When your shoulders knot up, the massage gun comes out. It genuinely feels good while it is running, and things seem a little lighter afterwards.
Going in, I half expected to end up writing that these do nothing. That is not what I found. They do something — it just is not quite the thing we buy them for.
① First, massage guns do something real
A 2023 systematic review pulled together 11 studies. It concluded that massage guns can improve range of motion and flexibility in the short term, and reduce stiffness in fatigued muscle.
A second review from the same year, covering 13 studies, pointed the same way. A single application acutely improved flexibility, and repeated sessions were associated with less musculoskeletal pain.
So "waste of money" is not a defensible line. What is worth noticing is who was studied: mostly athletes, measured on things like jumping and sprinting.
② The trial that put it head to head, in the neck and shoulders
That is not quite our situation. What happens in a neck and a pair of shoulders that are tight from sitting all day?
A 2025 randomised trial looked at exactly that. Fifty people with chronic neck pain and active trigger points in the upper trapezius were split into a massage gun group and a neck-and-shoulder stretching group. Six sessions of five minutes over three weeks.
The results split in an interesting way.
▸ Pain intensity — no difference between the groups
▸ Overall satisfaction — no difference, and immediately after a session stretching actually rated better
▸ Neck disability — both groups improved
▸ How far the neck could move — here the massage gun group came out ahead
Put simply: for reducing pain it matched stretching, and for widening the range the neck could turn through, it did better.
③ But that is not the same as "the knot released"
This is worth pausing on. More range of motion and a released muscle knot are not the same claim.
I wrote about this before, looking at stretching. Weeks of stretching did not change the structure or the stiffness of the muscle itself — what increased was how much sensation the person could tolerate.
→
barosit.com/community/p/d4a9c6e2-8b15-4f73-a2c8-5e1f9b3d7a06
The massage gun arrives at the same place by a different road. Range improves, and no study has measured whether the subjective knot went away.
The studies are also all short. The longest ran three weeks, and nobody has yet looked at what things are like months later.
④ Where the two reviews disagree
In fairness, those two reviews contradict each other on one point. On muscle strength, one found no improvement or even a decline and recommended against using them for it; the other found an acute increase.
Same year, same topic. It is not what we came here for, but quoting only one of them would not be fair.
⑤ Where you put it matters
An ophthalmology case report was published this year. A 62-year-old man had been applying a massage gun to his closed eyelids to relieve dry eye.
Around 30 Hz, ten minutes at a time, two or three times a day, for three days. Both lenses were subsequently displaced from position and his intraocular pressure climbed to around 50 mmHg, with a large loss of vision. The authors noted that there are no standard safety guidelines for anatomically vulnerable areas.
A case report does not establish cause, and this is very rare. Still, thinly covered areas like the eyes are worth avoiding.
⑥ So if you own one
▸ If you already use it and it feels good — carry on. The evidence for neck range of motion is reasonable.
▸ If you bought it to get rid of the knots — adjust the expectation a little. No study has measured that.
▸ If you are weighing it against stretching — on pain the two came out similar. Picking whichever you will actually reach for costs you nothing, evidence-wise.
▸ If you are trying to solve a shoulder problem with it — there is something with thicker evidence behind it for neck and shoulder pain.
→
barosit.com/community/p/e6b1d4c8-7a39-4f52-8d61-3b9f2c7e5a48
Changing the question helps. Not "how do I release this?" but "how long have I been in the same position?"
A massage gun is something you reach for after the fact. What BaroSit can touch is the time spent held in one position — though I cannot claim that time is what causes the tightness. I have not found the study that shows it either.
→ Have a look at
barosit.com if you are curious.
The evidence on sitting time and movement is collected at
barosit.com/science.
Sources
• Areeudomwong et al., 2025 · J Chiropr Med 24(1-4):151–162 — randomised trial in 50 people with chronic neck pain and active myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius, comparing percussive massage therapy with neck and shoulder stretching over six 5-minute sessions across three weeks. No between-group difference in resting pain intensity or global perceived effect (stretching rated better immediately after a session, P<.01). Neck disability improved in both groups. Neck range of motion improved more in the massage gun group, except for flexion and right rotation
• Ferreira et al., 2023 · J Funct Morphol Kinesiol 8(3):138 — systematic review of 11 studies (10 at moderate and 1 at high risk of bias). Massage guns may improve flexibility of the iliopsoas, hamstrings and triceps surae, and are cost-effective for reducing stiffness and restoring range of motion and strength after fatigue. Not recommended for strength, balance, acceleration, agility or explosive activity, where they showed no improvement or a decrease. No differences in contraction time, rating of perceived exertion or lactate
• Sams et al., 2023 · Int J Sports Phys Ther 18(2):309–327 — systematic review of 13 studies. A single application acutely increased muscle strength, explosive strength and flexibility; repeated treatments reduced experiences of musculoskeletal pain. All included studies had limitations in methodological quality or reporting
• Chen et al., 2026 · BMC Ophthalmol — case report of bilateral anterior lens luxation with secondary glaucoma (intraocular pressure 51 and 49 mmHg) in a 62-year-old man who self-applied a percussion massage gun to his closed eyelids at 30–33 Hz for 10 minutes, two to three times daily, over three days. The authors note the absence of standardised safety guidelines for anatomically vulnerable regions
Most of the studies above were done in athletes. Only one, a short trial in 50 people, looked directly at the neck and shoulders of people who sit for work. Nothing beyond three weeks has been studied.
This is general information, not medical advice. Avoid vulnerable areas such as around the eyes, and if you experience visual disturbance or severe pain during use, stop immediately and see a doctor.