If you have been running for ten seconds and have an Instagram account, you have seen at least one of the many massage guns out there. Once you clicked through an ad, you probably gawked at the insane price of some of these modified jigsaws. Some retail for as high as $700! I want a massage, but $700 for me to massage myself, that ain’t gonna happen. I stuck to foam rolling. However, fate intervened. Triggerpoint reached out and asked if I would review the $200 Impact Percussion Massage Gun. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I had demoed some of their expensive competition, so I wanted to see if the more budget-friendly tool could be as useful.
Some of the bells and whistles you forego in the Impact involve interchangeable heads. The Trigger Point Impact has one “universal” head. One head was enough for me and was able to get to any muscles I wanted to pinpoint. Overall the tool is streamlined down to just what you need, which makes it easy to pack, it isn’t super light so you won’t be taking it everywhere with you, but the compact size easily fits in a backpack. One button controls on/off and four massage speeds. Charge it once for over 2 hrs of continuous massage. You would be surprised how long that is. I can go for a couple of weeks without recharging this thing. Another detail worth mentioning is the gun isn’t very loud, it seems quieter than the competition. You can easily use the tool while watching a show without irritating those around you.
All the tech specs are cool, but using this thing is where the magic happens. I dare you to try the Impact Gun without smiling; this tool shakes stuff up. I use it on all my big muscles, but I found it was excellent at getting to the tissue that the foam roller can’t, for example, the thin muscle that runs down along the shin. Be careful not to hit the bone cause that sucks, but if you get to muscles that generally don’t get attention, they just sing. The best thing that came out of using the gun was I fixed a problem that I had accepted as unfixable. I had a knot on my Achilles tendon, I even went to a PT to see if we could fix it. It was a gumball size mass right on the tendon. The PT said it was scar tissue, and he could try to break it up with a Graston tool. If you have had a PT use a Graston on you, you know it isn’t pleasant. The area was sensitive, as well. I just let it be there.
When I got the gun, I thought the high vibration might be able to break up the scar tissue. The first time I tried it, the pain was rough. I switched the gun to the opposite Achillies, and there was no pain. Scientific method, am I right? So I started gently using the gun on the knot for only a few seconds at a time. After a couple of weeks of doing this, the knot has vanished, and I have more flexibility in the ankle. This gun would be worth it just for clearing that up.
With the knot cleared up, I still use the tool to massage my calves, thighs, and neck. Add the Trigger Point Impact Percussion Massage Gun to the list of my favorite recovery tools. This massager gets a big thumbs up from me. You can pick one up from Running Warehouse, use the button below.
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