Balls, rollers, sore shoulders and why I love Aldi

Got a pain in the neck? Then do something about it with these trigger point releases using a ball, foam roller or easy stretches.  You'll get fast relief from muscle tension in less than 3 minutes.

My favourite supermarket in Australia is Aldi, because the concept of buying fitness equipment next to your milk is just plain AWESOME!

And Aldi have foam rollers on sale now for $15 , so go shopping.

Foam rollers are effective for release of tight muscles and fascia (that’s the connective tissues that comprises about 30% of our body) and I’ll feature more rolling articles in the future. 

But because it’s cold and I’m seeing loads of neck tension in my clients, let’s talk more about some different ways to release tight neck and shoulders.  You may have tight chest muscles from leaning forward a lot, either in your job or from postural dysfunction.  Hunching from the cold is a big one at this time of year as well. 

So, let’s get down on the floor and start applying pressure.

The most important thing to concentrate on with this release is that there’s not a lot of movement.  We aren’t rolling so much as finding the hot spots and then applying held pressure – this “trigger point” approach is fast and effective relief.

I’ve spoken with many of my clients about using a tennis ball or preferably a lacrosse ball (harder than a tennis ball, and I got mine at Aldi too) for trigger points in the back of the armpit, and around the shoulder and this is a quick and portable tool to use at any time of the day – even if you’re driving! You can press the ball between the sore spot and your drivers seat or against a wall or lie on it.

But for release of rotator cuff muscles, I really like the foam roller for fast relief.

Like applying trigger point pressure with the ball, remember it’s not rocket science – there isn’t a particularly right or wrong way to do this – look for the sore spots and apply pressure. With a ball, hold the pressure for a minimum of 30 seconds, take a moment to ungrit your teeth, remind yourself that this is GOOD thing you’re doing and repeat another 2-3 times.  It’s worth it, I promise you.

With the foam roller, you need to apply pressure for a little longer and if you’re actively rolling the sore area then a minimum of 2 minutes is good.

Lie on your side and rotate your upper body till you’re nearly on your back so you can access that awkward area under and behind the arm pit area. Take a good look at the pic above for position - you'll notice that our model isn't smiling and there's good reason for that :) But breathe through the discomfort and persevere.

Too many of us carry our arms forward in the shoulder joint leading to an imbalance between the muscles at the front of the body (chest too tight) and the back (upper back fatigued).  This is a significant imbalance that will aggravate neck tension, forward head posture and a tight thoracic spine.

You definitely need to stay with chest stretching and you can remind yourself about those releases in this blog post. Using trigger point releases regularly, hands the control back to you – yes, it’s often painful (lots of  “awareness”!!!) but better you do it than your health practitioner – they hurt MORE! 

If you don’t own a foam roller yet, try this simple stretch below.  We’ve been doing this in classes lately and it’s simply a child's pose stretch with the arm angled to the side to target that same tight spot below the arm pit.  Easy to do anywhere.

Knowing that you CAN actually release tight muscles takes some of the anxiety out of aches and pains.  Not all aches and pains are injuries – and not all require treatment by a osteo/physio/myo. 

Like health and good posture, self management of stiffness and tight muscles is something we can all take responsibility for.