That’s not to say that a massager is the be-all and end-all of pain management, only that it can make a difference. Specifically, massagers can be one of the ways to alleviate discomfort in your muscles and soft tissues. By loosening up muscle tissue and improving blood flow, they help the tissues relax and heal, says Jayesh Vallabh, MD, a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center and a member of the North American Spine Society’s Public Outreach Committee.
If you’re experiencing neck pain, you can also consider taking an anti-inflammatory drug. Generally, patients should still discuss any medication use with their primary care physician or spine specialist, even if it’s just for over-the-counter medications, Vallabh says.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that there are certain areas of your body where you shouldn’t use a massager. For instance, while it’s safe to use a massager on the back of your neck, you should avoid the sides and front of your neck because there are a lot of vascular blood vessels and nerves there, Vallabh says. (We’ll dive more into which areas you shouldn’t use a massager on later in the article.)
To find the best massagers, my coworker Lisa Fogarty and I tried out six different products. Our selection includes electric-powered massagers as well as handheld massager sticks. Here are the ones we recommend as well as the ones we will never touch again.
