Our Story - The History Of Thumbsavers Massage Therapy Tools

Greg Polins, the creator of Thumbsavers, began therapeutic massage in 1995 as an attempt to add additional services to a thriving personal training career that evolved from his service in the United States Marine Corps. Because most of his fitness clients were male athletes his modalities focused on sports injuries and deep tissue body work.

In 2004 Greg began experiencing extreme thumb and wrist pain from the deep tissue & trigger point therapy he was providing, and realized that he had to make a change or choose another career. He tried using hand held tools to ease the pain but they always felt “awkward” and would return to using his bare hands. He thought “if I just had something to go over my thumb for protection I could retain the necessary dexterity for the deep work.”

Fortunately the practice that Greg had developed was located between a chiropractor and a prosthetics designer so he was able to begin the year long process of researching braces and tools and found NOTHING on the market anywhere in the world. After hundreds of prototypes Thumbsavers was born and the manufacturing process and patent application began.

When the first Thumbsavers (now known as Thumbsavers Classic, Patent #7252645) were introduced to the public, it was an immediate success as it solved the problem of the "disconnection” between the therapist’s hands and the body of the patient. From 2006 until 2016 over 500,000 Thumbsavers were now in use around the world by massage therapists (LMT), physical therapists (PT). occupational therapists (OT),  chiropractors (DC), and sports / strength / personal trainers.

It was during the period from 2010 to 2014 that Greg began recording all of the suggestions and “wish lists” that therapists around the globe that had been pouring in for the next development of Thumbsavers. Foremost of these suggestions was a softer tip for improved palpation along with a softer opening for a more comfortable fit. After a year and a half of countless prototypes and experimentation Greg developed a revolutionary design that had never appeared in ANY tool around the world. In July of 2017, the Thumbsavers Advance was born… twenty two years after Greg began massage.

Classic Thumbsavers (the original small, medium and large) are still available for body work requiring extreme thumb protection for deep work but if you need a little more sensitivity for your work then Thumbsavers Advance is the solution.

Thumbs Up for Thumbsavers. Don’t Massage Without Them. Save Your Thumbs, Extend Your Career.