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Welcome back to Walker's Workout Corner, where I intermittently tell you, dear reader, about the tips and tricks I've picked up over the years of fairly regular gym attendance. A couple of days ago I wrote about foam rolling and how it can help relieve post-exercise soreness. Today, I want to elaborate a little bit more on that theme and talk about another simple device you can use for extra sore, small, or hard to reach problem areas: the lacrosse ball.
But first, a quick recap. We're looking at Self-Myofascial Release, which uses gravity and a hard object to relieve pain. Here's what I said about it a couple of days ago:
A foam roller is great for hitting big muscles in your legs, on your chest and the broad swathes of your upper back. But sometimes you'll jack something up deep in your shoulder, or in your foot, or one of your butt muscles will just feel really, really sore. That's where a lacrosse ball comes in.
For those unfamiliar, a lacrosse ball is about the size of a tennis ball, but is denser than a baseball. It has a rubber coating that slightly gives way under pressure, but is mostly a pretty hard object. This makes it sort of perfect for fitting into the nooks and crannies of the human musculature that a foam roller can't hit.
Like a foam roller, to perform Self-Myofascial Release, you lay or sit down and maneuver the ball underneath whichever part of your body is giving you grief. Then, you shift your weight atop the ball and scoot back and forth across it, slowly, essentially giving that area a deep tissue massage. It's an intense sensation, borderline painful depending on how sore you are, but a couple of minutes rolling out a shoulder post workout, or even in front of the tv or in bed can work wonders.
Best of all, lacrosse balls are cheap. You can get single balls from Champion Sports for $6 and two packs from Kieba for $10. Absolutely never pay for some weird, fancy version of a lacrosse ball with bumps and EXTREME branding.
I've got two lacrosse balls lying around my apartment for those times when I hurt myself or after a tough week of exercise when my shoulders feel like they've been stuffed with sawdust. They aren't miracle workers—if you've actually hurt yourself, go to the doctor, please!—but they do give you an approximation of that same "good burn" feeling following a massage. If your shoulder or back's been a-hurtin' following your new workout regime, I suggest copping a ball or two and seeing if it works for you.
See single lacrosse balls here
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