Josh Bozin
When Chiropractor Dr Jason Wersland suffered a severe motorcycle injury in 2008, his life changed forever. Finding himself in constant debilitating pain, Wersland searched far and wide for a non-pharmaceutical option to help relieve his discomfort.
He couldn’t find any.
Enter, Theragun. Spearheaded out of frustration and necessity, this first of its kind handheld massage machine would deliver percussive motion to relieve chronic muscle pain – the answer Wersland was looking for to not only remedy his injuries but to also combat an over-prescribed pharmaceuticals industry.
Officially launching in 2016, Theragun is today at the forefront of percussive therapy, used around the world by professional sporting teams, professional athletes, world-renowned trainers, physical therapists and anyone looking to reduce muscle tension and effectively accelerate recovery.
Man of Style sat down with Dr Jason Wersland to discuss his story of Theragun and how it’s changing the way people recover from injury.
Man of Style: How did Therabody, and in particular, Theragun come to fruition? Is this a product that you’ve wanted to design and bring to the market for a while?
Jason Wersland: The idea was created out of necessity. I founded Theragun in 2008 after a severe motorcycle accident, as I was left in constant and debilitative pain. In order to treat my injuries, I searched for a handheld device to provide deep muscle relief, but I was unable to find anything on the market. As a result, I made something for myself and it worked. It worked better than I could have ever imagined. I then spent the next 8 years developing and refining 5 different versions which led to our first consumer launch of the G1 in 2016.
Theragun has since rebranded to Therabody and launched our 4th generation Theragun Smart Percussive Therapy devices powered by QuietForce Technology: our Theragun PRO, Theragun Elite, Theragun Prime, along with the Theragun mini. All except the mini connect to our Therabody app making it very easy to get started on the path to connecting with your body through our devices. We also introduced our Wave Roller vibrating foam roller, with this, now you have a whole-body approach to connection.
And now, continuing our mission to provide natural wellness solutions, Therabody is launching our own U.S. grown CBD line, TheraOne — becoming the first brand to ever garner the USDA Certified Organic seal across its entire product line.
MoS: Talk to us about Theragun: what does it do, how does it work and why should anybody serious about fitness and recovery know about Theragun?
JW: Theragun is the name of our handheld percussive massage therapy devices. Basically, the up-and-down motion that the Theragun makes is called a percussive motion – that motion, along with our specifically calibrated frequency and amplitude, moves on and off the body having a positive effect on the body, nerves, and body tissue to ease muscle tension and aches.
It has a variety of benefits including greatly reducing pain almost in seconds, increasing mobility and range of motion, increases blood flow to the area reducing soreness, tightness and pain, and can assist with accelerating the repair and growth of tissues – all crucial elements to any serious about their fitness.
MoS: Theragun is used by some heavy hitters in the sporting industry. Can you recall a turning point for Theragun or a moment that you knew you had a product that could change how people like professional athletes recover?
JW: I didn’t create Theragun for athletes – I created it for people like myself, who were in pain. In 2012, I started using Theragun on athletes because those were my clients, and I discovered its performance-enhancing effects and how much these professional athletes loved using Theragun.
The demand for Theragun really started to take off in 2013 as a consequence of its popularity with professional athletes which has led to its impact on so many other everyday people.
MoS: Do you have any bespoke tips and tricks for muscle recovery that you can share with us, with the aid of Theragun?
JW: Sleep is such an integral part of muscle recovery. Theragun’s unique combination science creates a deep, effective treatment that, when used the right way, actually downregulates your autonomic nervous system from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest. Essentially flipping on the “recovery switch” to your body promoting more restful sleep to repair and restore the body.
To maximise this start by:
- Floating your Theragun on your shoulders, arms and hands, and the bottom of your feet
before bedtime. It’s also a good idea to treat any area where you feel discomfort for 1 min - Pro tip: Finish with your feet; all 3 arches, your heel, the ball and even the top of the foot
- I like to set an alarm for 6 minutes before bedtime as part of a nightly routine
- Shoulders: 1 min each on right and left side – total 2 min
- Hands and arms: 1 min on each side – total 2 min
- Feet: 1 min each – total 2 min
- Breathing is so important for our health, I recommend that when your head hits the pillow that you take 2 minutes and add this simple exercise to your “going to sleep” routine:
- Breath in for 7 seconds. Hold your breath for 3 seconds. Exhale for 7 seconds.
- Repeat for 2 minutes, about 7 cycles
MoS: What’s next for Therabody?
JW: With the launch of TheraOne and our 4th generation of percussive massage therapy devices, we’re able to offer our customers another natural wellness solution that is not only effective on its own but also complements our Theragun Percussive Therapy devices. I’m thrilled with this milestone of launching Therabody and how it enables us to help more people. We are just getting started as we continue to develop products backed by science that can further help people feel better, naturally.
Since the day I invented Theragun to help me with the pain caused by a motorcycle accident, our mission as a company has been to help others with their muscle tension and soreness, whether it’s for an injury, an ailment or working out. We want our customers to know under certain circumstances there are alternatives to taking pain.
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For more information on Therabody and to purchase your own device, visit the website here.