Interesting... 👀
You'll likely have heard of, or seen Instagram ads for, massage guns - the portable, handheld guns that use percussive massage to ease delayed onset muscle soreness after exercise.
They're loved by athletes and gym-goers alike and retail at anything from £50 to £500.
While they're designed to be used on your legs, back, and shoulders to release muscle tension, one article that's been going viral on social media claims that they have another rather.. ahem.. interesting use.
Vice ran an article last week simply titled: "It’s Time to Admit the Theragun is a Sex Toy."
There's been plenty of debate on the matter, with 1,187 comments on the Instagram post and counting. According to the article, people are modifying their own massage guns at home to attach a whole range of sex toys, sticking everything from dildos to buttplugs in them. (Read our round-up of the best sex toys and best sex toys for couples, here).
How do they know? There's been a rise in tags including "Theragun" and "massage gun" on porn sites, the article claims, with popular porn stars featuring the devices in their content.
Theragun, one of the most popular massage guns, explicitly states on their website that they are not a sex toy or designed to be used for those purposes. Their safety guidelines state: “Do not use the Theragun above your Adam’s Apple or C4, on your head or near your genitals.” It also reemphasises this message again on a separate part of the site: “The following are circumstances where the potential risks may outweigh the benefits... Direct application to the face, throat, or genitalia.”
Speaking to Vice, a spokesperson for Therabody said: “While there is plenty of scientific evidence that vibration can be used to stimulate soft tissues in the body, Theragun is very purposefully designed for pain relief, recovery, and relaxation. We are aware there is a community using Theragun for sexual pleasure, but we are a science-backed company and do not have evidence to support the safety and efficacy of this type of use.
"Theragun is classified as an Electric Therapeutic Massager and is intended for medical purposes (in the US, the FDA considers it to be a Class 1 Medical Device). This particular class and type of medical device is not intended for sexual purposes.”
But across the Internet, users are claiming that going against said guidelines and claiming the massage gun “gets [them] to the edge in literally seconds". Another says the gun is now "by far [their] most favorite toy!”.
One even claims to have helped his partner orgasm more than 23 times using the device.
On a more health-related note, some users are claiming that the tension-busting properties of the device are actually ideal for helping them to overcome sexual difficulties, such as premature ejaculation.
One interesting point that the article makes is that massagers like the Theragun have long been marketed as just that, despite having the potential to double as a sex toy, too. Take the Hitachi Magic Wand, for example, a popular "massager" sold since the 1970's that only publicised its "sexual uses" in 2013.
The response on Instagram was largely one of outrage, with most users pointing out that you could seriously hurt yourself (not to mention your genitals) if you tried this at home. Do note here: we do not advise trying this at home.
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