After a recent and very painful stint of severe back pain I resorted to desperate measures. In addition to regular PT and a new stretching routine, in an act of frustration at several weeks essentially off the bike I shelled out big bucks for a Theragun “Percussive Therapy” tool. As in nearly $600 (ouch).

Theragun G2PRO Review: the Good

• Theragun is a complete package: spare battery, charging case, etc

• It is simple to use. I am sure there were instructions in the box, but it is pretty self-explanatory

• It works (in my experience). My muscles and joints felt noticeably looser after a few uses

Theragun G2PRO Review: the Bad

• The price, the price, the price. Also, the price.

• At it’s core the Theragun is a reciprocating saw with a massage head, for $600

• A small package it is not - which makes it not ideal for an already crowded NYC apartment

Theragun G2PRO Review: Conclusions

Could it be placebo effect? Sure. But either way my impression is that the Theragun works. After each use my muscles/key joints feel like they loosen up. And in tandem with an enhanced PT/stretching regime my back issues have been largely resolved, putting me back on the bike and back to training.

But the math on the $600 price point just doesn’t work - perhaps $300 of that is going into Theragun’s extensive social media campaign and athlete endorsements? There are a whole plethora of competitors in the market at nearly half the price of the Theragun and I haven’t seen or experienced anything with the Theragun that suggests the core concept couldn’t be replicated significantly cheaper. As various online commentators have justly pointed out, the Theragun is essentially a reciprocating saw with a massage head at a several hundred dollar premium to the hardware tool equivalent.

And so that is my personal conclusion with the Theragun: it works, but the price point isn’t justified. One of my teammates just bought the Hyperice Hypervolt ($350) so we’ll have a comparison review up soon - if I had to do it all over again I would certainly be looking at the lower priced competitors like the Hyperice first.

Theragun G2PRO overall Rating: 6/10

Update: Of course, since my original purchase and the start of this review, it looks like Theragun also realized they were being priced out of the market — the price of the Theragun has been cut from $600 to $399 as of this final posting. A 33% price cut certainly shifts the value balance, though taking another $100 off and pricing the G2PRO at ~$300 is what would ultimately tip my view favorably on the product.