Chirp Halo Review | It Helps With Pain, But It’s Not a Cure: Here’s What to Know

Chirp Halo promotes TENS and EMS as not just a pain relief, but recovery tool. We not only put it to the test, but put on our research hats to talk to Physical Therapists and more to find out if this tool can do what it claims.

At $199 the Chirp Halo is actually pretty affordable in the wide market of recovery tools. I mean you can’t look at Hyperice tools for less than $300 and we all know that just a couple PT visits puts you over that as well…so is too good to be true?

The biggest thing to know about this tool is that it can disrupt your pain, which alone is a huge relief at times. It’s not going to heal your injury and it’s not going to stop the pain forever. BUT what that disruption can do is provide time to do your physical therapy exercises, sleep better or work on range of motion.

Since we know that movement is medicine, that’s a pretty important factor.

Chrip Halo Overview

Chirp Halo claims to be both a TENS and EMS machine, which means it’s important to understand what the heck that actually means.

An EMS machine is for muscle stimulation and strengthening, while a TENS machine is used for pain relief. Think of the TENS as targeting nerves to stop pain signals, while the EMS is creating muscle contractions that could help with recovery due to muscle atrophy (after surgery) or an injury.

The other main difference is in the frequency used by the machine, again this comes down to the different ways we want the two to work. That being said, I tried the 6 modes provided by the HALO and they simply are NOT different enough to elicit serious muscle stimulation for muscle growth, that’s an inaccurate claim.

If you want to learn more about this, check out our full article about how TENS and EMS helps with recovery.

Note the relax on screen is telling YOU TO RELAX. Ha, it’s not a mode, but a reminder to chill out while using and not tense up. Funny thing about any recovery tool is part of why they work is because you slow down and relax.

TENS and EMS are very common tools for Physical Therapists, but they operate at usually a higher level or alongside needles. Raise your hand if you’ve been victimized by dry needling (it works, but yeow!).

The HALO is one of the easier TENS units on the market to apply to any specific area. I love that you can stick it and go about your day without a bunch of wires or being connected to an additional external device. I have tried a similar one from OMRON years back, but the additional pads and set up of the HALO is much easier.

That being said, I did run into some questions and found there was just no user guide or FAQ anywhere on the site to answer my questions. But I’m a smart cookie and figured out a few things, like if there are 2 metal snaps on the back then you must have something connected to both for it to work.

I love that so many of these tools are now FSA eligible, it makes the cost a little easier to swallow.

My Experience

First it’s important to remember the thousands of times we’ve told you that a TIGHT MUSCLE is often an overworked muscle. So just getting something to relax with TENS or foam rolling is not a long term solution. You need strength workouts, figuring out why that muscle is taking extra load and watching overall volume.

In all honesty, I let this sit on my shelf for a month before ever testing it. I kind of assumed it just wasn’t going to do much of anything, which comes from years of testing all kinds of over hyped gear.

BUT I had two different issues that seemed like a perfect fit. One is a muscle pain in my left hip near my SI that comes and goes, particularly after hard workouts or around my period. I am quite happy to report that it 100% interrupted the pain signals and that last for a long time which allowed me to sleep much better.The second issue is some lateral quad tightness which is contributing to some patellar tendon pain. Unfortunately this was a little harder because you can’t really put it on the patellar tendon and right around my knee made it difficult to place a puck.

This is where some FAQ would have helped. I would have realized earlier that I should place just the pad along the outer quad near the knee, then use the cords to attach that to the puck! Tada, now I can try to help that muscle relax.

The benefit here is getting that to relax stopped pulling on my patellar tendon. Which in turn meant it felt good the next day for me run. So it didn’t fix anything because the tightness came back as I continue to do my PT to resolve it, but it did help me keep doing what I enjoy.

Finally, I go through phases of neck pain (likely from hunching over this computer). Luckily that has been a-ok lately, but I’ll update once tested. I think the releasing of knots in the shoulders could prolong the feel good feeling after a sports massage.

