Foam Rollers Vs. Massage Guns: Which One Should You Use? - The List

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Gym-goers use foam rollers to recover faster from training and break up muscle knots. In clinical trials, this practice has been shown to prevent knots and adhesions, reduce injury risk, and increase range of motion, reports the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Evidence suggests that foam rolling has small but significant effects on sports performance (per Frontiers in Physiology). For example, it can reduce pain perception and muscle soreness, resulting in quicker recovery. However, researchers don't fully understand its mechanism of action and say that its benefits are largely psychological.

Massage guns serve the same purpose as foam rolling, but they work differently. First of all, they use vibration to apply bursts of pressure to the affected area, which allows for a deeper massage. As a result, they increase blood flow to your tissues, reducing pain and soreness, explains Consumer Reports.

Second, these devices allow you to adjust the pressure and massage hard-to-reach muscles. The downside is that they can be quite heavy, noisy, and expensive. A cheaper model is unlikely to make much of a difference.

All in all, both foam rollers and massage guns can aid in recovery and improve physical function.

"I'm not convinced there's that significant a difference between the net benefits of a gun compared to a roller," sports physical therapy specialist Erwin Seguia told Shape. Plus, neither of these tools can replace the benefits of getting adequate sleep and eating the right foods, notes physical therapist Grayson Wickham.