The tennis ball massage

Sometimes muscles that have been very tight for a long period of time can actually lose the ability to relax on their own, resulting in persistent muscle and skeletal imbalance, nerve impingement, and most likely, chronic pain. When that happens, the only thing that can really help the muscle let go is focused massage. Unfortunately, for most people a good massage is a luxury of both time and money. But don’t despair — one of the most effective methods I’ve found to apply pinpoint massage on chronically tight and painful muscles is both quick and inexpensive. All you need is a tennis ball and an open space on the floor. Two techniques are useful and both are simple. Here’s the first one:

1. Place a tennis ball on a clean, flat place on the floor, and lie down with the ball directly beneath your tight muscle.
2. Lie there and breathe deeply, using your own body weight to apply pressure to the muscle while the increased amount of oxygen in your blood helps to initiate the relaxation response and to wash through the tight muscle and remove toxins.

The second goes like this:

1. Place a tennis ball on a clean, flat place on the floor, and lie down with the ball directly beneath your tight muscle.
2. Move slowly back and forth, gently rolling the tennis ball all around the affected area to mimic the motion of a firm, steady massage. Do this for approximately 30 seconds, and then roll off the tight area to give it a rest.
3. Repeat until you feel the muscle relax.

I do want to give you two precautions with this massage technique:

• Don’t overdo it. Let the muscle relax slowly and gradually. It may take repeated attempts over several days to get severely tight muscles to stop clenching and let go. Aggressive massage can actually bruise the muscle, which just makes things worse and keeps you from addressing your fundamental muscle tension for several days until you heal.
  
• Never place the ball directly beneath your spine. Your spine is made of bones, and bones won’t stretch. They can bruise, though, and be pushed out of alignment, which again will only make things worse. As a program of preventive treatment, keep a tennis ball handy, and stretch out on the floor whenever you feel tightness building up. These measures will keep you out of the doctor’s office and make your next massage all about indulgence, not pain management.