8 Heat Therapy Recovery Devices to Soothe Your Aching Body

Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. We may earn a commission from these links. Here’s how we test products and why you should trust us.AmazonThis is one of the newest and shiniest (literally in the case of the heat attachment) massage guns out there. It’s also, in my experience, the one that does heat therapy the best for the lowest cost. The next cheapest is the Theragun Prime Plus at $430 and this Hyperice gun does the same exact thing for about 80 bucks less (and that’s when it’s not on sale, which it is frequently).The Hypervolt 3 Pro performs all the tasks you’d want a percussive massage gun to, with a ton of power settings and multiple heads to focus in on different body aches. What you’re here for, though, is the heat attachment head. Once it’s snapped into place and the Hypervolt is on, it doesn’t take long for it to warm up, and in my experience you’re never using it long enough for the thing to overheat. The result is akin to hot stone therapy—warm and ever so soothing on sore legs.Okay, but say you don’t want a massage gun as expensive as the Hypervolt 3 Pro. You can grab a Hyperice mini, but it won’t do heat, and Theragun’s Mini equivalent will run you nearly $300. For that, we’d say the average Joe can get by just fine with a $100 Renpho massage gun.Really, this gun is the perfect example of how the tech is figured out now. You don’t have to be one of the big two in the space to understand how this works anymore and you, as a consumer, no longer need to pay top dollar for something that will be good. This is super small, surprisingly powerful for the size, and comes with five different attachments. There are naturally some downsides. It’s absolutely awkward to hold and requires more frequent charging than the more premium options, but at this price point nothing else is even trying to match its feature set.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowReally, you can’t go wrong with any of the heat therapy devices from Therabody or Hyperice. The ThermBack LED is one of the simplest heat therapy gadgets that targets one of the highest importance areas. Not only upper back and shoulder discomfort, but neck pain, headaches, and a whole lot else can stem from tightness in the lower back. The ThermBack tackles that using a combination of four different therapies—and two of them involve heat.The controls for heat and massage are entirely separate, and there are three heat settings that range from 102 degrees Fahrenheit on the low end to 113 degrees maximum. In addition to regular heat therapy, the ThermBack also has an option for far-infrared LED therapy for getting those deeper aches and pains.If you want to get hyper-specific about targeting your sore spots, Hyperice has got your back... and your legs and shoulders. That’s because the Venom 2 wrap comes in a few different styles, each one targeting either your back, legs, or shoulders. Like its Therabody contemporary, the Venom 2 is well-versed in massage therapy and offers three different levels of vibration. That is matched by consistent and fast (and entirely optional) heating that you can also adjust between three levels.Without a doubt, this is the best device out there for quickly dealing with pesky shoulder knots or stiffness in your neck. It’s relatively lightweight and easy to store or take with you. No matter how far your business trip or vacation takes you, immediate shoulder pain relief will always be just a minute or two away.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowHere’s a weird one, but it’s one that focuses on the one place that really matters. Your feet are carrying your whole body all day long, so give them a much-needed vacation. And not all of us need compression therapy like athletes—we just need some rumble and some warmth. That’s what this provides.This foot massager vibrates to stimulate and improve circulation, letting you optionally add heat for an additional soothing layer. You can also rotate it to hit your calves—a place where any kind of athlete will frequently need relief. The only downside is it is admittedly a bit bulky compared to these other more modern-looking devices. For an apartment dweller, I’d recommend taking a massage gun straight to the calf instead (just don’t turn it up too high).This one doesn’t have many bells and whistles. It doesn’t do vibration or compression and instead just focuses on temperature therapies. The result is the most versatile device on this list. It’s compact and applied at the point of pain, ideally making quick work of whatever is bothering you. The adjustable strap allows you to secure it easily on your arm, leg, or around your torso to help with shoulder or hip recovery. Or you can just place it on what’s bothering you and hit go. It’s great like that.What really sets the RecoveryTherm Cube apart is the cold therapy, which, in this context, means contrast therapy. Using both hot and cold is a proven way to reduce muscle inflammation and joint pain quickly. Even if you never use the cold functions and just stick with heat, this is well worth the money.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowAnother majorly trusted brand around here, Higherdose is a go-to for red-light therapy, but it also makes an awesome infrared sauna blanket for old-school heat therapy if that’s what you’re after.But for the purpose of this article, let’s talk about this PEMF mat. This recovery mat uses far infrared heat—a type of infrared wavelength that penetrates clothes and skin to deliver heat directly to your muscle. It doesn’t feel like a sauna, more like a gently heated pad or blanket. Subtle PEMF vibration also stimulate muscle relaxation and center the user mentally.Unlike all the other options, the benefit of the Higherdose mat is the ability to recover your whole body at once. You can choose from four different levels of intensity (all mixtures of infrared heat and PEMF therapies) depending on whether you’re powering up or cooling down. It comes in two sizes, but there’s no reason not to go small here. At roughly half the price, the Go Mat is a significantly easier ask than the $1,300 Pro Mat—plus it’s portable and only weighs about 11 pounds.