Chirp Halo Wireless Muscle Stimulator review

As the health and fitness editor right here at NCS Underscored, I’m no stranger to reviewing merchandise which have the potential to wow, having examined all the things from cooling recovery products for post-sweat periods to foot massagers for at-home use to recovery sandals for unruly aches and pains. So after I found the Chirp Halo, I used to be equally stunned: Unlike different nerve-stimulating units on the market, this ache aid gadget makes use of electrical pulses, somewhat than therapeutic massage nodes or warmth, to appease aches and soreness.

Chirp, a model greatest recognized for its percussive remedy RPM massager, created this new at-home muscle remedy package that makes use of each digital muscle stimulation (EMS) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) to decrease muscle and tendon ache, fatigue and soreness.

As anyone who experiences joint ache resulting from arthritis, I needed to see if this package may alleviate a few of my soreness. Turns out, my expertise with this package was stunning and considerably revolutionary.

Think of the Chirp Halo package as your private at-home bodily remedy workplace. It comes with two models, eight reusable pads, two extension cables and a chargeable distant, plus a charging case to maintain all of it collectively.

Getting began utilizing the Chirp Halo is straightforward: You stick every unit, or puck, onto a reusable magnetic pad, then place the sticky facet of every pad onto your pores and skin in an space the place you’re experiencing ache. Next, after pairing the distant by way of Bluetooth, you possibly can select from amongst six preset packages — Pain Relief, Massage, Squeeze, Thump, Stretch and Woah Nelly — to search out the one(s) greatest suited to your particular person wants. Some modes characteristic solely EMS or solely TENS, whereas others use a mixture of each. Here’s a quick rundown of every mode’s performance:

Each mode lasts 20 minutes, however it’s also possible to cease it your self at any time. My private favourite setting, Pain Relief, sends out pulsations about each different second. If you occur to really feel your muscle tissue contract throughout this remedy or others listed above, don’t fear; that is regular! You can even go for completely different ranges of stress, from 1 (a softer pulse) to 10 (extra highly effective pulsations).

Convenient and inexpensive

Unlike the EMS and TENS therapies obtainable at bodily remedy places of work and boutique gyms, the Chirp Halo package is cordless. This makes it simpler to get snug and transfer round at house. Additionally, not like skilled therapies the place you usually select from both only a TENS or simply an EMS remedy, this gadget combines each for a 2-in-1 treatment. What’s extra, an in-person TENS remedy at a bodily remedy workplace typically costs between $75 and $100, whereas an EMS remedy can value between $75 and $150, which means the Chirp basically pays for itself after simply two or three therapies.

However, Bryn Mota, the senior director of University Fitness Centers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, stated there’s a trade-off: You received’t be getting the identical high quality aid utilizing the Chirp Halo as you’d get from an in-office remedy. There, a well being care skilled can personalize remedy simply to you and use extra highly effective units to assist your actual bodily remedy and/or muscle restoration wants.

Compact and transportable

My favourite factor about this HSA- and FSA-eligible gadget, apart from serving to to scale back my power ache, is how compact and light-weight it’s. Once you place the models in your physique and choose your most well-liked remedy, you’re set; you don’t have to carry something or contort your physique into awkward positions for focused stimulation. I often simply sit on my sofa and even at my desk throughout work hours. Its included carrying case is a little bit bigger than a passport pockets and doesn’t weigh quite a lot of kilos, even with each accent packed inside, so it’s really easy to throw it right into a work bag or weekender too.

The small models are additionally slim sufficient to suit underneath garments. I’ve positioned the most important pad on my again underneath a T-shirt and a number of pucks round my knees underneath sweatpants with no problem.

I’m very impatient and likewise very forgetful. This makes useless expertise a staple in my family. Luckily, the Halo models cost up rapidly. I can plug the case in for 20 minutes on a useless battery and get a 30-minute session in. Yes, you learn that accurately: The case itself expenses the models and distant unexpectedly (you possibly can cost them individually too, although). This was a plus for me, as I typically use each models on the similar time, and I didn’t have to attend for each to cost individually. Once the pucks are absolutely charged, they’ll run for as much as six hours.

