Why not try at-home massage therapy for yourself if you have trouble finding time in your hectic schedule for routine maintenance massages? By using the appropriate methods and supplies, you can provide a focused, personalized massage for yourself at home to relieve stress, promote relaxation, and enhance your overall health.
Self-Massage: Focusing Different Body Parts
It's possible to regularly release these trigger points and improve your range of motion and sensation by learning the appropriate self-massage techniques for each area of the body. You can get more adept at identifying and relieving your own pain points over time.
Please note that before attempting any of the self-massage techniques below, consult your doctor if you experience any new pain or numbness.
- Self Head Massage
A massage for your face and scalp can help you feel refreshed and relaxed, regardless of whether you're looking for a solution to relieve tension headaches or just want to feel better overall.
Here are some excellent suggestions for self-massaging your face and scalp to relieve headaches:
- Temples and forehead: Hold your head close to your ears and place your thumbs high on your cheekbones. Apply pressure to your forehead and temples by moving your fingertips in circles until they meet in the center of your forehead.
- Scalp: Put your palms' heels on either side of your head. Raise your scalp and hold it there for a short while before letting go. Continue massaging your scalp until your entire head is massaged.
- Eyebrows: Place your thumbs on either side of your nose's bridge. Ten seconds should pass before releasing. After you've reached your temples, keep your thumbs moving outward across your brow bone, pressing and holding in small sections.
To relieve facial tension, you can use comparable methods on your cheeks, jaw line, and mouth area.
- Neck and Shoulder Self Massage
If you are a desk worker, you might have chronic tension and sore spots in your shoulder blades and neck. Self-massage of the neck and shoulders can assist in counteracting the effects of slouching or hunching over a computer.
To help you feel better while working, try these self-massage techniques for your neck and shoulders:
- Middle trapezius: Firmly press the area where your neck and shoulders meet, known as your middle trapezius, with two or three fingertips. Apply pressure and let go after 10 to 30 seconds. Repeat several times to experience greater relaxation or pain relief.
- Upper trapezius: Find your upper trapezius muscle by bending your right arm until your fingertips touch your right shoulder. Starting from the outside and working your way toward the base of your neck, run your fingertips across your trap muscle. Repeat a few times at a slow pace until you feel your trap muscles loosen up. Turn to the left.
Try using a massage stick or another tool to help you target the points in your shoulders and upper back if you have trouble moving those muscles.
- Self Low Back Massage
Because poor lumbar support compresses the low back discs, sitting for extended periods of time can cause low back pain in many people. Stretching and self-massage methods combined can help relieve low back pain and improve spinal health.
For low back pain and tension, try the following self-massage technique:
- Place your back against a wall while standing erect.
- In the space between you and the wall behind your low back, position a tennis ball or massage roller.
- Allow the ball or roller to roll across your back by shifting your body from side to side and up and down.
- Keep rolling to find trigger points. Apply pressure there for ten to thirty seconds, then let go.
As you lean further back against the wall, the pressure you apply to your low back will increase.
- Hand and Foot Massage at Home
Regular at-home massages for these vital limbs are beneficial if you work with your hands or are on your feet all day.
To relieve stress, try these self-massage methods with your hands and feet:
- Feet: To help you relax, try these self-massage techniques for your feet: Curl your toes while holding your foot. Put your thumb in the groove that develops between your foot's ball and heel. Use your thumb to massage the middle portion of your foot in small circular motions. Adjust the pressure until you feel the tension release. Continue with the opposite foot.
- Hands: After a demanding workday, give your hands a self-massage, even if all you did was type. Put one hand inside the palm of the other, palm up. When you get to the top hand's palm, relax the top hand and continue wrapping the bottom hand's thumb around. Massage your palm in sections, working your way up to each finger joint, using tiny, circular motions. Repeat the massage technique on the back of your hand after turning it over. Change hands.
- Wrists: For wrist pain, try this self-massage technique: Using your thumb on the inside and your index and middle fingers on the outside, grasp your wrist. Using your fingers to steady the wrist, rub the inside of your wrist in tiny circles with your thumb. Turn your hand over and apply the same pressure with your thumb to the outer wrist. Change wrists.
To lessen friction when you massage, apply Tatvik’s Body Massage Oil to your whole body, hands and feet.