Needed some serious re-hab so went into the LFS local fitness shop and asked about neck massage (grinding style, mfr). Guy said nothing but lacrosse balls, then put 2 of them in a sock. So I got 3. They are hard to find, and I’ve been crushing tennis balls in 1/2.
Fantastic solution that works great. I used a longer cotton sport sock and you can place them anywhere you need to standing up against a wall. Eye watering. Also floor for mid & lower back, medius. I could spend all day long!
The harder part is the top of shoulder into neck - but I managed to use a door jamb and push (like football players driving the sleds) OMG does that hurt. My neck muscles are like braided ropes.
The sock trick is also great for quads, shins, knees etc.
I am finding it takes cranking the problem muscle strands, wait a day, crank it again. Repeat about 6 times or more, with stretch is ideal. Then things start to really come around and loosen off. 20 years of hanging onto a water ski rope, no wonder.
Well, faster than you can say, “shallow grave”,
this pretty little thing come up to me and starts kneadin’ my balls
like hard-boiled eggs in a tube sock.
another good one for shoulder stretching is to get a pulley and rope, find a way to hook it to a doorframe, sit on one of those big gym balls and move shoulders up and down as if snow-angel-ing.
I find one is enough, and I would find the sock thing counterproductive …the great thing about the lacrosse ball is, being rubber, it’s very high friction and won’t slide around on you when you’re up against a wall. Wide open areas like back, quads are more efficiently dealt with with a HARD knobby roller like the PhysioPhit. Hard to reach/awkward/deep areas (delts, piriformis, spinal erectors, etc) require the ball.
good idea
another good one for shoulder stretching is to get a pulley and rope, find a way to hook it to a doorframe, sit on one of those big gym balls and move shoulders up and down as if snow-angel-ing.
I have not had much success with conventional stretching on its own. If I stretch after kneading things loose under eye watering pressure, yes - I can feel the range of the muscle restoring. And that is like stage 4 of 6 in recovery.
Regarding one ball, I had a rubber ball and using tennis balls- couldn’t keep them in the right spots. Using the sock at least they don’t jettison out under the sofa or somewhere it takes forever to find.
A work colleague has used athletic tape to wrap two lacrosse balls together. Of course, they now will roll only in one plane, but he uses them like a hard foam roller.