Hyperice makes recovery technology that uses percussion, compression, heat, vibration, and contrast therapy to help muscles recover faster, move more freely, and hurt less. The company’s product lines each target a different recovery mechanism, but they share a common goal: increasing blood flow to stressed tissue and reducing the stiffness and soreness that follow exercise or injury.
Percussive Therapy: The Hypervolt Line
Hyperice’s most recognizable products are its Hypervolt massage guns. These handheld devices deliver rapid bursts of pressure into muscle tissue, a technique called percussive therapy. When the device strikes the muscle belly or tendon, it activates muscle fibers and triggers what’s known as a tonic vibration reflex: the targeted muscle contracts while its opposing muscle relaxes. This stimulation fires up nerve fibers that send signals to the spinal cord, which is believed to create a pain-relieving effect by essentially overwhelming the body’s pain signals with competing sensory input.
The practical result is looser muscles and better range of motion. A 2025 study on massage gun protocols found that using percussive therapy three times per week produced average flexibility gains of 5.8% in hip flexion and 5.6% in ankle movement. The professional-grade Hypervolt 2 Pro operates across five speed levels, ranging from 1,700 to 2,700 percussions per minute (28 to 45 Hz), with a stall force between 60 and 70 pounds, meaning you can press firmly into dense muscle without the motor cutting out.
Dynamic Air Compression: The Normatec Line
Normatec boots and sleeves wrap around your legs, hips, or arms and inflate with air in rhythmic, pulsing patterns. Rather than applying uniform pressure like a standard compression sleeve, they use a patented sequential compression method that mimics the way your circulatory system naturally pushes blood back toward your heart. The pressure moves in waves from your feet upward (or from your hands upward, depending on the attachment), which helps increase circulation and reduce swelling.
The Normatec 3, their current flagship, offers seven compression levels ranging from 40 to 110 mmHg. For context, 40 mmHg is roughly the pressure of a snug compression sock, while 110 mmHg approaches what you’d feel from a blood pressure cuff at mid-inflation. You control the intensity through an app or the device itself, adjusting zone by zone to spend more time on areas that feel particularly tight or swollen. Most people use them for 15 to 30 minutes after training.
Heat and Vibration: The Venom Line
The Venom products combine controlled heat with vibration in wraps designed for specific body parts: back, legs, knees, and shoulders. Heat dilates blood vessels, increasing blood flow to stiff or sore tissue, while the vibration component helps loosen knots and reduce tension. Together, they’re designed to improve range of motion and flexibility, whether you use them before activity as a warm-up tool or afterward to manage soreness.
Each Venom device lets you adjust heat and vibration independently, so you can run high heat with low vibration for general relaxation or crank up the vibration for more targeted muscle work. The wraps stay in place during use, which makes them more passive than a massage gun. You strap one on, set your preferences, and let it work for a set period.
Contrast Therapy: The Hyperice X
The Hyperice X delivers both hot and cold therapy from a single device, eliminating the need for ice packs, heating pads, or the traditional method of alternating between hot and cold water baths. It wraps around the knee or shoulder and lets you switch between heat and cold seamlessly within a single session, with precise temperature control throughout.
Contrast therapy works by alternating between vasodilation (blood vessels expanding from heat) and vasoconstriction (blood vessels narrowing from cold). This pumping action is thought to accelerate the removal of metabolic waste from damaged tissue while bringing in fresh, oxygen-rich blood. The electronic approach gives you consistency that ice baths and hot towels can’t match.
Vibrating Rollers: The Hypersphere
The Hypersphere is a vibrating ball designed for myofascial release, targeting trigger points and hard-to-reach areas like the lower back, glutes, and feet. It offers three vibration speeds, with higher frequencies intended to activate muscles and enhance range of motion before and after activity. You roll it against the floor or a wall to apply pressure to specific spots while the vibration penetrates deeper into tissue than a standard foam roller or lacrosse ball would.
Where Not to Use These Devices
Percussive and vibration devices come with real limitations. You should avoid using massage guns directly on bones, over broken skin, near recent fractures, or on areas with surgical hardware like screws or plates. The neck is off-limits due to the risk of vascular injury. If you feel pins and needles during use, that’s a sign you’re hitting nerve tissue and should move to a different area.
People on blood thinners, those with clotting disorders, or anyone who suspects a blood clot should not use percussive tools at all. The same goes for anyone with peripheral neuropathy, since the numbness makes it impossible to tell if you’re applying too much pressure or causing bruising. And these devices should never be used over areas where cancer is present.