Recovery Tools

Common questions

Recovery Tools questions

• Percussion massagers — do they work?

  Evidence supports short-term benefit for muscle soreness and range-of-motion when used 1 to 2 minutes per muscle group. They're not a substitute for sleep or training-load management. Most athletes use them after hard sessions or before mobility-limited training. Each PDP lists amplitude, speed range, and battery life.

• Foam roller density — soft, medium, or hard?

  Soft rollers work for novices and very tender areas. Medium-density covers most general use. Hard or grid-pattern rollers target specific trigger points but are uncomfortable for daily use. Most athletes own one medium and one harder targeted tool (lacrosse ball, peanut roller).

• Compression sleeves and boots — same thing?

  No. Sleeves are passive graduated compression, useful during long sessions or on planes. Boots like NormaTec apply active sequential compression and are post-workout tools. Both have evidence behind them; the use cases don't overlap.