Neither compression boots nor massage guns have strong research behind them: reviews found mixed results for both, from small studies, mostly in young men.[1][2] On our evidence scale, both rate Weak, as do foam rolling and sauna; ice-bath research rates Moderate, for the short term after hard exercise.[3] Sleep, food, fluids and a sensible training load come first.[4][5]
- Basics first: La Trobe researchers call sleep, nutrition and training planning "the cake", and recovery devices "the icing".[4]
- Two ratings: Moderate for ice baths, from a review of 52 studies; Weak for the other four.[3][6][2][7][8]
- Women are under-studied: 6% of studies in six sport and exercise science journals (2014 to 2020) included women only.[9]
- Health check first: every tool has people who should ask a GP first; Australian bodies list them for ice baths, saunas and massage.[10][11][12]
The cake before the icing: start with the basics
Our recovery guides start with everyday habits, and so does this comparison. A 2023 review by La Trobe University researchers in Melbourne names sleep, nutrition and training periodisation (planning hard and easy sessions) as the fundamentals of recovery, contributing much more than any added device.[4] The review was written for athletes; we use the same order for everyday exercise:
- Sleep. Most adults need about 7 to 9 hours a night, says healthdirect.[13]
- Food. Sports Dietitians Australia's recovery nutrition fact sheet sets four goals: refuel with carbohydrate, repair with protein, rehydrate, and include a variety of fruit and vegetables. With more than 24 hours until your next session, your usual meals and snacks can restock your fuel stores.[5]
- Fluids. The same fact sheet suggests weighing yourself before and after exercise, then replacing 125 to 150% of the fluid lost: for 1 kg lost, about 1.5 litres over the next 2 to 4 hours.[5]
- Training load. A 2018 sport science consensus statement says athletes need a balance between recovery and stress, including training load and other life demands,[14] so a big week at work counts too.
Compression boots vs massage gun: what's the difference?
They're different tools, with limited research behind each. Air compression boots are leg sleeves that a pump fills with air and releases in cycles,[6] worn while you sit or lie down. A massage gun is a handheld device that delivers rapid pulses to a muscle.[2] Both have mostly been tested on young, healthy men after hard or muscle-damaging exercise.[1][2] Neither has research strong enough to put it ahead of the other, so the clearer differences are practical: one is a timed session sitting or lying down, the other a handheld tool you move yourself. Our guide to what the research on compression boots shows covers each study, who funded it and its limits.
What does the research say about each recovery tool?
Most studies were small, tested young, healthy or active people, mostly men, after hard exercise, and compared a tool with resting.[6][2][3] Our rating shows how much confidence the research deserves for everyday active adults, not how well a tool works for you.
| Tool | What it is | What studies measured | Our evidence rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air compression boots | Leg sleeves that a pump fills with air and releases in cycles.[6] | Two reviews: no clear effect on performance tests such as jump height, and mixed results on participants' own ratings of how their muscles felt.[6][1] Two 2026 trials: no difference from a placebo cream on any measure in 23 elite youth soccer players;[15] in 21 male road cyclists, short-term differences from a sham session on some measures, but none in a time trial the next day.[16] | Weak |
| Massage guns | Handheld devices that deliver rapid pulses to a muscle.[2] | A 2026 review of 12 trials: jump height closer to pre-exercise levels than with rest or a placebo (low certainty, and no longer clear after adjusting for possibly missing studies); no clear difference in maximum strength or soreness ratings.[2] | Weak |
| Foam rolling | Self-massage with a foam roller or a roller stick.[7] | A 2019 review of 21 studies, 7 after exercise: slightly smaller drops in sprint and strength that were not statistically significant, and lower muscle pain ratings. The authors judged overall effects "rather minor and partly negligible", though they "can be relevant in some cases", and found more support for rolling as a warm-up than as a recovery tool.[7] | Weak |
| Ice baths | Sitting in cold water, usually 10 to 15 °C.[10] | A 2022 review of 52 studies in physically active people: 24 hours after high-intensity exercise, muscle power closer to pre-exercise levels and lower soreness ratings than with passive recovery; no difference in strength.[3] | Moderate, for the short term after hard exercise |
| Sauna | A hot room: a traditional sauna or an infrared cabin.[17] | A 2025 review of post-exercise heat, mostly hot-water baths: 3 of its 9 short-term studies used a sauna. Across all 9, results were mixed (4 found no effect, 4 a benefit and 1 a negative effect); the review rated its overall evidence low to moderate quality.[8] | Weak |
Ice-bath research rates higher because a 2022 review pooled 52 studies in physically active people and graded much of its evidence moderate or high quality. Its studies were small and mostly in men, so we stop at Moderate.[3] For sauna, the 2025 review found only 3 short-term recovery studies.[8] The La Trobe review also grades strategies for athletes: it puts foam rolling, hydrotherapy (including cold-water immersion) and four other strategies in its group with a high level of positive evidence, and sauna, recovery boots, occlusion cuffs and massage guns in its group with less evidence and mixed results.[4] We keep foam rolling at Weak because, in the pooled analysis above, its effects after exercise were small or not statistically significant.[7] We rate for everyday active adults, so studies in athletes, mostly men, count for less, and between two levels we use the lower one.
