Roll Recovery R8?

If your Instagram feed is like mine—mostly populated with running content—you’ve likely come across an ad featuring olympian Molly Seidel brandishing a metal instrument and scraping it against her skin. Seidel, along with fellow pro marathoners Sara Hall and Emily Sisson, is sponsored by Sidekick, which sells products for “instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization” (IASTM), a.k.a, muscle scraping.

This year marks Sidekick’s 10th anniversary, but the recovery method it uses has been practiced for thousands of years. Archeological evidence suggests a form of scraping with stone tools in the Paleolithic Era. Textual evidence dates back to the Ming Dynasty, where it’s referred to as gua sha.

Sidekick Echo Muscle Reliever

$135 at Amazon

$139 at sidekicktool.com

Muscle scraping has gained traction in the past decade, with brands like Sidekick, Graston Technique, and HawkGrips, along with cheaper alternatives you can find on Amazon, making tools more accessible and less intimidating to try out.

As a runner who has an assortment of “torture devices” (the Roll Recovery R8, Rumble Roller foam roller, or Armed with this knowledge and equipped with Sidekick’s can look terrifying to the untrained eye), I just had to add these metal tools to my arsenal and put them to the test (with two major marathons six days apart on my calendar, what could be a more ideal time?). As a novice practitioner, I spoke with experts to find out how to properly use these tools and how you can fit using them into your routine.

One systematic review published in 2017 found that muscle scraping may yield beneficial results, such as improved flexibility of underlying tissue, increased blood flow, and myofascial release. It also suggests muscle scraping reduces pain.

On a video call with Ken Johnson, physical therapist and executive director of Ambulatory Rehabilitation Therapy Services at John Hopkins Medicine, I was fortunate to receive an abbreviated seminar on IASTM, delving into Johnson’s research on its benefits and application.

Johnson refers to a 2009 study on instrument-assisted cross-fiber massage (IACFM) and knee injuries, using rodents. A slideshow he presents to students includes photos of healthy tissue (smooth and sinewy), damaged tissue left to heal on its own (broken up and gnarled), and damaged tissue that was IACFM-treated (the muscle fibers, though slightly thicker, are realigned and almost as smooth as healthy tissue).

Scraping the concave side of The Echo on the quad.

Johnson compares using muscle scraping to changing the filter in your home heating or air conditioning system. “When you look at the filter, you can see through it when it’s brand new. But once you take it out after a month, it’s all clogged up with gunk,” he says. “The same thing happens with our tissues.”

Muscle scraping doesn’t produce miracles, however, and some studies have found the effects inconclusive. “It isn’t a cure-all,” says Jessica Ciecwisz, DPT, a Graston-Technique certified physical therapist at Jefferson Health. “It’s effective for soft tissue issues, but it won’t fix structural problems (like herniated discs, joint instability, or bone misalignments).”

There are also some contraindications, too, or instances where you shouldn’t apply muscle scraping: varicose veins, open wounds, skin infections, blood clotting disorders, and recent fractures.

The kind of tool you use is another thing to consider before scraping. You can find cheaper, non-metal instruments made of wood or plastic on websites like Amazon, but they’re less effective when it comes to deep tissue scraping.

“When you feel a plastic scraper next to a metal one there’s a massive difference just in the way it feels,” says Hin Lai, CEO and founder of Sidekick. “A lot of it comes down to the edge of the tool and the weight of the tool, and plastic just doesn’t have that. That’s why we’ve made all our tools in metal (with the exception of the Curve muscle scraper, which is made of Bian stone and intended for gentler scraping).”

With that said, Ciecwisz doesn’t recommend using tools like a butter knife. Doing so can aggravate muscles and cause injury due to sharper, non-beveled edges.

Think of your muscle scraper as one instrument in your rehab toolkit. You have standard tools like a foam roller and stretching—yes, stretching—but sometimes you need a tool like a muscle scraper to apply more targeted pressure to certain areas.

“It’s good for what I’d classify as soft tissue injuries,” says Marcus Dusseault, physical therapist at Envision Physiotherapy and Sidekick product consultant. “A lot of the times an injury will cause a lot of muscle and fascia tension.”

to 3 times per week, especially after long runs or speed work sprained ankle as an example: Your body’s first response is swelling at the injured site. Once that lessens, the muscles surrounding the ankle, the calf for instance, are in a “spasm state,” or really tight. “Even though you’re not necessarily scraping on an acute injury right away, you can still use it after an injury through those muscles to try to calm down some of that tension,” he explains. Before scraping while recovering from an injury, consult with your doctor first.

In terms of common runner injuries, a muscle scraper can help alleviate—along with rehab, rest, and, in more serious cases, medical treatment—IT band pain, Achilles tendinitis and tendinopathy, and patellar (knee) pain, among others.

But you can also use the method for regular maintenance and as one part of your running routine. Think of it as cereal: It’s part of a complete breakfast. “In a treatment setting, like in a PT setting, we’ll use it as a supplement to other things: strength exercises, range of motion exercises,” Ciecwisz says. You can also use your tools anytime at home, as long as you’re consistent.

RW+ Membership Benefits.

“There’s no one specific time that you should use it and it really does depend on the person,” says Dusseault, explaining that usage can be injury-specific or for alleviating general muscle stiffness and tightness. “Some people might like the feeling that it kind of warms up the muscle before a run. Others might feel like they need to release some of the tension that they built up over the course of a run.”

Johnson notes that you should never ice the site before scraping. Instead, warm it up or use heat, like a compress.

