Self-Massage
Coming to a massage therapist for a session is a real treat, but taking care of yourself or those close to you with massage is something that's easy to do and effective. Since most of us can't afford a massage every day, self-massage offers a good alternative. It also gives us a means to treat ourselves and take our wellness into our own hands.
If you'd like more information, or a demonstration, please ask me to show you during or before your next session. Most of these can be done once a day, or as needed for the problem you're trying to relieve. The routines can last anywhere from 2 minutes to 15 minutes depending on how much time you have and how creative you want to be with the massage. The following self-massage routines are available:
Minute Massage for Neck and Shoulders
Got an achy, stiff neck? Extended work on PCs or at a desk can cause your neck and shoulders to tense up. For tension in the upper back, try the following sequence:
- Cradle the base of your skull with your fingertips. Use your fingers to massage and rub the small band of muscles at the very base of your skull. (If you do this while laying down, you can use the weight of your head to get deeper pressure.)
- Take your right hand and grab your left trapezius muscle (the large muscle at the corner where your neck joins your shoulder) and squeeze. Start with gentle pressure and work deeper as needed. Repeat on the other side.
- Take both hands and place your fingertips near the top of the shoulderblade close to the neck. Use your fingers to massage, pull and knead the muscles near the base of your neck on your back.
- With one of your hands, grab the back and side of your neck on the same side. Knead your neck with your head relaxed forward, and then with your head relaxed backward. Repeat on the other side with your other hand.
Remember to take periodic breaks during the day as you work at your desk to stretch your neck, arms and shoulders.
Minute Massage for Hands and Forearms
We're in the internet age - many of us spend all day at a computer. Others of us (like me), have jobs that require a lot of dexterity and strength from our hands. With constant use and strain the forearms and hands can become stiff or sore. Here are some massage tips to relax the arms and keep those aches away (using lotion while massaging the hand will feel even better)!
- Use the thumb of one hand to massage small circles into the palm of the other hand. Cover the whole surface of the palm. Repeat on the back of the hand.
- Use the thumb with deep pressure to draw lines from the base of the palm up to the fingers. You can follow the bones in the palm and do one strip for each finger.
- Take the webbing between your fingers and massage the area with your other hand.
- Pull on each finger - massaging the finger as you make tiny figure eights with it.
- Stretch the palm open. Don't just stretch the fingers back, but stretch the palm in the direction of each finger and the thumb.
- On the forearm, make small circles with the thumb of your other hand. Move up from the wrist toward your elbow on the front and back of your forearm.
- Stroke up your arm using the knuckles of your other hand. The direction of the stroke should be toward the elbow.
- Take your thumb and strip lines up the front and back of your forearm from your wrist to your elbow.
If this feels familiar, it's because I use some of the same kinds of strokes on you during your session. Please note that if you have chronic pain and soreness, don't hesitate to see your physician to diagnose any medical problems.
Minute Massage for Feet
Getting a foot rub can be absolute heaven. Somehow, it manages to relax the whole body. If you can't find someone else willing to rub your feet, try some of these ideas on your own feet. The foot is an easy part of the body to work, and foot massage can be done while you're watching TV, reading or taking some time out.
- Knead the feet: Use both hands to knead your feet. The easiest places to knead are the arch, the ball of the foot and along the big-toe side of your foot.
- Wring the feet: Use both hands to wring your feet - grasp around the ball of the foot, and move your hands in opposite directions. Start at the toes, move up the arch to the heel, then wring back down to the toes.
- Knuckling on sole: Make a fist with your hand. Take your fist and use your knuckles to rub deeply on the sole of the foot between the ball and heel.
- Finger strip down each toe line: Use your thumbs or fingers press deeply and draw lines from your heel up to the toes. Do this 5 times - along the bones leading to each toe.
- Thumb circles: Use your thumbs to press and move in small circles along the sole of the foot. Cover the entire surface of the sole.
- Pull toes: Grasp each toe and pull, stretching the toe. ("This little piggy...")
- Heel of hand on arch: Take the heel of your hand (left hand for right foot or right hand for left foot) and rub the arch of your foot with the heel of your hand. Cover the whole area of the arch - even up to the side of the foot.
