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Originally Posted by ChassisWelder
My upper and mid back are always terribly knotted, largely as the result of a long-term shoulder injury. My muscles are always so tense, that even taking a deep breath results in those whiney crackling noises that come from a big stretch.
My question to you, are there any sort of basic massage/knot-removing techniques or motions that could be easily and safely performed by a non-licensed therapist? I can't find the time to go to the chiropractor anymore yet alone an MT, but I can find a few minutes here or there for the girlfriend to knead something out.
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Get a tennis ball and put it in a tube sock. Stand with your back against a wall, and hang the sock down your back so that it is resting on the knot or trigger point. Lean back as you exhale, and just let the ball sink into the spot. Breathe deeply for three breaths, and imagine your exhalations leaving from that spot and making it nice and soft and open and fluffy. If it didn't release, reposition the ball and try again.
I do this to myself; the technique is called "sustained compression".
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Originally Posted by hambone
My wife has been having a very sore back, and we are almost sure it is due to her school starting up again. She is in law school which means many many books and her backpack gets really heavy.
We got her a rolling backpack, but she doesn't really like to use it much, therefore, she is very sore in her upper back and neck most nights.
Her bday is coming up, so I just bought her a gift certificate to a massage/dya spa. Which type of massage would be best to relieve this sort of pain? They have 'normal' massages, and deep tissues, and then something called a hot stone massage I think.
What would you recommend?
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"Deep tissue", which is also called "neuromuscular" in some places.
A "normal" or "Swedish" or "Relaxation" massage is targeted at relaxing your nervous system. "Deep tissue" is targeted at finding individual muscles and releasing the tension in them. Both have their uses (my wife gets Swedish 1/3rd of the time, neuro 2/3rds).
Just to add, if she has never received a massage before, it might be better to go with Swedish, if she is in any way skittish about having a stranger touch her.
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Originally Posted by ratbastid
My damn left piriformis is always inflamed and sore. It hurts plenty on its own, and it often activates sciatica on my left side. Chiropractic care and semi-regular massage has helped, but I wonder if there's stretching or exercise I can do to relax it at home?
(Congratulations, by the way!)
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Aagh, piriformis syndrome. At least it isn't actual sciatica, right?
I'm running out the door right now, but next time I jump back on, I'll have my "Orthopedic Assessment" book handy, and I'll see what I can find.