All types of jobs can lead to muscle tension that make everyday movements difficult or uncomfortable. Staying loose, flexible, and injury-free is important whether you’re sitting at a desk all day or moving heavy loads around a warehouse or job site.
Self-massage is one skill you can learn to help relieve muscle tension before it leads to pain or injury. And one of the types of massage our Work-Fit industrial athletic trainers love to teach workers is using a lacrosse ball to pinpoint areas you may not be able to reach effectively on your own.
What you need
Just any old lacrosse ball and a wall and/or table will do. In a pinch, you can also use a tennis ball or golf ball. We recommend a lacrosse ball because we’ve found it to be easy to grip against any surface and just the right size to pinpoint areas of tension without generating too much pressure.
5 Types of lacrosse ball self-massage
Lacrosse ball chest massage
Facing the wall, place the ball on your chest below the collar bone and near your arm pit. Lean up against the wall and roll the ball throughout the area, being careful not to press too hard.
Upper back/shoulder massage
For shoulder massage, position the ball at the muscle just above your shoulder blade and lean backward against the wall. Roll the ball side to side with moderate pressure.
For upper back tension, place the ball between your shoulder blade and spine and roll it up and down.
Avoid rolling over any bones in this area—self massage can help release muscle tension, but can bruise or create pain in bony areas like the spine and shoulder blade.
Forearm massage
For massaging the top of your forearm, simply rest your arm on a flat table with your palm facing down and roll the ball back and forth, pressing gently as needed.
For the bottom of your forearm, put the ball on the table and rest your forearm on top of it. Let the weight of your arm provide the pressure as you roll the ball back and forth, or push down gently with your other hand.
Palm massage
Place the ball on a flat surface and roll your outstretched palm around in circles and back and forth as needed.
Lacrosse ball foot massage
Foot massage with a lacrosse ball can be done either seated or standing. Place the ball on a flat, smooth surface and put a small amount of weight on your foot as you move it from the ball of the foot to heel.
Self-massage with lacrosse ball best practices
Finding simple ways to relieve tension during the work day can prevent chronic pain and reduce the risk of injuries no matter what your line of work is. For a lot of manual labor jobs, this is key to staying on-the-job, keeping teams productive, and reducing cost overruns due to injury.
But of course, injury prevention isn’t just about taking breaks and rolling a lacrosse ball around on a sore muscle. Our experts come alongside your team on-site to provide fully customized recommendations and personalized support to keep everyone healthy and happy. Learn more about how Work-Fit can help enhance workplace safety and team satisfaction by starting a conversation with our team today.
