Dr. Brent Garcia, DACM, L.Ac., LMT • March 12, 2020 • Last updated: March 6, 2024
Let’s face it. Most of us are not going to get acupuncture or massage treatments seven days a week.
But pain can happen at any time — just sleeping in a crooked position on your pillow or sitting too long at your computer can create aches and tension that seem intolerable.
The good news is that there are tons of self-care techniques you can use to ease pain right in your own living room. Not only that, but the care you give yourself between treatments actually increases the efficacy of the work done by your practitioner.
Self-care is the greatest thing you can do to bring about long-term healing. I’d even go so far as to say that it’s a requirement. It can be the deciding factor in whether you get better or not.
Mechanic Analogy
Getting a treatment is akin to going to the mechanic to have your tires rotated or your engine checked. It’s necessary to see an expert from time to time.
Meanwhile, self-care is like checking your tire pressure or getting an oil change.
It has to be done on a regular basis if you want to keep the car running efficiently and ensure that the work done by the mechanic has the maximum possible effect.
It’s the same with your body: you’ve gotta take care of it. Which is why I recommend making self-care a habit starting today.
Enter the Lacrosse Ball
The piece of equipment I most recommend for self-care — and the one I use most often myself — is a lacrosse ball.
It’s just the right size and density for treating most types of muscle dysfunction.
How to use a lacrosse ball for self-care
- Place the ball between your body and a wall, or underneath your body when lying on the floor
- Rolling gently back and forth until you find the most painful spots
- Then, STOP ROLLING, and switch to compression
- by experimenting with how much compression you apply
- Try to keep the discomfort to a 5 out of 10 on your pain scale at a maximum
- You may be pleasantly surprised by how much relief this technique can provide. If you’re having a hard time picturing this, check out my YouTube channel for some representative videos
- Put the ball in a sock, so you don’t have to keep chasing the ball. Easier to control
Added Benefits
As far as self-care tools go, the lacrosse ball is one of the best. It even has benefits beyond helping you treat the source of your pain.
- It’s compact and portable, which makes it great for travel
- It has the correct hardness — roughly between a tennis ball and a golf ball.
- Best for most applications
- Cheap. Lacrosse balls run about five dollars or less at most sporting goods stores
Give it a Shot
The simple combination of lacrosse ball and wall offers an easy way to treat practically any part of your body any time you experience pain. Plus, you’ll be providing yourself with the routine maintenance needed to sustain the effects of your most recent professional treatment.
