Can You Improve Leg Circulation with These Devices
- Mar 26
- 10 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in December 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/vyAdztmK6O0
Brad: When you're thinking hard, and you want the truth, who you gonna call?
Mike: "Myth Busters"!
Brad: That's right! And in this exciting episode, we are seriously going to look into myth-busting about leg circulation and three specific devices. Do they work or not? All right, the first device we want to look at is these progressive air pumps for the legs. And there are actually three different uses for these. The first one is, we're going to talk about each of these individually a little bit, and whether you're using it for venous return. In other words, a person does not have good blood flow coming back up to the heart. The second one, if you have lymphedema and swelling in the legs, typically more below the knee than above. And how to help get that fluid back up where it needs to be to the center. And the last one is people who are active and athletes who use them for recovery. Now there's some information about each one, and actually, all of them have positive results. But there are some things you need to know. First of all, Mike, can you talk about how it? He has this one on right now. With most of them, you put them on, you either zip up, or they're Velcro. Mike, go ahead and explain how this is working for you.
Mike: So the type I'm wearing is more for active recovery or athletic people. If you need the medical-grade style for lymphedema or venous return, you need to see your physician. For those, they're a bit different. But this one, what it does is it starts inflating from distal, my feet, to proximal, up to my thigh. It typically goes in a pattern of distal, then middle, then proximal. They'll all differentiate between how many airbags they have within them, but you can set the amount of pressure you feel comfortable with, the amount of time, as well as a heat setting, which is typically nice if you have sore muscles to have the heat with the inflation. You just lie down, wear them for 30 minutes or whatever. And it can help you recover faster when your muscles are more sore or inflamed.
Brad: Right. So the idea is pushing the blood out, all that lactic acid after working out, and helping that recovery happen faster. I did not find a lot of conclusive evidence that this for sure works, but anecdotally, people are using them, and they're happy with them. They are actually selling fairly well, and your response?
Mike: I use them after marathon training and big runs. They feel nice when I have them on. I can't say before I put them on, and after, I feel 10 times better because I'm not sore yet. But doing this in conjunction with stretching and maybe some light walking after is part of my recovery process.
Brad: There you go. So I think we've got, we'll give it a five out of 10 plus or minus. We don't know for sure.
Mike: Yeah, they are a little pricey, so if money's an issue, I would say you do not have to invest in them for active people.
Brad: But do a little research on your own and find out what works for you. The second part is whether you're going to use it for venous return. There is some research that it does help because of the compression, going proximal, or moving the fluid in that direction. There are some things you really have to know. First of all, you do not want to buy one of these online and use it for either venous return or lymphedema on your own. As Mike mentioned, you have to see a doctor. I know in my mother's case, she had lymphedema. We were referred to a specialist in lymphedema. It was an occupational therapist who specialized in this. She is excellent. And she said, "Yes." She's used these with many of her patients with good success in getting a return. But there are things that have to be considered. For example, if there's a DVT, if there's any infections, fragile skin, a number of things, a professional must help you out with. So don't go ahead and buy some of these offline and self-treat your own with it. So make sure you get a doctor's permission and then probably refer to a specialist. All right, so the use of these foam rollers is what we're going to talk about. There was some really good research. We did a video on it earlier, called "Increase Leg Circulation 74% In 3 Minutes Exercise At Home", and I want to review that because it showed 74% improvement of blood flow in the legs, bringing it proximally where you want it to go. And it was done in three minutes. On a carpeted floor is the best way to do it. And we're rolling the calf muscles, and you could do different things.
Brad: For example, I'm rolling the calf muscles now. If I have some tight muscles here, we want to address that along with, so you're getting both circulation and releasing those knots in those muscles, which also improves circulation. So we go in the back, we're going to do some on the side, and boy, this is just a nice way to work it.
Brad: The thing that you'll want to do is do it systematically, as I mentioned, then I'm going to go to the hamstrings. And if you cross your legs, you get much more pressure on it. And you don't want to have it hurt so much that it's uncomfortable, but a little bit of pain helps release the tension in the muscles. And we can work the IT band all the way to the quadriceps, those large muscles that really have a lot of blood in them. And we want to get that moving all the way into the hip adductors, the glute maximus, a large muscle. You'll find this very relaxing, I think.
