Have you ever tried to scratch your own back or give yourself a massage without much luck or satisfaction? If so, you’re not alone!
First things first, good for you for following that impulse to try to reduce your pain. That’s the mindset that is needed for regular, consistent, self-care.
One of the great things I love about self-massage is you can do it anytime, anywhere at your convenience. It’s easy to do and it can be fun. I promise.
In this article I offer 6 self massage techniques to use at home. You can practice self massage while you listen to music, watch TV, or FaceTime with your mom.
Why Self-Massage?
First, we can’t get a massage everyday. Well, most of us can’t.
Second, having relaxed and supple muscles is the main goal. If you take time to do some at-home self-massage you will reduce muscle tension and pain a great deal.
You don’t want your muscles to be too tight or too stretched out, but chances are, you have a little of both. Neither is desirable because both could contribute to muscular imbalances or chronic pain.
This is ok, but it may take some additional work (at-home and in-session) to balance things out.
Third, it feels good!
Muscle pain is mostly attributed to knots or constricted areas in your muscle tissue. The fancy massage term for a knot is called a trigger point.
Trigger points are small, tight areas of muscle tissue that (for whatever reason) cut off their own blood supply. Poor posture, injuries, stress, you name it can cause trigger points to develop.
Trigger points are like little self-fulfilling prophecies in the flesh.
Over time, they become tender and painful. You can’t go through life without having trigger points, just as you can’t go through a global pandemic without wearing a face mask.
The good news is, having trigger points is not a problem! We all have them at some point or another. They can be active or latent. Meaning, causing pain or not. Once you know which trigger points are part of the problem you can start to get to the root cause of your pain.
Hint: you can work on these trigger points on your own (see below #6).
Before you dive into self-massage, take a moment to notice where you’re holding tension in your body, and where your body feels fluid and at ease.
Rate the tension you’re noticing on a scale of 0-10. Take note of your number(s). Then, after you complete your self-massage, assess how your body feels again and take note of your rating. Did your pain or tension increase, decrease, or stay the same?
Here is a list of ideas for self-massage that you can try in the comfort of your own home or anywhere.
Foam Roller – this is a great way to get at those tight muscles and increase joint range of motion. Using a foam roller is a science as well as an art. You must be mindful and move slowly. You can target isolated areas of pain, or use a foam roller for an overall muscle melt-down targeting all of your major muscle groups. Simply use the weight of your body to compress the foam roller against the ground with the muscle you’re trying to loosen up. Roll slowly back and forth until you start to notice the muscle release. Roll the entire length of the muscle or rest on an area of tension until it softens. Warning, this might be painful, use caution and back off if your pain level reaches an 8 or 9.
Tennis Ball – any small, round and pliable object will do. All you need to do is place the ball underneath the trigger point and hold the ball in place with the floor or wall. If the trigger point is in your piriformis (a lateral rotator of the hip) you can sit or lie down on the ball and hold the position until you start to feel the muscle release. A couple minutes at a time will do- you can stop when it starts to feel less painful.
Posture awareness + deep breathing – This one is SO important for all of us who work with our hands out in front of us (i.e. sitting at a computer, driving, scrolling on your phone, pretty much everyone). As you’re sitting here, reading this take note of your posture. Are you leaning in? Are your shoulders rounding forward? How is your breathing – short and shallow or deep and slow? Is your lower back protected, or aching with discomfort? Start to pay attention to the cues of your body. Breath deep, full breaths into your belly. Pull your shoulders up towards your ears, round them down your back and let them go. Soften your jaw by making space between your teeth. Breath practice, meditation and mindfulness towards posture are very helpful tools in releasing tension and pain.
Rolling Pin – Wipe off the flour dust, and start rolling out your muscles. Muscles you might target are: calves – both the front of your lower leg and back. Your inner, medial and outer upper thigh or quad. Your hamstrings, outer hips and glutes. The occiput which is at the base of your skull just above your uppermost cervical vertebra – you might even rest your head at this spot on the rolling pin (or tennis ball) lying on the couch. *Be mindful not to roll over bony landmarks! All muscles are game with this tool.
Contrast Bath – Also referred to as a vascular flush. The idea is to bring blood flow to the area of restriction or pain to reduce inflammation and increase function. With a subacute injury 3 days to 3 weeks afterwards you can ice the area for 3 minutes, and contrast with heat for 1 minute. Do this 3 times for a total time of 11 minutes ending with 3 minutes of ice. The parameters for ice and heat treatment depend on the amount of time that has passed after an injury. Within the first three days of an injury use the procedure known as RICE (rest. ice. compression. elevate). If it’s a chronic issue, do the opposite of the subacute treatment starting with 3 minutes of heat to 1 minute of ice for 2 rounds; total time 8 minutes.
Muscle + skin rolling – I saved the best for last. Using the sensitivity of your own bare hands, grab your muscles and roll them between your thumb and fingers. Muscles you can easily target are your pecs, quads, deltoids, biceps, triceps, anterior tibialis (shins), calves, feet, occiput, masseter (jaw area), forearms, hands, anterior neck, and more! You can actually sink into the belly of your muscles to find trigger points, hold the point for a little bit of time, then release. Move slowly. You don’t have to use a lot of pressure to release built up tension, it’s quite the opposite. Apply light to moderate pressure to start, and be patient. Breath into the tension to help your muscles relax on their own accord.
I know there’s more self-massage tools out there! What tools do you use? If you found these tips helpful I’d love to hear what works and what doesn’t. If you haven’t done so already, you can schedule your next massage session here.
