Reddit reviews Thera Cane Massager (Blue)

Here's a link to the one my physical therapist uses. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NH0XG7E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_obbUDbVGJCFYT

They're like little knobby shepard hooks and you use the knobs to work out the knots in your muscles.

You can get a small one at walmart too, so you don't need to spend a lot of $$ on one for it to work.

https://www.amazon.com/Thera-Cane-No-Model-Massager/dp/B00NH0XG7E/ref=asc_df_B00NH0XG7E/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198066620630&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8044138593545663684&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9014977&hvtargid=pla-377954966862&psc=1

These! They look goofy, but feel amazing. Lol

Yup. I carry all my tension in my shoulders, upper back, and neck, which can result in awful tension headaches if I'm not proactive about it. I try to be mindful about my posture and taking breaks from the computer, etc.

​

I regularly use a lacrosse ball to roll out knots in my shoulders - I keep one at work and one at home. I also use a theracane for a similar purpose. Heat is really good, too - a heating pad or hot bath/shower can do wonders to relax your muscles. And I practice progressive muscle relaxation at night in bed. You tense up one muscle at a time as much as you can, then slowly release. It helps me fall asleep because your body feels like dead weight by the time you're done!

Based on your description, it sounds like it's posture based. Definitely make a habit of bing aware of your posture and try to correct it regularly. this video is just one of several about potential posture issues from this guy and perhaps it's just me , but he seems to know what the hell he's talking about. Like others have said, foam rollers and lacrosse balls are a great way to work out knots in tight muscles at a fairly inexpensive cost. I also highly recommend a Thera Cane. it will allow you to get some more pinpointed pressure point relief. I got one about two months ago and I think it's possibly the best $30 I've ever spent.

(Part2)#5 (Super long explanation, but it's definitely needed) A Tennis ball massage, sounds crazy right? Yeah, you need one of those things you throw for a dog or play tennis with, you can grab one of them super cheap at a dollar store, and you shouldn't need more than one, however it's useful to stash a few of them around the house. You need crouch a little bit and get your back up against a wall, and set the tennis ball between one of your shoulder muscles (Between your shoulder blade and your spine) and the wall. Then, lean back into the tennis ball and put some pressure into it, and work the tennis ball up and down, probe around and look for the most painful spots. I know, it sounds contradictory, "I'm trying to get rid of pain, not cause it!" but this process is GOING to be painful from the start, and always will be painful, but you want to press the tennis ball into your back, and massage it. If you can stand it, and put pressure into these muscles and knots, once you're done you'll feel a LOT better. When you find a specific painful spot, I want you to sit there and use the tennis ball to work on that spot for 10 seconds. Put as much pressure and weight into it as you can possibly handle, and just work on it.

One of the biggest things here, is while you're putting pressure into this, I want you to try to relax into the ball as much as possible, and take deep breaths in and out, and try to stay loosened up. This is super important, because you're trying to loosen up your muscles by putting pressure into it, and if you tense up while you're working it nullifies the effect of everything you're doing, and you can start spasms by tensing up too much.

"Working on it" is whatever it means to you, it's pretty hard to do this wrong, but unfortunately the more painful it is, that usually means you're on the right track. Usually I just roll over whatever spot hurts repeatedly, of course according to how much pain I'm willing to endure. But again, you can cause spasms with this if you're REALLY tight, and if you work on a single spot for too long, so you need to figure out the difference between "Good" and "Bad" pain. The key difference between the two is "Good" pain is JUST painful, usually a burning, aching, stabbing pain, and bad pain is when you have all of those things, but along with those the muscle is getting tense and tightening up. If you're getting this tense tight feel while you're working, you should stop and come back to this exercise later and come at it with a little less pressure, especially the spot that was getting tight, but if you try to relax into the ball, and stay loose and breathe, it's pretty hard to start spasms doing this, out of the 2 years I've been doing this I've only started a spasm once, and I usually use this technique to STOP spasms. But, once you've done your 10 seconds on a spot that hurts a lot, move on.

Keep working the tennis ball down whichever side of your back your working on, and you may have to stop and move the ball which is fine, but work the tennis ball down your back and stop and work on the most painful spots. For me, the most painful things to work on feel like little ball things, and rods-like things that roll around out of the way of the tennis ball, and it's generally those thing that are causing the pain for me, and those are the things I roll over repeatedly. Those are the tight knots and muscles in your back, and those are the things that cause my back pain, and probably yours too. Anyways, you want to work the tennis ball down your back, and it'll generally take about a minute or two for each side. Once you've done this, you should probably leave your back alone, relax on the couch for a few minutes and let it recuperate, and for you to recover from the intense pain. When I started out with this, I did it about 3 times a day, and not much more. You can use the tennis ball to get one specific spot instead of going through the entire process of working down both sides of your back but you don't work on a single spot for too long or you can start a spasm. During the beginning, its really easy to over-work your back, and with how much pressure and pain you're putting it through, you definitely don't want to over-work it, so again, use your best judgment. Once you feel comfortable doing this against the wall, and it's not hurting quite as much anymore, you can transition to doing the exact same thing on carpeted floor or a yoga mat, something to cushion , and you can start doing it a little more often. Once that starts getting less painful and you're getting more comfortable with that, you can switch to an official Massage ball, which you can find and order online for pretty cheap. As a side note, it's great to work with the tennis ball after a really hot shower when your muscles are already loosened up, it makes for a much easier time and a better end result.

#6 Theracane! Sounds like something a 70-year-old-grandmother would have laying around her house that she saw in one of those cheesy info commercials that sits in the attic collecting dust, but this has EASILY been the biggest jump in pain relief for me, aside from Massage's. Extremely similar to the Tennis Ball technique, but this is directed towards working in very specific spots, and you can get a LOT more pressure into this thing than you can a tennis ball. If the Tennis ball worked for you, than I can guarantee this will change your world. The irregular shape makes it very useful to getting to those really weird spots where there's knots, and I also use it for plenty of of other things, like hooking it under my leg and having it stand up, so I can rest my phone on it at eye level so I don't have to look down too much to save my neck muscles some trouble. I also use it to hold up books, and use it as a temporary arm-rest when I'm out and about and my shoulder muscles are getting tight. I literally carry this thing around with me wherever I go because it's so much easier and portable to use than a massage ball, and it makes it to where I can actually stay places for longer because I don't have to go home and lay down to let my muscles relax or get on my massage ball. DEFINITELY invest in one of these if the massage ball does something for you. Also a great thing to use after a hot shower.