Brad: Make sure you're using your arms like I am here, so you're supporting the weight where you want, so it's not too much pressure, but it's enough. So Mike, you want to talk about these foam rollers and what people should buy?
Mike: Yeah, so what you want to do, first off, is you're going to spend more time than Brad did doing that, probably three to 10 minutes, whatever you have time for. Anyway, the different foam rollers have different consistencies in firmness. The solid light blue one is very soft. It's actually called super soft. The pink one is somewhat soft. These are not as aggressive. So if you're an older person and don't want to be as aggressive, you can use these. The one Brad has is rather firm. There are also ones that have different ridges or molds to them. They're going to be more aggressive, so if you are a younger person and want to use that, you certainly can. Some of them even vibrate.
Brad: Yeah, yeah. I would suggest just getting the 36-inch, six-inch diameter. Either the soft or the medium for most people is going to work out well. So, very good. I think we busted that myth, huh?
Mike: I think we did. It works. But we have one more device to talk about.
Brad: Oh, that's right. We are going to talk about massage guns and whether they really do the work, and what's necessary to get circulation going in that. Or is it just a myth?
Mike: Myth.
Brad: All right, we're having a little fun with this. Let's go to work. All right, so the big question. Do these massage guns actually help with blood circulation? They're very popular in the last few years, and these are the massage guns we're talking about, the ones that not just vibrate but actually reciprocate back and forth. Typically, the amplitude of the travel is six millimeters to 16 millimeters.
Brad: It's all going to depend on the size of the person and how much muscle they have. You want a bigger massage gun for stronger people, not so big people, but smaller ones. But I did find two studies that actually confirm, yes, they do improve circulation. There are more studies that need to be done, as always. But we're going to put down the two studies that we did find positive results with. Mike, can you talk about those a little bit?
Mike: So the first one is called the International Journal of Sports Medicine. So they highlighted percussion therapy guns like this and said they're very effective, or as effective as manual massaging, improving leg circulation and decreasing muscle soreness as manual massaging. So it helps with that. The other study, published in 2021 in Sports Health, talked about how these devices help with recovery and reduce muscle soreness after intense activity.
Brad: That's right. So, I think anecdotally, I know a gentleman, 60 years old, who started running, and he was having a lot of pain in his calf and in his ankle. Naturally, I suggested trying a massage gun. And he did, and I just let him use one, and it wasn't long, and he actually bought one because he was so happy with it. He used it particularly on his calf muscles. Not only did it take the knots and the soreness out of his calf muscle, but it helped his ankle pain when he is running, quote unquote "significantly". We've had other results like that as well. So you can use this if you're an athletic person, active or not. But with little precaution, there are places you can use a massage gun, places you should not, like your neck, anywhere on the head, or on bone. We do have some videos that are entitled, Bob and Brad on YouTube, "Where to use a massage gun, "and " Where not to". You'll see that, and it'll go through in detail on that. The nice thing about these new massage heads is that we have on most of our massage guns is this heat and cold massage head. Now, if you want to increase circulation, you're going to put it on heat. You can see the little red light there, and it warms up significantly into that therapeutic range, and it feels good as you do it.
Brad: And I would definitely use the hot setting if you want to increase leg circulation while you work your muscles. I've had a shoulder problem from swimming. I have used it significantly on my rotator cuff muscles here, as well as the pectoral muscles. I had a strain there, and that warm head really can be effective. You can use a cold, too. What do you respond best to? Mike, you got any other information about using this for leg circulation?
Mike: Just take your time with it. You're going to want to work from distal to proximal, again, like with all the other devices. Other than that, I think this is the first myth-busting video that these aren't myths and they're actually fine and work well.
Brad: Oh yeah. Yeah. We didn't find any big black marks on it at all. We've got things that are working well. The research is still early, but they're just going to keep going. But so far all of these. But again, make sure you get the right product that you want. Especially with the leg massager. The big one that Mike had on in the early part of this. All right. I think we had fun today.
Mike: I think we rambled long enough. But if you want to check out that video on foam rolling and increasing leg circulation, you can click the video link on the screen.
Brad: That's right. Who you gonna call?
Mike: Bob, Brad, and Mike!
Brad: No, no, no. "Myth Busters".
Mike: "Myth Busters".
For this week’s Giveaway, visit: https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways
Bob and Brad’s Products
Pain Management:
Fitness:
Stretching:
Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop
Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.
Comments