A chiropractic body massager is an advanced, high-powered massage tool that serves as a percussive therapy massager for at-home or professional use.
Generally, most of these massagers have a rectangular or square pad that you place on your body, as you hold the handles and let the massager vibrate (or “hammer”) and deliver percussive massage over the body.
In this post, we’ll look at what makes a chiropractic massagers a good at-home massage therapy option.
Then we’ll weigh the pros and cons of 7 of the best chiropractic massagers on the market today.
What Are Chiropractic Massagers?
Chiropractic professional massagers are chiropractic-grade electric percussive massagers that can be used at home.
They’re easy to use on your legs by yourself, and you can have a partner help you use it on your back, glutes and shoulders.
They’re made with a motor designed to pack a high level of percussive force, and they have variable speeds so you can control the intensity level.
A chiropractic massager is a good option for anyone looking to get a deep tissue massage and to improve blood flow around the body.
What to Look for in a Chiropractic Professional Massager
When you’re shopping for a chiropractic professional massager, look out for the following features to help inform your choice:
Heavy-Duty Power
Just like a “harder” foam roller is more therapeutic or a stronger massage is a better one, you want to go look for power in a good chiropractic massager.
You’re paying for therapeutic-grade massage, and this percussion therapy device is all about packing power and force behind itself.
Long-Lasting and Durable
Many people who use chiropractic professional massagers use them daily to prevent or reduce chronic pain.
You want yours to last you a good while, so be sure to get one that is made with high-quality materials and parts that won’t give out over time.
Variable Speeds
Not all chiropractic massagers have variable speeds.
Those that do let you change the intensity level will come in handy as you move the device around to different parts of your body.
Comfort
Chiropractic massagers that are more comfortable feature softer or thicker foam padding, such as memory foam, to help absorb the shock from the percussion.
This makes the massage more gentle on your muscles.
Even as it delivers pounds of force deep into the muscle tissue, it can do so without bruising and with little to no pain.
7 of the Best Chiropractic Body Massagers Worth Trying
Here’s a rundown of the pros and cons of the best chiropractic professional massagers on the market today.
1. Core Products Jeanie Rub Variable Speed Massager
The Jeanie Rub variable-speed massager is highly rated by customers for its effectiveness in relieving sore muscles, improving energy and motion, as well as reducing pain.
It works on anyone to quickly melt away muscle tension and promote relaxation.
The Jeanie Rub chiropractic body massager is durable and long-lasting.
Made in the USA with cast aluminium and finished with a black powder coat, it’s resistant to wear and tear and built to stay with you through years of use.
It has a high-powered motor and 12 feet of power cord length for better convenience.
You can easily adjust the speed on this massager with the turn of the dial, which is right next to the handle grip.
The main complaints customers have had about the Jeanie Rub are that it’s loud and it’s too difficult to use in key areas without someone’s help.
Designed for the chiropractor’s office, this device is best for the back when someone does it on you while you lay flat and relax.
Some users said they only felt their lower back pain relief from the Jeanie Rub when someone did it on them, and they couldn’t achieve the same effect on their own.
Pros: Easy speed change, 12-ft power cord, delivers a large amount of force with high powered motor
Cons: Hard to DIY effectively, operates loudly
2. Vibe Professional Electric Massager
The Vibe professional electric massager from Body Back is a top-rated chiropractic body massager built for long-lasting durability and easy-to-change speeds.
The most common positive overwhelming consent among customers seems to be that the Vibe is powerful and effective in relieving pain on trigger spots and in cases of back or shoulder problems.
An unpleasant feature many users have found with the Vibe is that its handle vibrates a lot, causing discomfort after a while of holding it during use.
Some users noted that the speeds are not very different in terms of variance, and there are basically just two speeds that are similar.
If you prefer to “warm-up” with a lower speed or use a higher speed on tougher areas of muscle tissue on your back or legs compared to on your shoulders, this may not be the model for you.
