25 Aug2014

Relieve Your Pain

Written by Jacob McLuskie.

Do you ever suffer from a sore back, neck, knee, hip, shoulder or just general stiffness?

Many common aches and pains can be either completely relieved or at least helped dramatically by a few simple exercises done consistently.

Let me explain…

Most of us commonly get “muscle knots” this a term used to describe a small group of super contracted muscle fibres. Sometimes they can be due to exercises we do, posture, our work etc. Once a muscle knot (what I will from now on call a trigger point) develops it cuts off it’s own blood supply making matters worse.

Why is it bad?

Not only will it give you pain but it will also impact the performance of the muscle (won’t work as well), plus it can also effect your movement patterns and range of motion at your joints which can lead to more problems down the track. Eg: You have a sore spot in your back so you start walking a bit differently to compensate and then you get a sore knee.

How do we fix it?

Well you could go and see a massage therapist a few times a week but this is really time consuming and expensive.

In my experience most common aches and pains can be fixed with what we call trigger pointing.

The 2 most common ways we use to help people with releasing their trigger points and feeling better are Foam Rolling and the use of Accupressure balls.

Check out the videos below which show you how to do the most common movements to fix most of the most common problems. Remember as a rule of thumb if you find a sore spot – focus on it and it will begin to loosen up and feel better If you’re not sure if you’re doing them right – ask one of our PEPT trainers at your next session.

Another tip is to stretch the tight area after rolling and or trigger pointing with the acupressure balls – you will get a much more effective stretch as you have released the tight muscle fibres so they will be able to lengthen even more.

Best time to do this?

Anytime is good but particularly before you train - you will get the dual benefit of not only loosening the tight muscle fibres but increasing your performance during your session. You might also benefit from doing it first thing in the morning so you can enjoy a much more pain free day.

Where do I get them from?

You can pick them up at your next session – just ask your PEPT trainer or you can go to just about any sports store and pick up any one of a vast array of different types or trigger balls or rollers (they mostly all do the same thing).

Foam Roller Upper Leg