Tennis balls are a cheap, easy to find and portable massage tool that you can use on muscle knots. I will share with you some basics on how to use a simple tennis ball to help your muscles in between massage therapy visits. (Yes, I know... the regulations still have all RMT's closed right now. It is for this main reason that I am hoping to help with some small suggestions and tips. Most people are familiar with the term 'muscle knots' and 'trigger points'. Theoretically, trigger points are areas in the muscle with decreased circulation in them. When we massage the areas with hands or a tennis ball, circulation is able to get to the deeper tissues, relieving the irritation on the adjacent nerve. How to use the tennis ball: Depending on the area that is in question, you will place the tennis ball between you and that surface. Usually a wall or the floor. Some common areas are listed below: Between your shoulder blades - stand against a wall or lying on the floor, place the tennis ball in the area between shoulder blades and press on it for 1 minute. You can roll it to get different angles of the 'knot' that you are aiming it at. This is similar to rubbing shoulder blade area on a protruding wall corner. When you hold this for a minute or two, you might be able to feel the area melt under the pressure. If not, hang out for another minute or two. Just do a few spots in one day, then apply a heating bag for 10 minutes on the area. Along the spine - For this one, I like to put 2 tennis balls in a sock to hold them together and then each tennis ball will sit on the muscles beside your spine nicely. Lie on the floor then place them under the area that is tight, or you can go segmentally up and down the spine, spending one minute on each spot. Hips and Glutes - This is the last most common area to use the tennis balls with. You can lie on the floor and place one tennis ball under your glutes (buttock) and lie on it for a minute. You can move it around to different spots to see which area might need it the most. To help this last longer after you have used the tennis ball(s), you can apply a heating pad to the area for 10 minutes. You can stretch the area. Stretching is wonderful for right after using the tennis ball. I hope that this helps, please let me know what you think of the technique or if you have any other questions. To your health. Heather Curry, BSc., RMT
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AuthorHeather has been an RMT since 1997 and loves learning and sharing information Archives
October 2023
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