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8 best at-home massage tools to relieve aches, pains and knots

Hit the gym hard and have been left with sore muscles? Try this equipment to loosen up

Liz Dodd
Monday 06 September 2021 17:38 BST
From foam rollers to massage guns, we tested the best equipment for tight shoulders, pulled muscles and tension headaches
From foam rollers to massage guns, we tested the best equipment for tight shoulders, pulled muscles and tension headaches (iStock/The Independent)

Whether you’ve overdone it at the gym or on the dancefloor, it’s well worth investing in an at-home massage tool that can help you treat your aches, knots and sprains. From foam rollers to massage guns, there’s plenty of options out there and we’ve tested the best equipment for all.

We loved all these products, but for us the greatest revelation was at-home acupressure. The spiky mats or pillows are dotted with little clusters of sharp points that stimulate but don’t break the skin, they work along the same principles as acupuncture or acupressure.

Depending on how much faith you have in alternative medicine, that means they either target specific points on your body to trigger a relaxation response or use a low, controlled level of sensation to trick your body into producing feel-good endorphins. Either way, they made us feel amazing.

Tools designed for athletes, or that provide a very targeted massage, like the foam roller or the spiky ball, are best used shortly after exercise or on your rest day. For tools more geared towards general wellbeing, like the acupressure mats and pillows, try scheduling a little pocket of time for self-care whenever that’s feasible.

We have also included some massage oils and gels. These are best used when you’re using a tool that rolls over your skin, like the hand roller, but are also a treat, and smell incredible, for an acupressure session.

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The best massage tools for 2021 are:

  • Best overall – Pranamat Eco massage set: £242.25, Pranamat.uk
  • Best massage oil – Neal’s Yard soothing massage oil: £14, Nealsyardremedies.com
  • Best for tight muscles – Trigger Point grid foam roller: £39.99, Wiggle.co.uk
  • Best for budding athletes – Theragun liv: £229, Theragun.com
  • Best for shoulder and neck pain – Bed of Nails acupressure pillow: £40, Selfridges.com
  • Best for easy to store and carry – Yogi Bare acupressure mat: £39.50, Oliverbonas.com
  • Best massage ball – Yogamatters spiky massage ball: £3.50, Yogamatters.com
  • Best gel – China Gel: £17.95, Yogamatters.com

Pranamat Eco massage set

Pranamat Eco set.jpg

Best: Overall

The spikiest acupressure mat we tested was also the most effective. Pranamat Eco’s pretty mat, made with linen, cotton and coconut fibre, takes a little getting used to: the lotus-flower shaped spiky rosettes, made from hypoallergenic plastic, were the hardest we encountered. One of our reviewers couldn’t even come close to standing on it with bare feet. But this spikiness makes it extremely effective; so much so that it’s become an irreplaceable part of our self-care toolkit.

The pillow, which comes with the mat if you buy the set, is stuffed with buckwheat. Rolling it under the nape of the neck and shoulders completely relieved our headaches – even one that had more to do with martinis than muscle strain. It works even if you’re not particularly setting aside time to chill out – laid over your chair while you’re watching TV, or in bed while reading at night, for example.

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Neal’s Yard soothing massage oil

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Best: Massage oil

A rejuvenating blend of essential oils goes into this product: floral geranium, calming lavender and sophisticated bergamot are relaxing but not soporific. The base oils – which include almond and avocado – are also deeply moisturising.

This oil pairs well with any kind of rolling massager like the Hydrea, below, but our favourite trick is to use this for a self-foot massage. Get your thumbs or your knuckles into the arch of your foot for a nice release, then push gently on the top of your foot (the instep), running along from your toes to your ankle, to activate the pressure points there.

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Trigger Point grid foam roller

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Best: For tight muscles

Love them or hate them, foam rollers are perhaps the most effective self-massage device available to athletes. Our reviewer has long-running ITB problems (tightness in a band of tissue, known as the iliotibial band, that runs from the glutes down to the outside of your lower leg) and has used more than her fair share of rollers, and this is her favourite. Because it’s split into grids that have a tiny bit of give, it’s easier to bear than a solid roller – handy if it is your ITB that you plan to target.

This is not the tool to use if you’re looking for a relaxing, stress-relieving massage, but it is essential if you’re running or cycling more as your exercise during lockdown, or if you’re recovering from any kind of injury.

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Theragun liv

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Best: For budding athletes

This handheld percussive massage device is unbelievably good at treating knots and tight shoulders. This is the lighter-weight, slightly cheaper model that Theragun offers and, unless you’re a professional athlete or physiotherapist, has all the features you need.

If you like your massages high pressure, you’ll love this: when you glide it onto a particularly gnarly knot, the feeling is almost religious. It is loud – like audible in another room loud – and intense, but it treats specific muscle pains more effectively than anything else we tried. Excellent for athletes – the high-pressure massage reduces recovery time – it’s also a must if you’re suffering aches and pains from working at home.

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Bed of Nails acupressure pillow

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Best: For shoulder and neck pain

This is amazing if you suffer from any shoulder or neck pain, or tension headaches and migraines. We love acupressure mats, but always get the greatest benefit from targeting the tight muscles in the upper back and neck – these can get knotted up if you’re working from home and hunched over a computer.

The little rosettes are sharp, but you get used to them quickly – try a towel over it if it’s too much at first. We loved having it under the nape of our neck and shoulders for muscle tension, or resting the back of our heads on it to soothe headaches or tiredness.

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Yogi Bare acupressure mat

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Best: To store and carry

A much cheaper, gentler and more portable version of the Prana eco mat above, our tester could stand on this mat without socks (or shrieking). It folds in half and clips together to the size of a small briefcase, which makes it easier to store or carry around – although admittedly you’re unlikely to ever use it outside the home. We found it a little on the soft side – it would be perfect for anyone new to acupressure or acupuncture.

To get a little more intensity – particularly when targeting muscle pain – we liked to lay it over a firm yoga bolster. The lower price makes it a more accessible introduction to at-home acupressure.

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Yogamatters spiky massage ball

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Best: Massage ball

This unassuming spiky (yet squishy) ball uses the same principles as an acupressure mat to give you a targeted, fairly powerful foot massage. It is a real treat for runners or walkers who suffer from plantar fasciitis – an ache in the fascia under the arch that can be hard to treat – and feels glorious when your feet are tired: just roll it around under your feet while sitting comfortably. You can use it to target other knotted areas too, but we found that this involved a bit of contortion unless the knot was somewhere accessible.

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China Gel

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Best: Gel

The world is divided between fans of this topical gel and its rival, Tiger Balm. We prefer China Gel for a feelgood massage, particularly if you want a bit of a boost – it’s made with punchy menthol, which is cooling and tingly pretty much from the moment you put it on. Because it’s non-greasy, it’s ideal to use with an acupressure mat; we also loved rubbing it into knotted shoulders after a long day at the laptop for an immediate lift.

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The verdict: Self-massage tools

The Pranamat eco massage set is a complete, at-home acupressure session; it’s also a go to when you have a minor ailment, or need a pick-up. A bottle of Neal’s Yard’s gorgeous soothing oil is an essential whatever you decide to indulge in – and doubles as a luxurious moisturiser.

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For a more in-depth review of two of the biggest names in massage gun, read our head to head comparison between Theragun and Hypervolt

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