All the Best Massage Tools We’ve Ever Written About

Melissa Kotlen, a lactation consultant and labor-and-delivery nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital, says she recommends this portable and ergonomic massager pillow for new moms experiencing lower-back aches as their babies get older and heavier. Its multidirectional nodes target the area to relieve pain, Kotlen says. Former Strategist senior editor Casey Lewis also says she uses it to soothe her work-from-bed back and persuaded Corsillo to buy one as well — she uses hers while watching TV in bed.

Byrne says she also uses this HoMedics back-massage pillow, which, at $35 less than the Zyllion’s regular price, offers the same single-speed and multi-directional massage features. The heated device has helped her most with her recurrent muscle pain, Byrne says. To further relax stiff muscles, the nodes vibrate as they move in and out, as well as rotate, according to the brand.

Actor Simon Rex told us that relies on this “hip hook” from Aletha — he takes it with him wherever he travels. He explains that the hook helps to release the front of your hips, and in turn that helps to open up your lower back. He explains, “You lay your psoas area onto this hook, and then you turn the hook and it releases the front of your hips. That’s an area that causes your lower back to hurt all the time.”

Like the other manual muscle massagers we feature below, there is a pleasant sort of pain involved, Rex adds. “It hurts at first — your body’s tightening up and it doesn’t want to lean into this hook — but then you kind of release into the pain. And then once you really relax and breathe and just totally surrender, it will fucking open it all up.”

Guo also tried this Shiatsu foot massager from HoMedics, and although she says it doesn’t envelop your feet like the Renpho does, she says she likes that it allows you more freedom to move and adjust the pressure of your massage. “The sensation is definitely a less intense experience,” she says, but adds that it’s still soothing. HoMedic’s massager is about $80 cheaper than Renpho’s and has a slightly smaller profile. It’s also simpler, with three settings for massage, heat only, and heated massage.

When writer Fiorella Valdesolo developed carpal tunnel syndrome during her third trimester of pregnancy, she picked up this ceramic, ecofriendly massager on the advice of her acupuncturist and said in a previous version of this story that it was the only tool that relieved her nerve tension. To use, she said she simply fills the vessel with hot water, plops the silicon cover back on, then rubs the octagonal humps of the ceramic base (now a soothingly warm temperature) across any areas of discomfort. After her carpal tunnel syndrome passed postpartum, she began to use it on post-workout calves and tight shoulder blades.

Drag queen Katya Zamolodchikova says this massage gun has paid for itself in just four tries because it feels the same as going to an actual masseuse. Although the five interchangeable head attachments “look torturous,” she says they accommodate different musculature across the body and have varying levels of intensity for specialized treatment. Professional surfer Kelly Slater also says he likes the Hyperice and uses it to loosen up after surfing, sitting for hours, or after a hot bath. And compared to the Theragun he owned previously, the Hypervolt is half the price and much quieter, Slater says.

Vanity Fair senior editor Maggie Coughlan recommended this Black & Decker power tool in a previous version of this story. Although it’s designed for automotive polishing projects, Coughlan said it operates like “what a foam roller wants to be when it grows up” and soothes body-wide tension with a simultaneous spin-and-vibrate motion. Plus, it has a following among Amazon reviewers, Reddit commenters, and Strategist readers alike.

In a previous version of this story, our columnist Chris Black extolled the virtues of the Thera Cane Massager. Despite being an “early adopter” of the foam-roller, he insisted that his back has “never felt better” than after using this J-shaped device equipped with six treatment balls, which target specific muscles for maximum pain-relief. Black’s claims are supported by massage therapist David Vargas who recommended the Thera Cane as a perfect non-mechanical pick for dad’s with aching backs.

On the other side of the muscle massager face-off was the Tiger Tail: a large, non-mechanical muscle massager that Strategist contributor Rima Suqi said she swore by in a previous version of this story for rolling out muscles—in a “hurt-so-good” way—after her intense, three-times-a-week weight classes. Among athletes, Suqi isn’t alone in her adoration of this roller. Here at the Strategist, the Tiger Tail has been named among the best workout accessories — it got former Strategist senior writer and five time marathon runner Karen Iorio Adelson through hundreds of miles of training.

Pilates teacher — and Strategist contributor — Kate Garfield found out about the Davinci Tool through a daisy chain of well-informed contacts, including two professional singers (one opera, one Broadway), and a massage therapist. It’s a kind of plastic triangle, which helps with deep tissue release — fast. “Place the tool at the base of your skull, breathe, and allow your body weight to relax onto it, even if it’s a tiny bit uncomfortable at first. Then rest on it for ten to 30 seconds,” Garfield advises. And though Garfield originally used her tool to help with her neck pain, she also recommends it for, well, most other aches. “The tool has also helped me stave off shoulder-gripping tension headaches, release super-deep knots in my back, and loosen up my glutes and hips. No matter where you put it — traps, hips, what have you — you would use the tool the same way.”

Five fitness experts, from yogis to CrossFit lovers, vouched for the unparalleled efficacy of this TriggerPoint foam roller in relieving muscle and joint pain and increasing mobility. Radan Sturm, founder of the group weight-training class Liftonic, said in a previous version of this story that it’s “just the right density to be effective without bruising,” and is “the perfect size that allows you to target all major parts of the body.” It’s also a Strategist recommended gift for sporty girlfriends and best friends, or anyone training for a marathon.

In a previous version of this story, former Strategist writer Lori Keong said she was experiencing back and neck pain so intense that no amount of stretching or rubbing helped — until her roommate tipped her off to this acupressure mat. Like acupuncture, this mat relieves pain through “touch and pressure,” but unlike acupuncture it is non-invasive and inexpensive. Keong said the spiky mat is “an acquired comfort,” but after five or six minutes of use she said “the soreness had mysteriously melted away and didn’t return. I could roll my arms back and forth without any lingering tension — something I hadn’t been able to do for days.”

Corinna Rachel, a licensed massage therapist and the ASMRtist behind ASMR Massage Psychetruth, says this multi-contact massage tool is “marvelous” for relaxing the commonly tight muscles in the scalp. Zeel national community director Eva Carey recommended using the “tingle-inducing” wire head massager on yourself or someone else for three or four minutes.