Foam Rolling, Massage Guns, or Assisted Stretching: Which Is Best for You?

Life in “The Gateway to the Sierras” embraces the beauty of nature, where you spend time outside hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, exploring nearby Fresno, and making relatively long commutes if you have to head to Los Angeles or San Francisco for business. All of this can lead to muscle pain. Add a sports injury, and it’s hard to ignore the pain you experience as you move around.

When pain strikes, three popular options to treat tired, sore muscles exist. You might try foam rolling, massage guns, or assisted stretching. In the Clovis area, which of these options is best for your needs?

Common Treatment Options for Muscle Recovery

If you need to improve flexibility, ease muscle tightness, address muscle pain, or help with muscle recovery, there are three popular treatment options.

Foam Rolling – The use of pressure to improve blood flow and release tension.
Massage Guns – The use of tools that deliver localized, rapid pulses to the muscles to increase blood flow and reduce pain.
Assisted Stretching- Work with a trained sports and orthopedics expert to perform exercises that stretch your muscles and improve flexibility and range of motion.

That’s a quick summation of the best options for addressing muscle pain and tightness. Now, take a closer look at each one.

Foam Rolling

Foam rolling is DIY, which makes it one of the most affordable options. You learn self-massage techniques that use your body weight to apply pressure to and massage different muscles.

The only equipment you need is a cylindrical piece of rigid foam. You press the target area against this foam roller and glide back and forth to massage that tissue. This pressure breaks down tight connective tissue to improve blood flow to the muscles. In time, this eases pain and can improve flexibility.

Pros:

Affordable – Foam rollers don’t cost a lot, which makes them accessible to most people.
Convenient – Bring foam rollers with you. You can bring them to the office, on vacation, or outside to your yard. You’re not limited to a room inside your home. You also complete the massage techniques on your schedule.
Easy to Use – You may be completely new to muscle recovery techniques, and that’s okay. Foam rolling is great for beginners, provided they talk to a doctor about the right techniques, and allows you to target specific areas as you need.
Provides Self-Care – Self-care is important for your physical and mental health. Foam rollers allow you to take care of your muscles and reduce pain, which will improve your mental health, too.

Cons:

Difficulty Reaching Some Areas: You may have muscles in areas where foam rolling is hard to reach. The shoulders are one of the harder areas to reach with foam rollers.
Requires Specific Technique – You do need to have a basic understanding of the anatomy of your muscular structure and the right technique to avoid causing harm.
Takes Time – Foam rolling doesn’t offer immediate improvement. You need to continue using foam roller techniques for weeks or months. Be ready to dedicate that amount of time.
Uncomfortable – When you have very tight muscles, foam rolling may be painful. It can make some people give up before any benefits start.

Massage Guns

Due to the popularity of massage guns, they’re becoming all the rage for muscle treatments. It’s a handheld device that delivers rhythmic pulses into your muscles. The pulsations go deep into the muscles to stimulate blood flow, which relaxes stiff, sore muscles.

A massage gun works quickly at improving range of motion and promoting healing. Like other muscle recovery techniques, there are pros and cons.

Pros:

Convenient – Use the massage gun when you have free time and in most places.
Less Work – The device does the work, so you have less to do to benefit from its use.
Reaches deep muscle tissue – Because the pulses reach deep in the different layers of muscle, they’re great at relaxing knots.
Targeted Relief – You have better control over which muscles are targeted by the massage gun.
Time-Efficient Method – It doesn’t take long to complete a session with a massage gun.

Cons

Cost – Massage guns are more expensive than a foam roller.
Learning Curve – While massage guns are easy to use, it’s important to follow instructions and ensure you know how to use them correctly.
Noisy – Some massage guns make a lot of noise, which limits where you can use them.
Potential for Overuse – You can overdo it, which will make your muscles hurt more until they recover.

Assisted Stretching

Assisted stretching involves working with a trained professional, such as a physical therapist, chiropractor, or certified stretch therapist, who guides your body through a series of stretches. Each one helps boost flexibility and range of motion while reducing pain over time. This allows for a deeper and more controlled stretch than you could achieve on your own.

Pros:

Expert Medical Guidance: Assisted stretching is done with a medical professional after a full exam to determine your issues. That limits the risk of performing the exercises or techniques incorrectly.
High Effort Is Unnecessary – The physical therapist you work with moves your body, assisting you with each stress. You don’t have to put in as much work because of this. Some patients say it’s relaxing.
Lowered Injury Risk – You work with a physical therapist or doctor to learn the right postures, form, and movements. You’re less likely to hurt yourself while completing the stretches.
Personalized Programs – Because you work with a medical professional, the program is customized to your needs and physical health. You get the results you want, and the focus is on balanced muscle groups.
Positive Results – You get the best results with assisted stretching because it’s done under a professional’s expert guidance, with measures designed to deliver results as quickly as possible.

Cons:

Availability – An appointment is required, and the availability of an appointment when it’s most convenient to you may not be ideal.
Cost – The cost is high because you work with a sports and orthopedics professional, but insurance may cover it. It’s worth asking.
Time Consuming – You must make and drive to appointments at a clinic.

Making the Best Choice for Your Clovis Lifestyle

There is no “best” choice. It comes down to your body, your budget, your lifestyle, and your overall goals. Foam rolling is affordable, but assisted stretching might be better for you if you are dealing with injury recovery. It also depends on what your insurance covers.

Listen to your body. Whether you’re out hiking and feel a new pain or find your flexibility isn’t what it used to be, Premium Sports and Orthopedics can help. Call us if you have a muscle injury that is taking longer to heal than you expect, or you experience chronic joint and muscle pain and want it to stop. Schedule an appointment online or by phone and ease muscle aches with the help of an orthopedic specialist.