As I explained previously, my Christmas wish list includes the unusual request for some foam pipe lagging in an effort to perfect my self-massage kit (and to put something cheaper than a pair of Vibrams on the wish list).
I’ve already set out the tools I would recommend you have in the ideal self-massage toolkit, but I failed to explain why you need such a variety.
The kit
The kit can be neatly split up into two categories:
- Balls (and related round objects) – good for small muscles or for muscle points that are surrounded in other muscle or bones (to hold the ball in place).
- Rollers (and related stick-like objects) – good for muscles that stand out from the body, such as quads and calves.
A selection from our self-massage kit
Rolling balls
Balls are great for massaging anything that is in a confined area or where you need to get in deep between other muscles. All you have to do is sit, lie, or stand in such a way that the ball is between the knot and the ground and your body-weight is, as far as possible, being directed through the ball. Simplicity itself!
In particular, I use them for:
- Soles of the feet (plantar)
- Glutes
- Spinal erectors (using two tennis balls stuck together with climbing tape and rolling them up and down the spine with one on each spinal erector)
- Back (they’re particularly good for getting at muscles that lie underneath other muscles or shoulder blades)
- Shoulders
Where I struggle to use balls is on muscles like the quads or calf, where they can easily roll off sideways when they meet a knot. There is nothing more frustrating than lying on your front, face buried in the carpet (finding that it hasn’t been cleaned for the last month – housework is not my forte), while trying to force a tennis ball to push into a knot just above your knee. It starts out fine and then, inevitably, the ball pops out to the side as soon as you apply pressure.
Ball variations
The different balls provide variation in hardness and size. For beginners I recommend sticking with the tennis ball. Tennis balls have a surprising amount of give in them. While it will probably seem like agony when you first roll with a tennis ball, the surface of the knots will soon soften up and you’ll need to progress to something a bit firmer.
This is where the hockey ball and golf ball come into their own with each size being suitable for a different body part. The golf ball is great for the soles of the feet, but useless when trying to get under the shoulder blades, since it disappears under the blade, never to be seen again.
Actually, that could be a really cool party trick…
Foam rollers and other long stick-like objects
These are fantastic for rolling those pesky quads, calves, triceps and other muscles that stand out from the body and therefore don’t have “sides” to hold a ball in place when you are applying pressure.
The only exception to this is the glutes. For some reason (body fat? complexity of the glute muscle structure?) the ball tends to stay in place while you apply maximum pressure, allowing the ball to get into the underlying muscles. Trust me – sitting on a hockey ball and then rolling about can be pretty excruciating!
Roller variations
Rollers with a big diameter serve a dual purpose since they are also good for thoracic spine stretches. Meanwhile those with a smaller diameter (hence my request for pipe lagging for Christmas) are better for shoulder posture (lie on your back with the roller down the length of your spine and let gravity pull your shoulders back towards the floor).
I mentioned in my last post that you can use a roll of tuna tins in place of an expensive foam roller, but be warned. They can be fiercely solid! You may need to try out various thicknesses of towel wrapping (folded 2, 3 or even 4 times before being wrapped round the tins to provide a suitable cushion) to avoid getting too bruised in the process. We ended up getting the foam roller because Chris got weird blood-blister lines where the joins between tins traced down his body!
The fat complexity
An observation: when I first started rolling I had a lot of body fat covering my glutes. It was easy to sit on the ball and for the ball to never actually reach the muscle to get a decent massage.
When choosing the correct size piece of equipment you need to take into account how deep it is going to have to go before it will reach the muscle.
Go out and massage yourselves!
Hopefully you now feel well-armed and able to get out there and start a thorough massage routine with the most basic of DIY massage kits. Shun the expensive massage tools that relatives may want to give you for Christmas (unless it’s those funky pig ones).
The biggest key with self-massage is to play about with different bits of household equipment and positions/techniques until you find one that really gets at the knot you’re working on.
As a helpful starting point, Chris has recently done some posts about techniques for rolling shoulders and legs and using the kit to improve thoracic spine mobility too.
Let me know how it goes!
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Lessons learned: improving posture // Feb 8, 2010 at 21:13
[...] written before about using rolling and mobility drills to help undo postural problems. There are also some key assistance exercises [...]