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Whether you sit too much, are on your feet all day, don’t exercise or work out often, it’s probably safe to say you’ve experienced muscle soreness.
One of the best ways to help tight and sore muscles is with a massage, but they can be pricey and the costs will quickly add up if you have to go often. A cheaper route that can also be effective is to buy a massager for use at home, like the Vertiroller. This is a hands-free mountable massager designed to target all muscle groups and pressure points.
Made by Symobdi, the Vertiroller massager mounts to a wall (or another flat surface) so you can treat yourself to muscle relaxation without having to use your hands. Priced at $70 on Amazon, the massager features two massage ball rollers that are textured to mimic the hands of a masseuse.
Symbodi sent me the Vertiroller to test out and let’s just say — I really put it to use. While I do have a habit of sitting a lot (being a writer does that), I also walk three miles a day in the morning and then two miles after dinner, do yoga daily and lift weights three times a week. While yoga helps with the tightness from sitting too much, I still suffer from aches and pains, especially in my shoulders and back.
My favorite thing about the Vertiroller is that it is hands-free. While I have a powered massager, it is a bit heavy for me and it’s nearly impossible to massage some parts of my body, like my back. While the massage gun works great for really tight muscles, it can also be too much if you’re feeling pretty sore. Not having to use your hands at all is a huge bonus for anyone that wants a massage without anyone else’s assistance.
First things first — the Vertiroller was incredibly easy to mount. I tried it on my front door and a wall and it latched on easy to both surfaces. To mount it, you simply unlatch the roller, pull back the lever, stick to the surface, slide the ball on and latch it. You then unlatch it when you’re done. Because it is a suction surface, not a sticker, it did not damage my wall. I even put it on the floor and rolled my feet, which I do often on these yoga balls, but the Vertiroller gave me a deeper massage.
I first massaged my neck, moving to my shoulders and then down my back. The massager felt fantastic on areas with no pain, but was slightly painful on the tighter left side of my neck — but that “good kind” of pain that meant it was working the muscle. Because the Vertiroller has little bumps on the rollers, it really gets into the muscle and even leaves a bit of a mark for a few seconds. One of the best parts about it, however, is that you control the amount of pressure, so if it’s hurting, simply don’t press the area into the massager as much.
On my lower back and legs, I had a different experience. I am currently recovering from proximal hamstring tendinopathy on my left leg, which causes pain in my tailbone and back when sitting, pain when bending and straightening my leg and pain with stretching. Powered massagers are much too strong for the injury, but I was able to massage the area with the Vertiroller, though it was still pretty tender. While it didn’t make it worse, it wasn’t exactly “relaxing” and I’m not sure it helped. For that reason, if you have an injury, I would probably avoid the Vertiroller — and any massager really — or apply very light pressure.
By day three of using the Vertiroller two times a day, the left side of my neck was much better and the rest of my body where I used the massager (aside from my injured hamstring) felt much more relaxed. I used the massager in the morning and after yoga and it felt much better after my muscles were already warmed up. So I would also recommend using it after exercise or at least after you’ve been moving around for the day.
The one downside is that you have to remove the Vertiroller every time you want to massage a new area. While that is slightly annoying if you want to work on every part of your body during one session, it is also kind of a bonus because it means it’s portable and can be taken anywhere, including the gym. The suction is not meant to be permanent, so even if you are only wanting to work one part of your body, you’ll still need to remove it from the wall after each use.
Overall, the Vertiroller felt more like getting a professional massage by hand than a powered massager, which is much preferable for me and more relaxing, as it’s silent and calming. Going to a massage therapist can also be quite expensive and just one trip will likely cost more than the Vertiroller, so it’s safe to say it pays for itself pretty quickly.
While the massager only has nine reviews on Amazon, it is also available at Best Buy and Target, where you can read additional reviews. You’ll also find more than two dozen reviews on Symbodi’s website. One Amazon customer who gave the massager a full five stars says they do CrossFit and are “constantly seeking relief from sore muscles and joints.”
“This mountable massager is a game changer. Specifically I used this for sore back and shoulder muscles,” 30ishdisneymom wrote. “I found this a lot easier to massage sore muscles myself with this product than having to have someone else do it. Definitely recommend if you need easy muscle relief.”
Symbodi makes another device that’s similar — a smaller hands-free massager called Vertiball that is priced at $50. This one has more than 1,000 reviews on Amazon and a total rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars.
The difference between the Vertiball and Vertiroller is that the Vertiroller has two balls and the Vertiball is smoother. Both work exactly the same, however, and you can even buy a bundle with both. The bundle is currently on sale for $100, making them about $50 each.
If you still prefer your massage gun, you can buy a wall mount holder to essentially make that hands-free as well.
You’ll also find a neck and back massager from the Nekteck Store on Amazon that simply rests on your shoulders, a hand massager from runelk that looks great for arthritis and even an electric eye massager from the Renpho Store on Amazon.
Do you have sore muscles or any other issues that could benefit from a massager?
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