Ciecwisz also recommends limiting deep scraping to two or three times a week. For more of her tips, see below.

Sidekick.com provides a collection of videos demonstrating how to use their tools on parts of the body. Ciecwisz also gave us tips on how to prep the site and administer IASTM.

Light Scraping Before Runs (Optional)

• Purpose: What Are the Types of Stroking Techniques
• Duration: 30 seconds to 2 minutes per muscle group
• Areas: Published: May 28, 2025 12:05 PM EDT
• Pressure: Very light—think of it like a tissue “wake-up,” not deep work
• Frequency: to 3 minutes per area

Deeper Scraping After Runs (Best on Easy or Rest Days)

• Purpose: Break up restrictions, improve recovery, reduce muscle soreness (DOMS)
• Duration: 1 Best Recovery Shoes
• Areas: Focus on tight zones—common ones for runners are the calves, quads, IT band adjacent muscles (like TFL), hip flexors, and plantar fascia
• Pressure: Moderate—enough to feel it but not enough to cause excessive bruising
• Frequency: 2 to 3 times per week, especially after long runs or speed work

Health & Injuries gua sha, whose practitioners apply aggressive strokes until petechiae (red or purple spots indicating small blood vessel bleeding) forms on the skin, IASTM application shouldn’t create bruising or break blood vessels.

“Imagine you’re at a grocery store and you’re trying to feel the ripeness of a peach,” Lai says. “That’s the amount of pressure that you should apply; enough to feel it, but you’re not in pain. The beauty is that you’re fully in control of the tool. You can fully control the pressure.”

to add these metal tools to my arsenal and put them to the test with two major.

But if you want a deeper session, Johnson explains how the feeling should be a good kind of hurt. “When I first start, it probably is a little bit uncomfortable. But if I modify my techniques, like if I’m scraping like this and it hurts and I flip my tool over”—he mimics flipping over a muscle scraping instrument from its convex to its concave side—“and now I use the softer edge, I can build trust within the tissue. Later on, I can get deeper.”

Johnson refers to a HawkGrip tools (another brand that sells instruments and provides training), Johnson demos how scraping is done at a 30- to 60-degree angle on the skin, and the kinds of strokes you can apply to site. He’ll use at least three types of strokes on one area, depending on its tightness.

“[Think of it as] bevel up versus bevel down. I’m never scraping back and forth because that will irritate the tissue,” Johnson says. In other words, don’t “scrub” the skin with the tool.

Some Stroking Techniques

Scanning: “We’re sort of using that to assess tissue integrity,” Johnson says. This is when you glide the tool over the site, scanning for any tissue restriction or bumps.

Fanning: “Fascia is not always a straight line.” The tool is applied with short fanning strokes at a 45-degree angle to help with tissue release.

Brushing: A more aggressive technique, brushing is when you need to scrape deeper into noticeably tense areas in a “starburst” pattern. In a video Johnson showed me, the smaller side of an instrument is scraped on a small area of the calf muscle.

Using the shorter side of The Echo, I am able to target areas that need deeper pressure through brushing.

Ciecwisz’s General Scraping Tips:

• Use a lubricant (coconut oil, Sidekick gel, or lotion) to avoid skin irritation
• How Do I Know Muscle Scraping Is Working
• Moderate—enough to feel it but not enough to cause excessive bruising
• Always stretch work after to solidify the gains mobility work after to solidify the gains.

Armed with this knowledge and equipped with Sidekick’s Scraper’s Paradise Bundle (a carrying case that includes The Echo, Bow, and Eclipse scrapers as well as Pump Gel), I knew April—the month I signed up for both the Boston and London Marathons—would be the most opportune time to add muscle scraping to my routine.

Leading up to Boston, I slathered emollient like a bodybuilder before scraping my shoulders, quads, calves, and soles of my feet. The ergonomic design of the tools makes it easy to self-administer scraping.

The night before the marathon, I enlisted my partner to scrape my back in our hotel room. I felt a release in tension and stress as he glided the Bow down my lower back.

I traveled with the Scraper’s Paradise Bundle during Boston Marathon weekend.

In the days leading up to London, I continued using the tools, creating a Boston-recovery/London-prep routine: a hot bath, lounging in Normatec boots for 20 to 30 minutes, and then scraping on muscles that still felt tension. I didn’t run at all during the five days leading up to London. The day after the race I was shocked I didn’t have to gingerly walk up and down flights of stairs at the airport, as I usually have to days after racing.

The fact that I was up and running just over a week after racing two marathons six days apart boggles my mind. But maybe I can attribute it to muscle scraping. Along with rest, yoga, compression boots, and soaking in lavender-scented Epsom baths.

What I’m trying to reiterate above is muscle scraping is only one part of a runner’s maintenance. I believe it aided training and recovery from running two marathons back-to-back, but it’s only one ingredient that helped me achieve finishes without being out of commission for a month after.

As Ciecwisz says, muscle scraping’s effects are subjective and depend on the individual.

“Everybody’s going to have a different reaction, a different response,” she says. “If you are somebody who’s very attuned to your exercise workouts, to your recovery, you’re going to notice little things like not being sore as much as you use to post-workouts. Recovery will be faster and muscle fatigue is not as prevalent.”

Amanda Furrer

Editor, Running Reviews

Amanda Furrer, Editor, Running Reviews, studied journalism at NYU and writing at Emerson College. She has reviewed gear and covered other topics in the running space for almost 10 years. Since 2013, she has consecutively run the Boston Marathon. She also has a master’s degree in gastronomy from Boston University and was formerly a professional baker for two years before hanging up her apron.