Enjoy your foot rub and be sure to take a good chunk of time pampering your feet - doing each step above several times. Don't forget to spend some time on the surface of your foot as well. Please note that if you have chronic pain and soreness, don't hesitate to see your physician to diagnose any medical problems.
Minute Massage for Headaches
Clients commonly come to me to address headaches. Acupressure - static pressure on specific points of the body - can be used to manage the pain and discomfort of headaches. If you have frequent headaches, try holding a few of these points for 30s to 2 minutes several times a day.
- Gates of Consciousness: There are two points you should press simultaneously. They feel like hollow areas at the base of the skull on both sides. Use your thumbs and press in toward the center of your head.
- Heavenly Pillar: These two points are at the base of the skull very close to the spine - about ½ inch on either side. They are on thick, ropy muscles. Press and hold both at the same time.
- Third Eye Point: This is directly between the eyebrows in a small indentation at the top of the bridge of the nose. Press with a finger or thumb.
- Facial Beauty: The two points are at the bottom of the cheekbone, directly below the pupil. Use the first two fingers on each hand to press up into the points under the left and right eyes.
- Joining the Valley: This is the point you've probably heard of - it's in the webbing between your thumb and first finger.
If you'd like me to demonstrate these points on you or show you other means to address headaches, just let me know and I'll show you during your session (Call 294-6672 to schedule an appointment). If you experience migraines or very frequent headaches, don't hesitate to see your physician to diagnose any medical problems contributing to them.
Minute Massage for Colds and Congestion
Nothing's worse than a cold in the winter. Whether from the office or school, congestion and achiness combined with tiredness can be depressing - especially with the many commitments and expectations of the season. I'd like to show you some acupressure and simple lymphatic moves you can use to relieve the symptoms of colds. Try using a combination of these points and techniques for 5 minutes every few hours while your cold is at its peak.
- Draining the Ducts: Place your hands at the junction of the front of your neck and your collarbone. Your fingers will fall into a small hollow on either side of the front of your neck. Use your fingers to lightly press down toward your chest at a rate of about 1 push per second. Imagine that you are lightly pulling fluid just beneath the surface of the skin toward the heart. This lymphatic drainage move stimulates flow of lymphatic fluid and can pull the fluid down out of the head to relieve sinus pressure.
- Press on your Eyebrows: A good acupressure point to induce drainage of sinuses near the eyes is located at the inner corner of each eyebrow. Put your fingers on the corners of your eyebrows in the upper ridge of the eye socket. Press in toward the bridge of your nose, and let your head relax into your hands to increase the pressure. This point relieves colds, sinus congestion and frontal headaches.
- Press under the Cheekbones: Put your middle fingers under your cheekbones in line with the pupil of the eye. Feel for a small notch and press up into it. Place your index fingers next to your middle fingers at the side of the nose near the outside corner of each nostril. Press upwards with your fingers into your cheekbones. This will release the sinus areas beneath the eyes and next to the nose. These points relieve head congestion, stuffy nose, eye pressure, nasal congestion and sinus pain.
- Press at the base of the skull: Just below the base of the skull, there are hollow areas on both sides of the back of the neck. They feel as if they are sitting on a corner of the skull about 2-3 inches apart. Put your fingers in the hollows and press upwards into the base of the skull. This point relieves headaches, congestion and neck pain.
- Press at the center of the base of the skull: Just below the base of the skull, at the exact middle of the neck, where the cervical spine dead ends into the base of the skull, press in toward the brain. This point relieves head congestion, mental stress, headaches and neck stiffness.
- Press in at the upper corner of the breastbone: Just beneath the collarbone, there is a hollow that sits next to the breastbone. Press in toward the chest on either side of the breastbone at that junction with the collarbone. This point relieves chest congestion, breathing problems, sore throats and coughing.
Remember to cancel your massage session if you have a fever. It's also a good idea to see your physician when the cold comes and lingers - before it turns into something serious.
Minute Massage for Holiday Madness
Traditional holiday activities generate a host of physical and emotional trauma. Although we tend to anticipate the holidays with eagerness, we also overextend ourselves with many social obligations and familial traditions that are part of the way we celebrate. Some of these indulgences result in physical soreness and emotional stress, so I've put together a fun list of suggestions of ways to relieve the pain and suffering that sometimes appears at this time of year.
