I think in the future we will tell younger generations of the woes of living through coronavirus, and how we all adapted during a pandemic. We’ll lecture them on how lucky they are that they can do things like hug their friends, sit together at a movie theater, and walk past someone on the street without wearing a mask. I’ll also probably add into my lecture how much I missed getting a massage during sheltering-in-place, but thankfully, as a personal trainer, I’ve had a few tools up my sleeve to help my muscles “survive” during 2020 and beyond.

Getting a massage is a luxury, but whether it’s due to time constraints, finances, or social distancing, it’s not always available to everyone. These are a few tools that I’ve used during COVID-19 to help me avoid injury and relieve tension after hours of Zoom calls, that range from a $5-$300, something for everyone.

Lacrosse Ball: who knew this small item would bring so much relief? A lacrosse ball is great for rolling out your glutes, calves, feet, upper back, shoulders, and neck, and is easy to travel with. I literally always have one in my overnight bag when I travel. The technique I teach to many of my private clients is how to release tension in their upper back between their shoulder blades. I’ll teach you how in this 1 minute video, and purchase your own new favorite item for about $5.

Theragun: this luxury item has been a blessing during shelter in place. It uses percussive therapy (think really fast pulsing movements) to release muscle tension, and is ergonomically designed to be held by yourself or a partner. Since I haven’t been able to get regular sports massages during the pandemic, this has been a wonderful, and more readily available substitute that I’ll continue using even after massages are available again.

Photo by Andrew "Donovan" Valdivia on Unsplash

Foam Roller: This is the best all around tool, the standard that many people have in their homes, and the easiest to find at your local stores. Foam rollers come in many shapes, sizes, and densities, and can be used to relieve tension in almost every part of your body if you get creative. They are also great to use as an exercise tool, but we’re here for the massage aspect! If you’re just starting to do self massage, you’ll want this to be your first purchase, because you can quickly learn how to use it.

The Orb: The best tool to relieve your lower back and glutes and hip flexors, without a doubt. The size of this dense foam ball is the perfect fit to get into your hip sockets and lower back muscles to gift relief from hard at home workouts or long computer sessions. I always recommend it to my clients, and those that purchase it always ask to close our virtual sessions with it.

Tiger Tail Stick: Calves, IT Bands, and Quads, you’ve met your match! For whatever reason, these 3 areas are really sensitive (read: ticklish) on many people. I’ve also found that for people who are new to foam rolling, using this handheld and padded stick to relieve tension in their IT bands is much more tolerable than foam rolling or someone else massaging them. In fact, I’ve had clients that refuse to foam roll those areas because they are so uncomfortable, and were very happy when we discovered the Tiger Tail stick worked for them. This tool helped me recover from plantar fasciitis (read: most painful foot ailment ever ever ever).

All bodies deserve pain relief, and I hope one of these tools will help you find yours! If you have a favorite tool that wasn’t mentioned here, comment below! Happy self-massaging!

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Best 5 Self Massage Tools in the Time of Quarantine