Pros: Durable as it’s built with high-quality materials that are resistant to wear and tear, powerful with a motor strong enough to deliver effective deep tissue and percussive therapy benefits
Cons: Not much speed variance, grip vibrates excessively
3. Maxi Rub Body Relaxer
As a 6-pound piece of chiropractic equipment, the Maxi Rub is a pro-grade massager built to ease any muscular tension wherever it’s used, by penetrating with percussive pulses deep within muscle tissue.
The Maxi Rub indeed delivers plenty of pressure into muscle tissue, enough to penetrate it and break up tension.
By vibrating at a high force with the help of its powerful motor, the Maxi Rub loosens up tight muscle fibres and tendons.
Unless you’re going to grip this yourself to use it on your legs or the sides of your hips, you’re going to need someone who can help you use the Maxi Rub on your back and shoulders (even your arms).
That said, at least customers say the Maxi Rub’s grip handles are ergonomic and comfortable, and that the handles don’t vibrate much.
In fact, it’s quite easy for novices to hold the Maxi Rub steady and control it as they manoeuvre it over one’s back, in spite of it weighing 6 pounds. It’s very sturdy and it glides along smoothly.
Pros: Ergonomic grip that doesn’t vibrate during use when you’re holding it, powerful motor and high force makes it effective in relieving pain and tension
Cons: Heavy to hold, generally not possible to use on your own on your back
4. Med Massager MMB04B Variable Speed Body Massager
The Med Massager Chiropractic body massager is more on the pricier side, but customers report experiencing great comfort using this massager.
The materials are high-quality, providing a soft and padded feel when the massager contacts you.
While this chiropractic professional massager does perform well from a comfort standpoint, it still packs in plenty of power.
It claims to be the most powerful electric massager on the market, running at a high of 4,000 rpm.
Unfortunately, customers have complained that the Med Massager is tiring for the person who’s holding it to use for long, because the grip vibrates hard and it’s heavy, weighing at 6.7 pounds.
Pros: Provides a comfortable massage with durable padding, provides a great deal of power
Cons: Too heavy for many users, requires help using in most cases
5. Thumper Maxi Pro Professional Electric Massager
The Thumper Maxi Pro is still a heavy-duty massager, yet it’s better for self-massage compared to other models.
You can easily grip it in one hand instead of requiring 2 hands to grip it.
The handle is ergonomically placed so that you can comfortably reach more places throughout your body, as compared to other chiropractic professional massagers, which are better for use with a chiropractor or other person who can help you by holding the device over your muscle tissue.
The Thumper contains 8 massage nodes, allowing it to cover a wide area at a time.
Its 8 ball-like nodes are able to release small trigger points throughout your fascia and muscle tissue.
Meanwhile, its percussion works to deeply penetrate muscle tissue and break up tension.
You can switch between holding the Thumper over your muscle while it’s vibrating, and kneading your muscles with its nodes while it’s not vibrating.
On the downside, some customers found that the Thumper was too big, heavy and clunky to use with one hand.
Others thought it was too loud or that the handle grip vibrated too much.
Pros: Better for self-massage than other chiropractic professional massagers, contains 8 ball-like massage nodes for targeting smaller trigger points, heavy-duty, high-powered percussion for penetrating deeply through layers of muscle
Cons: Too large and heavy for some, vibrates too much, may be too loud
6. Body Sport Variable Speed Professional Vibrating Massager
The Body Sport is a chiropractic body massager on the more affordable end.
It provides varying speeds and thick, comfortable padding. It generally requires you to have some help using it.
However, most people have been able to find back pain relief using it, which is why the Body Sport is so highly rated.
According to customer reviews, the Body Sport’s biggest downfall is that it isn’t powerful enough.
At its highest speed, it climbs to 3,800 rpm, which isn’t powerful enough of a percussion for some.
What customers do like about the Body Sport is that it provides a wider variety of speeds, ranging from 1000 rpm to 3,800 rpm.