- Impending In-Law Invasion - Tension Headaches: These are sometimes caused by increased tension held in the shoulder and neck muscles. Use both hands to rub your shoulders near your neck to relieve the tension. Try kneading your neck up close to the base of the skull with your head relaxed backward or forward. Press your fingers into the base of your skull in the two hollows where the skull sits atop the cervical spine. See Self Massage for Headaches for more information on pressure points to use.
- Cleaning Frenzy Incapacitation - Back and Shoulder Pain: Lots of visitors means lots of cleaning. Bending over to clean floors or bathrooms, or reaching upwards for serious dusting can cause pain in the back and shoulders. To massage your midback, put a tennis ball in a sock, and drape the end with the ball over your shoulder. Stand next to a wall and use back and forth motions with your body as you press into the wall to massage your back. Be sure to cover the top of the back across the shoulder blades, and use deep pressure between the shoulder blades. Spend some time working on the 4-5 inches just below your shoulder blades - across the width of the back. To work on the shoulders, see the In-law Invasion suggestions.
- Holiday Card Hand Cramps: When addressing or writing a large number of holiday cards, hands and forearms often become achy and stiff. Use a thumb to draw small circles on the palm of the opposite hand. Press deeply and draw lines from the base of the palm up to the origin of each of the fingers. Pull and squeeze each of the fingers. Use thumb circles and deep pressure lines on the front and back of the forearm as well. Rub one forearm down the length of the other. Remember that the muscles that move the fingers are in the forearms, so spend some time relieving the tension there. See Self Massage for Forearms for more information.
- Baby Back Blues - Lower Back Pain: Extra time with family can mean extra time holding small children and infants. This can stress the lower back/hip area, especially in grandparents. Some simple suggestions follow. Sit down after picking up the children to relieve pressure on the lower back. Put a tennis ball on the floor underneath you in your lower back area as you lay down (or between you and a wall as you lean against it). Roll your body back and forth to get a massaging action in your lower back. Try to work the area between the top of the hip crest and the lower ribs, especially close to the spine. Also work across the hip crest on both sides. Although one side may hurt more, give both sides of your back some attention. Alternately, you can lie on your fists and use them to press into your lower back area.
Take care of yourself this holiday season, and ask others to rub your back and shoulders for you. Remember to see your primary care provider if you experience serious injuries or if your soreness lasts a long time. Enjoy!
Minute Minute Massage for Jaw Tension and TMJ
Some of my clients mention jaw tension or TMJ as a chronic problem. This tension causes teeth-grinding, jaw pain, and referred pain to other areas of the head and neck. There are a couple of easy massage techniques you can perform on yourself to relieve the tension. Try doing these techniques on yourself two to three times a day for about 5 minutes.
- Rub your face at the jaw line with the fingers or the heel of your hand. Move your hand in small circles over the jaw line, paying special attention to the end of the jaw closest to the ear. With the heel of your hands on your jaw, clench your teeth, you'll feel a bulging muscle - it's the masseter, the main muscle used to close your jaw. That's a key muscle to massage for jaw pain.
- Massage the Masseter: Now that you've found the masseter, take one hand, and put the thumb inside the mouth resting against the muscle. Using your thumb and forefinger, rub, pinch and massage your masseter. If you need to double check that you're in the right place, clench your jaw. The big muscle you feel between your thumb and forefinger is the masseter.
- Press the Jaw Chariot Acupressure Point: This point is located near the bottom of the masseter, close to the outside corner of the jaw. Press inward with two or three fingers on each side, pressing deep enough that you experience mild discomfort, but not pain. Hold this point for two to three minutes.
- Press Acupressure Points Near the Ear: Press right in front of the ear, in front of the small triangular part of your ear. You'll feel a small hollow that widens if you open your jaw. Place your middle finger there, and your third finger where the top of your ear meets your head, and your forefinger where the bottom of your ear meets your head. Press inward into the skull with all three fingers at once. Make sure you're pressing the lower point of the three with firm pressure.
