Exercise & Stretch Guides - By Cause
Sports massage, remedial massage, and deep tissue massage are the best remedies for the body, but in between massages, you need to keep relieving muscle aches and pains. I have compiled a range of trigger ball exercises and stretches to help you do this from home. Browse through these photo and video guides, specific to the cause of your pain, to follow various self-massage and stretch techniques. From beginner to advanced, there is a 'how-to' for all abilities. The moves take a matter of minutes and help you to continue taking care of your body post-massage.
Trigger Ball Exercises & Stretches
Using a trigger ball is a highly effective self-massage technique for relieving your muscle aches and pains.
Stretching keeps the body flexible, strong, and healthy, and we need that flexibility to maintain a range of motion in the joints. If the muscles are short and tight then, when we need to use them for activity, they are weak and unable to extend all the way. This can lead to stiffness, discomfort, and injury.
Scroll through these images to see demonstrations and how-to guides for using the ball on the body and stretching, too.
Stress & Anxiety
These exercises will help with fatigue, tense muscles, headaches, insomnia and stomach problems.
They focus on the neck, shoulders and all of the back.
Neck
- Place 2 trigger balls at the base of the neck, where the neck meets the shoulders, as demonstrated.
- Allow your body weight onto the balls, relaxing with your arms down to the side.
- Do small movements side-to-side or up and down.
- To make it more intense, lift hips slightly.
- Explore with the arms - arms up in the air, circular motions, or side-to-side.
- For all of the above, allow 30 to 60 secs rest and repeat 3 times.
Office & Computer Work
These exercises help with headaches, shoulder and neck problems, lower back, glute and upper leg stiffness that can be caused by sitting for long periods of time at a screen.
They focus on the neck, shoulders, arms, back and glutes.
Neck
- Place 2 trigger balls at the base of the neck, where the neck meets the shoulders, as demonstrated.
- Allow your body weight onto the balls, relaxing with arms down to the side.
- Do small movements side-to-side or up and down.
- To make it more intense, lift hips slightly.
- Explore with the arms - arms up in the air, circular motions, or side to side.
- For all the above, allow 30 to 60 secs rest and repeat 3 times.
Exercise & Training Regimes
These exercises will relieve muscle tension or pain and help to prevent and recover from injury, repetitive injury and strains.
They focus on the entire body.
Manual & Physical Work
These exercises will help anyone doing a job that involves a lot of movement such as construction, gardening, mechanics and health care workers.
They focus on the entire body.