This is great for people who find other chiropractic professional massagers to be too intense, powerful or painful for them.
Unfortunately, many others many find the highest setting on this unit to still be too weak.
Pros: More affordable, less painful than others like it, a wider range of speeds for gradually warming up the intensity level as you go
Cons: Too weak for some, too heavy and difficult to use on your own
7. Daiwa Felicity Max Pro
While the Daiwa is a more affordable chiropractic body massager, many users found it wasn’t hard enough, yet not soft enough at the same time.
That is, the percussion wasn’t hard, but the “pad” was not soft enough.
It’s made of hard plastic (there’s no real padding) and 4 “trigger point massager” attachable heads.
Some customers complained that these are simply made of cheap, hard and painful plastic material.
Considering it doesn’t vibrate as intensely as some would have liked, even if you tie your own padding or pillow around the device, it may not provide hard enough percussion for you, and it may not be worth the noise.
On the other hand, customers who don’t need a heavier-duty job, which is probably most, the Daiwa works well and relieves pain quickly.
As long as you use it over clothing, you should be ok without padding.
Pros: More affordable, effectively relieves pain
Cons: Attachment nodes are too hard, not intense enough, noisy
The Best Chiropractic Professional Massager: What’s the Top Pick?
The best chiropractic massager for all-round use on this list is the Body Sport’s variable speed massager.
It’s at the more affordable end of the spectrum, without sacrificing quality. It’s durable and built to last.
Heaps of customer feedback support its effectiveness in heavy-duty percussion massage.
While you may need someone to help do it on your back for you, it’s worth it because of the instant pain relief it can provide.
The Body Sport comes with a 1-year warranty, so if it breaks within a year, you can have it replaced.
It has a variable speed dial that gives you a range from 1,000 to 3,800 rpm. While the 3,800 rpm isn’t strong enough for some, it’s effective and powerful enough for most.
If you need a more powerful massager that reaches speeds up to 4,000 rpm, we recommend the Med Massager chiropractic body massager as your best choice.
It’s durable and high-quality, and it’s top-rated for providing effective, extra heavy-duty relief from back pain.
Other Massager Options
If you want to practice self massage on yourself without the need for assistance, particularly on your back, there are other similar body massager options.
Percussion Massagers
Percussion massagers are wand- or stick-like electric devices that are either cordless or corded and typically come with multiple interchangeable massage head attachments.
The different attachments allow you to target different trigger points at different places throughout the body, and you can generally control the intensity level by adjusting the percussive speed of the device.
Related: Best body percussion massagers
Massage Guns
Massage guns are also percussive, but generally possess more power than the percussion massagers with long handles.
They are typically just ball-shaped and are designed to pack a lot of force.
Some that do come with interchangeable massage head attachments, however, typically include a more pin-pointed attachment head and an edge-like flat head.
This flat design combined with percussion is effective for digging into deep tissue areas like the muscles that like to hug against the shoulder blades and the spine.
Related: Best massage guns
Whereas a percussion massager and a massage gun have more pin-pointed places of contact where the percussive therapy takes place, chiropractic variable speed massagers work on larger areas at a time.
It’s almost like the difference between a foam roller versus a massage ball; one is geared toward larger muscle groups, and the other targets smaller areas because of its smaller shape.
From a practical standpoint, the prices of percussion massagers, massage guns and chiropractic professional massagers are similar, but percussion massagers and massage guns are easier to use on yourself.
Chiropractic professional massagers provide more benefits when someone does it on you, as it’s not designed to be as self-sufficient.
Getting Chiropractic-Grade Massage Therapy at Home
Chiropractic body massagers allow you to get great massages at home.
They work on all your major muscle groups by delivering quick pulses that penetrate layers of fascia and muscle tissue.
By regularly breaking up tension in your muscles, you can recover from workouts more quickly and get relief from back pain at home.