers. They will give little therapeutic benefit, while creating a grave risk of causing pain or a flare up.
As UK researchers found (1) manufacturers of hand held massagers have a long history of concentrating on what their massagers look like on shop shelves rather than how they worked. Most of these machines are only marginally effective at best.
A few years ago with “consumer grade” massagers generally being so poor, and our patients needing an effective massager for use at home, we started building our own machines. Of course they have all of the desirable features mentioned above and none of the things we need to avoid. These are now used, recommended and sold by a wide range of professionals across many countries, or available from us directly. For details please see our get a massager page.
We’ve had this machine for over a decade and it’s proved to be extremely effective, economical and reliable. The only shortfall is that you are limited to massaging the region under the single head. More information about the General Purpose Massager
This machine has the same ergonomic shape and effectiveness as the General Purpose Massager, but has four heads so it can massage a much larger area. More information about the Ultimate Quad Head Massager
In this section:
Vibration massagers are extraordinary easy to use. We have complete details including precautions in our article How to use a massager However, basically all you need to do is to sit the head on the part to be massaged and let the vibrations penetrate. There is no need to press in or move the machine around like you would do with conventional massage.
A lot of people use conventional massage techniques like pressing the head of the massager in and moving it around. As shown in this pic we liken this to a lumberjack using a chainsaw like an axe. We even see a lot of “professionals” demonstrate this way on YouTube videos. Ignore this ignorance.
The musculoskeletal problems you will be massaging can be complex. Although you will be doing a lot of the massage yourself you need to get some professional advice. He or she can help determine what you need, help you find where to massage, and monitor to make sure you are doing it effectively. Please note that because of this everything in this article is general advice, to be discussed with a professional familiar with your own needs.
Start very conservatively and gradually increase intensity as the condition improves. An effective treatment for fibromyalgia would be an application to each spot of 50 hz vibration for about 30 seconds. However, you might start with applications of about 30 hz for 10 seconds to just some parts of your body.
To help you get the best long term results we recommend that you read our article on how to treat trigger points at home
If you are a professional wishing to help your patients/clients with home trigger point therapy DrGraeme massagers were originally built by Dr Graeme for use in his clinic for this purpose and are now used by colleagues and other professionals for similar purposes. If you are a professional and wish to know more about this therapy, or possibly get a sample massager to trial please check out our practitioner page.
We are continually adding more information on research and uses. Subscribe below to have us email them to you "hot off the press".
Several years ago Dr Graeme, a Chiropractor practicing in Victoria, Australia was looking for a serious hand held massager his patients could use at home to get the extra quality massage they needed. The ones he found in the shops and on-line for home use looked nice but were not serious, and... read more
Massage guns (percussion massagers) are widely marketed but are they safe, or even effective? Colleagues mention seeing damage caused by... Read Article
Trigger points are those tender lumps in muscles that therapists find. This article covers what they are, what they do, and how they are... Read Article
Massage can give great relief for fibromyalgia, but while some massages work well others don’t, and there is always the potential for the... Read Article
The results of several clinical trials show that common tension headaches are typically caused by trigger points in the following... Read Article
When we look at the root cause of fibromyalgia we need to look at two levels: 1. the malfunction of the nervous system which causes the... Read Article
Trigger point release is a general term that describes procedures that relax tension and relieve pain in muscles that contain trigger... Read Article
Using a hand held massager is simple. You place the vibrating head on the muscle, making good contact, and allow the vibrations to... Read Article
In the one clinical trial that directly compared massage and anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) for back pain massage gave the far superior... Read Article
Do not refresh or leave this page until loading complete.