What You Get

Unlike other recovery tools, for $199, you’re getting a lot of stuff. You don’t have to spend time piecing together different tools and accessories. Here’s what you’ll get:

• 2 Halo Pucks
• 1 Rechargeable Remote (that’s right no app needed)
• 1 Portable Charging Case
• 2 Trigger Points Pads
• 4 Spot Pads
• 2 Lower Back Pads
• 2 Extension Cables (only needed to connect pads for simultaneous use)

Everything fits nicely in the charging case so that you can bring the Chirp Halo with you for recovery on-the-go. I like that the charging is done with the case, instead of item by item.

The pads should work up to 20 uses and there are some tips around wetting them down to try and get even longer life out of them. I would say in general this is the main downside, knowing that you will need pads over time. Chirp has been around for awhile so I don’t think they’ll go away and leave you unable to find them, but I dislike any ongoing costs.

6 Preset Programs

The Chirp Halo uses both TENS and EMS to relieve pain and promote blood flow to your muscles. Having tested them all, there are slight variations…but also not really. It’s the same overall concept. You’re going to feel a buzz along your skin and getting the muscle to jump a bit.

Remember that this should NOT be painful. You may need to start at a low level and as the body gets used to the stimulation you can turn it up more.

• Pain Relief: Follows a specific 20 minute cycle of TENS and EMS.
• Massage: Don’t get excited it’s not a massage, just the tap of TENS.
• Squeeze: Alternating between the buzz of TENS and tap of EMS.
• Thump: More of a tapping feel and less of the buzzy feel. EMS Focused.
• Stretch: I don’t know why it’s call this, there is not stretching. TENS focused.
• Woah Nelly: Increases on its own, so you don’t need to increase intensity. EMS focused.

Reusable Ergonomic Pads

Halo has created muscle-specific pads that contour more closely to specific areas of the body.

These pads are reusable, allowing for about 20 uses per pad. You’ll be able to tell once they’re reaching their lifespan because the adhesive will start to lose its stickiness.

The backs of the pads are covered in a gel coating that will help them stick to the skin, but also act as a bridge for the stimulation signals from the puck to your muscles. They are easy to pull off, no pulling off hair like say KT Tape and no residue left behind.

Before applying the pads to the muscle you want to treat, ensure your skin is clean and free from any lotions or dirt. This will help the gel coating last longer!

The provided pads should last quite awhile unless you are using right after surgery or something and need it daily.

Remote

The rechargeable remote is what controls the Chirp Halo pucks. All you do is turn on the remote then press the button on the puck that you have placed and tada the light will turn blue and you know they are paired.

From the remote, you can select the mode, intensity, and duration of the treatment.

Want to use the pucks in different spots? No problem. Simply use the remote to set up individual unit controls, and you can fine-tune the settings of each one.

Battery and Charging

Halo made things super simple and designed the carrying case to also serve as a charging station for both the remote and pucks.

The remote has a screen, allowing you to keep an eye on the battery life. However, you won’t know how much battery remains on the puck until it is almost out of juice. Depending on how long you use it, the pucks should last for a maximum of 6 hours.

One thing we noticed is that you need to make sure that the magnetic attachments are aligned so that your pucks actually charge.

When your pucks and remote need to recharge, it takes around 3 hours to reach a full battery before you can start using them again.

Halo App

You do not need your phone to use the Chirp Halo, but if you need a little extra guidance on how to use it, the Halo app is a great resource.

You can select which part of the body is having pain, and then it will walk you through where to put the pads, along with the recommended pad to use with your Chirp Halo puck.

As noted it’s not so much a helpful resource for figuring out any issues, but it is good if you aren’t sure where to place the pads. It doesn’t have a huge list of injuries, but enough to help you see how to use it.

There you have it, our honest review of the Chirp Halo. We hope that it was helpful, but also want to hear from you! Have you tried an at home TENS unit? What was your experience?

Does Chirp Halo Actually Work?

Yes. It does what you would expect from any TENS unit, which is to say it creates a distraction which can help with pain relief.  But it does not heal an area and it does not shorten recovery time.

Does it improve muscle health? That’s questionable. I just want to make sure we aren’t giving recovery tools more power than they actually have.

What to read next?

• Running Recovery Tools: What Works vs. What’s Just Expensive Hype
• Post Marathon Runners Blues: 7 Steps to Mental Recovery after a Race
• Does Running Burn Muscle? How to Run Without Losing Gains