By Michele Jang

There are many wonderful self-help tools out there to address soft tissue and muscle tightness.  We use the tiger tail and foam roller at our clinic; however, my all-time favorite and most easily accessible is a tennis ball! If you can liberate the tennis ball from your dog, here’s how we like to advise our clients to use the tennis ball to work on their own “knots”.
For upper back and shoulder tightness, lie on your back on your floor or your bed if it’s firm enough. It’s important that you are able to safely get on and off the floor, and be comfortable. If the floor is too hard, start with lying on your bed.  You may need to use a pillow to support your head. There are 2 ways to use the tennis ball. Begin by finding a tender spot under your shoulder. The first technique uses the weight of your body to slowly melt away tension as you take deep, slow breaths.  The next method is effective in addressing “knots”.  Once you’ve positioned the tennis ball in a tender spot, move your arm in all different directions while lying on the tennis ball. This action will provide a bit of “cross-friction” massage to tender muscle fibers that are “knotted” together.    
Initially try this self-massage technique daily for 5 – 10 minutes.  You should notice the initial discomfort lessen with each subsequent day of treatment. You can apply this same concept to addressing tension in your buttocks or low back. Be careful rolling over joints and cartilage, as they don’t have the pliability that muscles do.
When using any self-massage tool, apply long strokes following the contour of the muscles as well as traversing across the muscle fibers.  Both are beneficial; although, going perpendicular to the muscle fibers is typically less comfortable. Also, be mindful of how hard you are pressing.  Harder does not mean better! Pressing too hard may result in aggravation versus relaxation, which is contrary to the goals of treatment. The last important tip is to remember to breathe during your self-treatment.  Breathing helps to further relax and open up our muscles making them much more responsive to giving up those “knots”.

If self-treatment of your knots is not cutting it, Spirit Winds Physical Therapy can help! Michele S Jang, PT is a physical therapist who likes to look outside the box. She has been a physical therapist for over 21 years and has extensive training in manual therapy or the use of hands to help rehabilitate the body. Michele has been an instructor both in the United States and abroad. She offers Free Consults on Tuesday afternoons. Michele also has a team of therapists at Spirit Winds who offer an array of expertise on exercise, fall prevention, foot and shoe assessments, body mechanics and proper breathing technique to increase awareness and healing. Michele can be reached at 805 543-5100 or [email protected].