Try to do these steps about for about 5 minutes a couple of times a day. Some of the steps may work better for you than others, so see how you feel after a day or two of doing the full routine. Remember to go to your primary healthcare physician for any chronic or severe jaw pain so that serious issues may be diagnosed and treated. Enjoy!
Minute Massage for Lower Back Tension
Mid- and lower-back pain are common complaints. The following self-massage tips utilize a tennis ball to get to those areas of the back. You can also lie on the floor and use your fists underneath you in the low back region to work out those tight muscles.
- Tennis Ball in Midback: Drape a tennis ball in a sock onto your back over your shoulder. Place the ball close to your spine in your midback. Stand with your back pressing the ball into a wall. Pressing your body back against the wall, move your body up and down so that the ball massages the midback area. Move the ball vertically, covering the midback from the area closest to the spine out to the sides of the back. Move the ball horizontally in rows across the back from just beneath the shoulder blades to the hip crest. Be sure to cover the 4-5 inches below the shoulder blades.
- Tennis Ball in Lumbar Region: Drape a tennis ball in a sock onto your back over your shoulder. Place the ball close to your spine in your low back, just above the hip crest. Stand with your back pressing the ball into a wall. Pressing your body back against the wall, move your body up and down so that the ball massages the lower back area. Move the ball horizontally over the low back area close to the spine all the way out the outer sides of the back.
- Tennis ball on side of hips: Place the tennis ball on the side of your hip, at your hip crest. Stand with your legs pressing the ball into a wall. Pressing against the wall, move your body back and forth and up and down so that the ball massages the side of the hips.
- Tennis Ball over hips: Drape a tennis ball in a sock onto your back over your shoulder. Place the ball just below your hip crest on the upper area of your hips. Stand with your back pressing the ball into a wall. Pressing your body back against the wall, move your body up and down so that the ball massages the area just below your hip crest (the upper gluteal region).
Try to do these steps about for about 10 minutes a couple of times a day. Some of the steps may work better for you than others, so see how you feel after a day or two of doing the full routine. Remember to go to your primary healthcare physician for any chronic or severe low back pain so that serious issues may be diagnosed and treated. Enjoy!
Minute Massage for Legs and Calves
With spring in the air, outdoor exercise becomes more appealing. Whether it's joining a softball league, playing tennis, training for a marathon or yard work, exercise often causes sore legs. Try these self-massage techniques for about 5 minutes two to three times a day to help relieve soreness. Massage one leg first, then go through the steps on the other leg:
- Stroke the upper leg: Use some lotion to lubricate the leg and use the palm of your hand to stroke down the upper leg. To get deeper pressure, try using your fist or your thumbs. For even deeper pressure, use your forearm to pull up from the knee to the hip. Cover the entire top of the leg, from the outer side of the leg to the inside.
- Knead or stroke the underside of the upper leg: Cross your legs placing one ankle on the knee of the other leg. Use your hands to knead or stroke the underside of the leg. Use your fist or thumbs to get deeper pressure, making sure to cover the area from the knee all the way up to the buttocks.
- Knead around the knee: Use your hands to knead the muscular attachments surrounding the knee, both above and below the knee joint. Move your thumbs in small circles over the muscles attaching at the knee.
- Knead the calf: Cross your legs, placing one ankle on the knee of the other leg. Use your hands to knead the back of the calf. Cover the entire area from the ankle up to the knee.
- Finger-strip the front of the calf: Knead the front of the calf with your hands. Take your thumbs or fingers, and run them up from the ankle to the knee, pressing into the muscle on the front and outer edge of the calf.
- Knead the foot and ankle: Cross your legs, placing one ankle on the knee of the other leg. Use your hands to knead and massage the entire foot and ankle. Make sure you cover both sides, the front and the back of the ankle.
Perform these massage techniques on your legs after you exercise or work in the yard. Be sure to take time to stretch both before and after as well. Remember to go see your physician if you are experiencing any sudden or severe pain in your legs, or if the discomfort lingers for a long period of time so that serious issues may be diagnosed and treated. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: None of the information on this page is intended to replace the need to consult a primary healthcare physician or licensed massage therapist for serious and chronic conditions. Massage therapists cannot diagnose or prescribe in the state of Tennessee, please see your Healthcare physician for diagnoses or prescriptions for chronic or serious conditions.
