How $30 can buy you a lifetime of massage

Your tired, achy muscles need relief, but there’s no massage therapist available. 

Although it would be amazing to have a professional massage therapist at your beck and call, the reality is that very few of us will ever experience that luxury. Did you know that for a small investment in time and equipment, you can still enjoy many of the same benefits?

Introducing self massage 

Self massage can be an effective way to keep your muscles and body happy between regular massage therapy visits. But where to start?  There are thousands of machines, tools and gizmos that call themselves “massagers”, but what actually works?

Through the years I’ve simplified my self massage routine to a quiver of just three inexpensive pieces of equipment

that I use to work out kinks in virtually any part of my body:

1) Massage Stick – Amazon.com: massage stick

This is a hard, small diameter roller which works very well for legs and calves.  Simply roll up and down to loosen the muscle and promote circulation.  Don’t worry if you can’t handle much pressure to begin with. Your body will loosen and tolerate more pressure after a week or two.  If you’re a runner or engage in ball sports, this “stick” will become your best friend.

2) Back Roller – Amazon.com: foam roller

With all the sitting many of us do, the back is always an area that could use some loosening up and improved circulation.  Lie back down on this larger diameter foam roller and move your body back and forth with your legs. Great for the back, and you can use it on virtually any body part if you use your creativity.

3) Lacrosse ball – Sports stores or Amazon

I use a hard rubber ball to zoom in on specific areas of tension and pain. Place the ball on the floor or the wall and push against it with the chosen body part (back, butt, foot, upper shoulder, etc).  The ball works best when I let it rest on a hot spot for 10 – 20 seconds and then move it to the next area.

The combined total should be around US $30.  

The hardest part will be motivating yourself to “do the work”, but I’m confident that, once you experience how much better you feel afterwards, you’ll look forward to your next “me” session.

And if you’re tired of massaging yourself, or you just can’t get that one spot… you can always find and book a great massage therapist nearby using the MassageBook massage therapist directory!