Massage Gun Routine To Relieve Low Back Pain In Under 10 Minutes

Massage guns are great tools to reduce pain and stiffness, especially when it comes to back pain. The main reason is that we want to help reduce muscle soreness but we don’t want to round our back more. Using a massage gun helps us release the muscles without having to do bad movements such as rounding the lower back – a win win!

In this video we cover using massage guns safely with a great routine that is suitable for anyone with lower back pain or sciatica. We’ll be focusing on working on the leg muscles because this allows us to keep the hips nice and mobile, which will ease the pressure on your lower back. At the end of the video we’ll also finish with a quick self-massage of your lower back too, just so you can see how we would safely do this.

Remember to save this page or video so you can revisit it each time and follow along with the routine. 

Five tips for using a massage gun on stiff muscles

Here are some small pointers that will help you get the most out of your massage gun especially if you’re working on the lower body, to make sure it is as effective, and safe, as possible. We don’t mention these in the video so they’re well worth checking out. 

Tip 1: Don’t press too hard

Granted, some people prefer a deeper massage, but our general advice would be to allow your massage gun’s weight to apply the pressure. Applying a little extra pressure from time to time is ok, but we should take care to avoid excessive pressure into the tissues to avoid soreness after the routine, especially in those with less muscle bulk, or less conditioned muscles. 

Tip 2: When to use your massage gun

It is entirely up to you and there really is no wrong time. We would recommend using it after a workout or after periods of stillness. However, some find it helps to use on problem areas to increase blood flow before embarking on physical activity, such as a workout, gardening or horse riding. You’ll feel the difference if you do!

Tip 3: Get moving afterwards

Although sometimes you will just use your massage gun for symptom relief, it is often better to move around after using the massage gun. This takes advantage of the renewed quality to the muscles and can combine perfectly with the next tip

Tip 4: Combine with stretching for a superior result

One great way you can use the massage gun for greater benefit is to use it in conjunction with your stretching. As you’re holding the stretch, running the massage gun along the length of the muscle can give noticeable improvements over static stretching in our experience, it also makes the stretching more pleasant when stretching particularly stiff muscles.

Tip 5: Sometimes you need to take the muscle off tension

Sometimes the muscles are really sensitive and so taking the muscle “off tension” can be the right way to go, a common area is the hamstrings, by standing with the knee bent resting on a chair you can put some “slack” into the hamstring and ease the muscle off first, before using the technique we demonstrate in the video with the leg straight. 

Use massage guns at home to help recover from lower back pain

Ultimately these massage guns are a tool to help you in the recovery journey. Recovering from lower back pain can be a challenge, but with a clear plan you’ll get there. When purchasing massage guns, our recommendation is to buy the best one you can comfortably afford, rather than getting a cheaper model. Brands such as Hyperice and Theragun are the market leaders at the time of writing this and both have more affordable models available, we also have extensive experience using their devices over the last 8 years so can vouch for the quality and durability in a clinical setting.

If you want a little more help with with your back health, stretching your back or just getting your Back In Shape again, and free from back pain or sciatica then there are 3 ways we can help you:

• The Podcast and Youtube channel as a great source of free information on all things back & spine health. 
• The membership to Back In Shape which gives you access to the full program and everything you need to rehabilitate your lower back from home.
• Book in with us for a virtual or “in-person” consultation & treatment at the Back In Shape Studio