Hi, I’m James. I’m the main author of Handheld Massager Guide. My “massage” story all happened a few years ago when I somehow very suddenly contracted piriformis syndrome and sciatica. To this day I don’t know how it happened or where it came from. One day I just did a normal morning workout, and later that evening the pain set in. It gradually got worse over the coming days, and for about 3 months I could barely move.
I must have caused myself some kind of injury during that workout – I just don’t know what. I do know that at the time I used to work out hard and never really bothered that much with stretching or muscle warm ups and cool downs. Stupid, I know.
Looking back at my Fitbit to that time in my life I can see that I was in so much pain I was barely taking 1000 steps a day and wasn’t sleeping for more than an hour at a time. For someone who has been into fitness since I was 18, this was hellish for me. I couldn’t lie down, sit or even stand comfortably! It took a long time before I could even drive again.
I’d never understood what a muscle knot was (just heard of them), but I started getting crazy painful muscle knots in my glutes and hips. I spent hours rolling around on the floor with a tennis ball or a foam roller under my hips and butt trying to release those knots. The only real relief I got in all the time was my weekly visits to my physical therapist. He had me doing all sorts of stretches (while telling me I had the mobility of a 70 year old!) and he massaged out those knots with his elbow many times. Unfortunately at the time, the pain relief was short lived.
I started using a massage gun!
Luckily, he introduced me to the benefits of a massage gun so that I could do the massage for myself, and this was an absolute revelation to me. I started using one numerous times a day to release the knots and get some pain relief for myself, and gradually over the months, the injury got better. Honestly, it probably took about 2 years before I was 100% back to normal, and my journey back to exercise was a slow one.
Fast forward to today, I’m absolutely passionate about the benefits of massage for muscle recovery. I love testing and reviewing massage products, but my absolute favorite (and the one I find the most useful) is still my massage gun. Actually, I own more than one and have tested numerous different devices.
I’m back exercising the way I used to, and am even training for a marathon! I now do stretching daily and use my massage gun daily too. I never take my fitness or health for granted, and if I feel any little twinge in my muscles I make sure to look after it with a good massage.
On a personal level, I’m married and have 2 fab kids – a boy and a girl. I love reading and watching Netflix, blogging, and traveling with my family. Oh and I forgot to mention, we’re blessed with a very funny (and very lazy) French bulldog called Harvey who keeps us all entertained!
About this site
I started the site to write about the benefits of massage guns and review some of my favorite products. I truly believe they can be beneficial for anyone, whether your muscles are stiff from sitting at a desk all day, or you’re a fitness enthusiast like me.
If you’ve got sore or tight muscles don’t just do nothing – you could end up like I did! And I consider myself to be reasonably young, fit and healthy. Massage guns are fantastic and so easy to use, but you can always just do some self-massage with your own hands or using a tennis ball, get a friend to give you a massage, or get a cheap foam roller for $20. There are lots of exercises you can do to stretch out your muscles and keep them supple and healthy – Youtube has lots of beginner yoga and stretching workouts.
If you have any questions about any products on this site just get in touch.
Thanks for reading!