We cover red light devices, including the research on exercise recovery, in our guide to red light therapy at home.
Were women included in the studies?
Not often. In six journals that publish sport and exercise science (2014 to 2020), 6% of studies included women only and 31% men only; women were 34% of participants.[9] Recovery research is similar: in one compression review, 274 of 322 participants were men;[1] in the massage gun review, 286 of 393;[2] 11 of 14 heat studies recruited only men;[8] and the ice-bath review's authors called for female-only studies.[3] Everyday exercise in Australia looks different. In AusPlay, the Australian Sports Commission's national survey of about 40,000 people a year, the most popular activities for Australians aged 15 and over in 2024–25 were walking, fitness or gym, bushwalking, running or jogging and swimming, with Pilates among the fastest growing.[18] Results from young men after hard exercise may not carry over to a long walk, a reformer class or Saturday netball.
What do they cost, and who should check with a GP first?
Costs run from a one-off foam roller to ongoing studio visits; we keep them broad because prices vary.
| Tool | Typical cost | Practicalities | When to ask a doctor first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air compression boots | A larger one-off purchase | A timed session sitting or lying down; plug-in or rechargeable models; the size has to suit your legs. Stop if you feel pain, numbness or tingling. | Don't use them, and talk to your doctor first, if you have, or might have, a blood clot, heart failure, poor blood supply to your legs, numbness from nerve damage, or an infection, wound or skin condition on your legs. Ask your doctor or midwife first after recent surgery or a leg injury, or if you're pregnant, have diabetes or take medicines that could affect your circulation. |
| Massage guns | A one-off purchase | Handheld: you choose where to use it and how firmly. | According to healthdirect, massage might not be right for you if you have heart or kidney failure, blood clots, burns, bruises, an infectious skin condition such as warts or cold sores, osteoporosis or nerve damage. It says to avoid massage if you bleed or bruise easily, have a bleeding disorder, are having cancer treatment or are recovering from surgery, and to check with your doctor or midwife if you're pregnant.[12] |
| Foam rolling | Usually the lowest cost | Needs floor space, and getting down to the floor and back up. | The same as for massage guns.[12] |
| Ice baths | From a home bath and ice to a plunge tub or paid sessions | Cold shock can raise heart rate and blood pressure. Start with short exposures, build up gradually, and keep your head and neck out of a plunge pool.[10] Don't do it alone. | Royal Life Saving, AUSactive and SPASA advise participants to get medical guidance before starting. They list a higher risk if you're pregnant, take certain medicines or treatments, or have heart or circulation problems, high blood pressure, an autoimmune condition, Raynaud's or another chronic or serious illness.[10] |
| Sauna | Paid sessions, or a large outlay for a home unit | Skip alcohol and don't go alone: in studies of sauna deaths in Sweden and Finland, half or more involved alcohol, and bathing alone was a common risk factor.[17] | If you're pregnant: Pregnancy, Birth and Baby advises avoiding saunas.[11] If you have a heart condition, ask first: a review notes reports of serious heart problems in saunas, especially in people with unstable coronary artery disease.[17] |
Precautions without a source number are our own. For massage guns and foam rollers, we apply healthdirect's advice on massage.[12] For compression boots, our guide to who should check with a GP before using compression boots has the full list and its sources.
How to choose a recovery tool, if you want one
- Get the basics in place. Sleep, meals, fluids and easier days after big ones come before any device.[4]
- Check the health lists. If anything in the table above applies to you, ask your GP before you buy or book.
- Be realistic. A tool only fits your routine if it fits your budget, home and time.
- Check what was measured. When a product promises a result, ask whether studies measured it, and in whom: most studies above tested young, mostly male adults after hard exercise.[3][2][6]
- Start gently. Read the manual for any device and start at a low setting.
Quick answers
Is a massage gun the same as a sports massage?
No. A massage gun is a handheld device; a sports massage is hands-on work by a therapist. A 2020 review of 29 massage studies found no evidence that massage improved strength, jump, sprint, endurance or fatigue measures; it found small, statistically significant differences in flexibility and soreness ratings.[20]
Does a cold shower count as an ice bath?
Not in the research we cite. Royal Life Saving, AUSactive and SPASA count a hot-to-cold shower as one setting for cold-water immersion,[10] but the 2022 recovery review compared immersion with passive recovery,[3] so its results may not apply to a shower.
Is an infrared sauna the same as a traditional sauna?
Not quite. Infrared cabins use infrared emitters and generally run cooler than traditional Finnish saunas, according to RMIT University researchers, who found not yet enough evidence to tell their health effects apart.[17]
Sources
How we choose and weigh sources is set out in our editorial policy. All links were checked on 7 October 2026.