Sure, we’re in 2025, however I’ve discovered that many Bluetooth-connected units require manner an excessive amount of work to arrange. First, you must obtain an app, then you must create an account and signal away your life. Only then are you able to join it to Bluetooth. This gadget doesn’t require an app, so to pair them, all you must do is energy on the distant and models, no telephone required. A dream come true!

If you’re a fan of apps, although, Chirp has one if you wish to take your restoration to the subsequent degree or peruse its step-by-step guides on the place to position the pucks in your physique and which pads to make use of. You can even purchase replacement pads immediately by way of the app, learn concerning the numerous therapies and watch assist movies by means of it.

Once all the things is powered up, you’ll choose this system you need to use. As talked about above, I often go for Pain Relief, however I’ll generally use the Massage, Squeeze and Thump modes as effectively.

Because I’m no medical skilled, I depend on the model’s consumer guides — discovered here or throughout the free-to-use Chirp Halo app that’s obtainable on each iOS and Android units — to determine the place to correctly place my models. The guides are easy to comply with and useful, so I really feel extra assured about accurately utilizing the gadget alone.

My arthritis could be very cussed, and so am I. I don’t like taking breaks from understanding, particularly after I’m operating — sure, I’m conscious this can be a recipe for catastrophe — however I actually discovered that utilizing this package after exercises along with my restoration routine has resulted in much less ache and soreness. I’m used to experiencing a boring and throbbing ache round my knees and hips after I lie down at evening, nevertheless it’s been much less frequent and fewer irritating after I use the Halo a couple of occasions every week. (Bonus? I really like that the pucks are simple to stay on and neglect about whereas watching one more episode of “Gilmore Girls.”)

Each time you utilize the package, you join the models to pads with sticky sides that adhere to your pores and skin. According to Chirp, the reusable pads final for as much as 20 therapies, however I discovered that they lasted nearer to 10 or 15 occasions. The package comes with 4 spot pads, two decrease again pads and two set off level pads to start out, and the model sells quite a lot of different kinds designed to connect to particular physique elements like calves and quads. You can even purchase extra pads designed for soothing menstrual pain.

While my primary want is that the package got here with a couple of of those specialty pads for a greater worth, just like the package itself, the pads are not less than HSA and FSA eligible.

It’s not a shock (no pun meant) that it took a while for me to get used to the feeling of EMS and TENS remedy. The slight stunning feeling, in addition to feeling my muscle tissue twitch in response, was a bit unnerving at first, however after a couple of therapies I acquired extra used to it. It additionally took a while to search out the suitable remedy for me. After utilizing every of the six modes not less than as soon as I discovered the gently rhythm of the Pain Relief one soothing to expertise, and it rapidly turned my favourite.

If you need an easy-to-use muscle and tendon remedy that may assist soothe soreness or power ache in 20 minutes, this Chirp Halo package is price a strive, particularly as a result of it’s FSA and HSA eligible. Like any at-home remedy, it’s all the time a good suggestion to talk together with your physician or a medical skilled previous to attempting one thing new. This remedy additionally received’t be a magic repair for ache. I consider it as a useful software that gives aid and reduces a few of my irritation.

The following questions have been answered by Bryn Mota, the senior director of University Fitness Centers at Case Western Reserve University, and Darci Bawdon Fistanic, head EMS coach at Alo Wellness Club.

For this text, we consulted the next medical consultants, neither of whom is affiliated with Chirp, for his or her skilled insights.

NCS Underscored has a workforce of expert writers and editors who’ve a few years of expertise testing, researching and recommending merchandise, they usually guarantee every article is rigorously edited and merchandise are correctly vetted. We discuss to high consultants when related to make sure we’re testing every product precisely, recommending solely the most effective merchandise and contemplating the professionals and cons of every merchandise.

NCS Underscored well being and health editor Summer Cartwright is all the time on the run — actually. She is each a cardio fanatic and an RRCA-certified operating coach who’s accomplished 4 marathons and numerous half-marathons.