24. August 2018 Raphael Reinig

How to self massage triggerpoints and tight muscles with a massageball (myofascial release)

In this video I will show you how to use a massage ball for self massage in order to release trigger points and loosen up tight areas in muscle and fascia tissue.

Watch with English subtitles!

For most people the following body regions are usually very tense. This can have a variety of reasons but sedentary jobs play a deceisive role. Those tensions can lead to pain and mobility restrictions in the affected areas themselves but also in other, functionally connected body parts.
Generally, a healthy muscle shouldn’t have any particular sensitivity to pressure. During the following massages, we are therefore paying special attention to those particulary tense spots.

Selfmassage of the neck

We are going to start with a massage of our neck region while focussing on the medial part of the trapezius, which runs from the cervical spine all the way to the acromion, the bony projection on top of your shoulder.
First, we place the massageball on the muscle, lean against the wall with it and start to massage and explore the entire area with slow massage movements from outside to inside. We are doing that for roughly one minute. In case we should encounter particulary tense spots, we can give them some extra attention with 10-15 targeted, slow massage movements right on top of them.
For most people this itensity is most-likely already sufficient. However, if we want to increase the intensity we can simply push the hips more forward and therefore place more pressure on the ball. Repeat on the other side.

Selfmassage of the Glutes

We are going to continue with a massage of our glutes or, more specific, the gluteus maximus. Therefore, we are placing the ball centered underneath one side of the gluteal muscles, cross the leg of the same side over the other one and start to do slow, circular motions while massaging the entire muscle for roughly one minute.
You can modulate the intesity very well by shifting more weight onto your arms or respectively onto the ball. Again we are paying special attention to particulary tender spots which we are going to take care of afterwards with 10-15 targeted massage movements.

Selfmassage of the arch of the foot

As third area we are going to take care of the arch of the foot, the so called fascia plantaris. To do so we place one foot onto the ball and then shift as much weight onto the ball, so that the intensity is still tolerable. Now we are slowly massaging the entire arch between heel and toe base joints for 1-2 min per foot.

Conclusion

The demonstrated techniques can be applied to most of the muscles of our movement system.

For acutely tense muscles I recommend to do the message every other day. To prevent pain and tense muscles it is recommended to massage the individual regions, that tend to get tight, at least twice a week.