20 sources
- Wiśniowski P, Cieśliński M, Jarocka M, Kasiak PS, Makaruk B, Pawliczek W, Wiecha S. The effect of pressotherapy on performance and recovery in the management of delayed onset muscle soreness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2022;11(8):2077. No external funding; no conflicts of interest declared. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9028309
- Zhu Y, Yang L, Liu T, Yao F, Wang Q, Yi Z. Effects of percussive therapy dosages on recovery from acute exercise-induced muscle damage: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies. 2026;34:34. Funding: Keep-Capital University of Physical Education and Sports Collaborative Innovation Laboratory of Sports Science; no competing interests declared. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13488264
- Moore E, Fuller JT, Buckley JD, Saunders S, Halson SL, Broatch JR, Bellenger CR. Impact of cold-water immersion compared with passive recovery following a single bout of strenuous exercise on athletic performance in physically active participants: a systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression. Sports Medicine. 2022;52(7):1667–1688. University of South Australia. Funding: open-access funding through CAUL; first author supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship; one author declared a grant from the Norwood Football Club to evaluate the effects of cold-water immersion on recovery. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9213381
- Driller M, Leabeater A. Fundamentals or icing on top of the cake? A narrative review of recovery strategies and devices for athletes. Sports (Basel). 2023;11(11):213. La Trobe University, Melbourne. No external funding; no conflicts of interest declared. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10674277
- Sports Dietitians Australia. Recovery nutrition. Fact sheet (PDF) linked from this page, listed with the date 26 March 2026. sportsdietitians.com.au/Article
- Maia F, Nakamura FY, Sarmento H, Marcelino R, Ribeiro J. Effects of lower-limb intermittent pneumatic compression on sports recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Biology of Sport. 2024;41(4):263–275. Funding: Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT); the authors declare no conflicting interests. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11475002
- Wiewelhove T, Döweling A, Schneider C, et al. A meta-analysis of the effects of foam rolling on performance and recovery. Frontiers in Physiology. 2019;10:376. Funded by Germany's Federal Institute of Sport Science (BISp); no conflicts of interest declared. doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00376
- Ahokas EK, Hennessy RS, Hanstock HG, Kyröläinen H, Ihalainen JK. Effects of post-exercise heat exposure on acute recovery and training-induced performance adaptations: a systematic review. Sports Medicine – Open. 2025;11:106. Funding: Urheiluopistosäätiö and the Finnish Sauna Society; no conflicts of interest declared. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12488549
- Cowley ES, Olenick AA, McNulty KL, Ross EZ. "Invisible sportswomen": the sex data gap in sport and exercise science research. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal. 2021;29(2):146–151. Funding not stated in the record we could read. doi.org/10.1123/wspaj.2021-0028
- Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, AUSactive and SPASA (Swimming Pool & Spa Association). Position statement on cold water immersion therapy safety precautions in aquatic, fitness and leisure settings. Current as at 24 January 2024. ausactive.org.au (PDF)
- Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (healthdirect Australia). Things to avoid during pregnancy. Last reviewed April 2026. pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/pregnancy/nutrition-and-lifestyle/things-to-avoid-during-pregnancy
- healthdirect Australia. Massage therapy. Last reviewed June 2025. healthdirect.gov.au/massage-therapy
- healthdirect Australia. Sleep. Last reviewed November 2023. healthdirect.gov.au/sleep
- Kellmann M, Bertollo M, Bosquet L, et al. Recovery and performance in sport: consensus statement. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2018;13(2):240–245. Funding not stated in the abstract we could read. doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2017-0759
- Maia F, Tito S, Correia M, Nakamura FY, Ribeiro J. Intermittent pneumatic compression does not improve post-match neuromuscular, biochemical or perceptual recovery in international-level youth soccer players: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2026;18:126. Funding: FCT; compression devices provided by Sausport; the authors declare no competing interests. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12983609
- Maia F, Barreira J, Tito S, Nakamura FY, Ribeiro J. Effects of intermittent sequential pneumatic compression on functional, biochemical, and perceptual recovery markers in trained cyclists: a randomized sham-controlled crossover trial. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2026;21(10):1107–1114. Funding not stated in the abstract we could read. doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2025-0397
- Hussain J, Cohen M. Clinical effects of regular dry sauna bathing: a systematic review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2018;2018:1857413. RMIT University, Melbourne; first author supported by a PhD scholarship from the Jacka Foundation; no conflicts of interest declared. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5941775
- Australian Sports Commission. New AusPlay data released: Aussies embracing sport for life. News release, 14 November 2025 (AusPlay results for 2024–25). ausport.gov.au/media-centre/news/new-ausplay-data-released-aussies-embracing-sport-for-life
- healthdirect Australia. Contact us: healthdirect helpline 1800 022 222, also known as 1800MEDICARE nationally and NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria. healthdirect.gov.au/contact-us
- Davis HL, Alabed S, Chico TJA. Effect of sports massage on performance and recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. 2020;6(1):e000614. No specific grant declared; no competing interests declared. A 2021 correction replaced figure 3. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7228568