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December 9, 2004

Self-Help With Tennis Balls

Self-help is a very important component of therapeutic massage. Clients can find themselves in crisis between massage therapy appointments, especially on weekends and holidays. It's a good idea to advise exercises, stretching, heat and cold application, and everyday object that can re-purposed into therapeutic tools, such as tennis balls.

Believe it or not, those old tennis balls you have lying around the in the basement can be a very useful effective self-care tool to aid in prevention and management of piriformis syndrome.

To use the tennis ball technique, you should lie down on your back with your knees slightly bent (in a 30 to 45-degree angle) with you're feet planted comfortably on the floor. Next, place the tennis ball under your buttock area slightly on the inside of your outer hipbone. Gently relax into the tennis ball remembering to take deep relaxing breaths. You should experience mild to moderate discomfort, which is a sign that you are doing it correctly.

Another use for tennis balls is to put a pair into a sock and use them as still point inducers. Used correctly research suggests that regular use of a stillpoint inducer can reverse memory loss AND reverse the aging process.

Posted by linda at December 9, 2004 5:26 PM