Self-care at home

As an osteopath I recommend some form of self care to all my patients as what we do with hands on treatment in clinic is a kickstart but it is then up to you and what you do on a daily basis that will make the effects of treatment last longer and hopefully get you feeling better quicker. This then also helps for the medium-long term plan which will educate you on what is normal and what is stiff or tight so you can work on areas before they become a bigger issue. 

A good way to highlight the importance of self care at home (whether that be foam rolling, massage balls, exercises or advice) is to put everything into perspective. When you come in for a treatment, we have 30mins together to make a change and to get areas looser, moving better, not feeling as painful, tender or sensitive and to try to put you on the right track. Let’s say you then have another appointment in a weeks time. That’s 6 days of 24hrs and another 23 1/2hrs when you are in charge of your body; to try and keep those positive changes going and continue the progress we started in treatment. Then we need to factor in postures when standing, sitting, laying down, sleeping, what we do for work and exercise or sports. 

In this article I will try to break down what massage balls and foam rollers are useful for and how to use them effectively. This is just my opinion on what I find works best for me and for my patients. 

- Massage ball/lacrosse ball

A massage ball is great to use because it is smaller and allows you to be more specific in where you are working on. Massage balls come in all different sizes and can be spiky or can be smooth like a lacrosse ball. I often advise patients to start with the lacrosse ball as it’s easier to start off with and to get used to the technique. Once you’ve used the smooth lacrosse ball for a bit, the effectiveness may start to wear off so a spiky ball can be great for getting deeper into the muscle and into the muscle fibres. 

Great to use on: gluteals, calves, plantar fascia (sole of foot), shoulder (rotator cuff)

- Foam roller

A foam roller can be a very useful bit of kit to have around the house to continue your treatment plan even when you’ve left the clinic room but in my opinion the majority of people don’t get as much out of it as they could! Firstly you can get two main types of rollers, a smooth cylindrical foam roller or one that is partly smooth and partly knobbly. There is not much difference between the two but I would say the smooth one is better when trying to help joints move more (particularly in the upper and mid back) and the other roller is better for trying to massage and to try actively relax big muscles. 

Great to use on: hamstrings, quads, gluteals, calves, neck/base of skull

How to use the massage ball or foam roller:

• Massaging muscles

Sit on the floor and place the foam roller under your calf/hamstring (or whatever you have been recommended to use the foam roller for) or a massage ball into your gluteals. Bend your other knee, place that foot on the floor and place your hands flat on the floor. Lift yourself up using both hands and the foot that is flat on the floor. Try to keep the leg you’re working on as relaxed as possible and gently lower your weight onto the roller. If you feel some discomfort then you’re in the right area, stay in that position for 20-30 seconds then lift yourself up and move to a new part of the muscle (above or below where you just were) and repeat. 

The most important things to consider with the foam roller or massage/lacrosse ball is avoid bony areas and to relax the muscle you are trying to work on. The foam roller is a hard surface so if your muscle is contracted or guarded then you won’t feel anything as you need to be relaxed so the roller or ball can push up into the muscle to get deeper into the fibres of the muscles. 

• Mobilising Joints

- Foam Roller/Rolled up towel

Using a foam roller can also be very useful to try mobilise and move parts of your upper or mid back which may get quite stiff with poor posture or from sitting too long. 

Lay on your back on the floor and place the foam roller (or a rolled up towel) vertically up your spine. Lay back onto the roller or towel and slowly lower your arms out to the side, hold for 5 seconds, take a deep breath in and relax as you breathe out. Come up and move the roller or towel down slightly and repeat. 

Now turn the roller or towel horizontally so you can work on a more specific area. Lay back onto the roller or towel and raise your hands above your head. Hold for 5 seconds, take a deep breath in and relax as you breathe out. Come up and move the roller or towel down slightly and repeat. 

- Massage ball

Using a massage ball is also a great way to work on mobilising and moving the joints in the foot. Place the massage ball under your foot when sat or standing and apply some weight down onto the foot, this should cause your foot to arch over the ball. Move the ball up or down and repeat the process until you’ve got everything moving from the balls of your feet to near the heel of your foot. 

Hopefully reading this article has helped shed some light on how to use massage/lacrosse balls and foam rollers and how they can be really useful tools in helping with the treatment process as well as helping you to get better quicker by doing some bits at home. 

However, all the other things that us practitioners advise can be just as or even more important, whether that be:

- Exercises or stretches

- Movements

- Hydrotherapy 

- Dietary advice

As practitioners at Stockbridge Osteopathic Practice, we realise that there is no one size fits all so we try to tailor all the exercises, stretches and advice we give based on your individual needs, capabilities, daily life and equipment available. We do this by using an exercise programme that gets emailed to you and can be viewed online or in an app. This gives you videos and descriptions of how to do each exercise/stretch so you don’t have to remember everything we say or demonstrate during the treatment. Equally, advice, exercises and stretches may be changed regularly once we notice a difference or a change in what we are aiming to achieve.

If you have any questions or issues with any of the methods mentioned then please do not hesitate to bring it up with your practitioner at your next session and we will do our best explain it or demonstrate it further.

Good luck!

Roberto at SOP