Touting Terrific Self-Help Tools

Relief is best when you can achieve it yourself. Sure a massage is a great and wonderful event not to be turned down, but it’s also nice to be able to address an ache or pain immediately without having to rely on someone else.

Over the years I’ve come across a variety of neat and effective bodywork tools to help the over-stressed be proactive about self-care. The six tools reviewed in this article are T-Spheres, the Thera Cane, the Sacro Wedgy, the Still Point Inducer, Healthytoes, and My-Happyfeet socks.

Let’s start with T-Spheres. T-Spheres are specially engineered rubber balls that are designed to grab the myofascial tissue of the body. Generally, one would use them to apply pressure to an adhesion or “knot” in a muscle. Once found, there are several ways the balls can be used depending upon where the adhesion is located. For example, if I had a “knot” between my shoulder blade and the spine, I would lie on the floor and place the ball between my body and the floor right at the painful spot. I would then allow my body to relax into the ball. Once the spot seems to have let go a bit, I might change the angle of my arm to be closer or further away from my body. This will change the angle of the musculature, and thus the position of the adhesion, so that I can get a different part of it to relax. You can also do this leaning against the wall with the balls between your back and the wall, and you can roll balls against the wall in this position as well. You can freeze or microwave your T-Spheres as well, for hot or cold therapy. They work well under the feet as foot rollers, and you can roll them around on any part of your body to work out painful knots that might otherwise be hard to treat yourself. The spheres come in different sizes and with aromatherapy vials to spray on them - different essential oils for different therapeutic purposes. These little balls are a spectacular self massage tool as well as a great tool for therapists to use on their clients for added pressure while saving their thumbs and fingers. They come two balls in a little pouch and are an essential for frequent travelers, not only because they travel well from place to place, but because they are a blessing during a trip placed between you and your seat. Check out www.tspheres.com, or go to www.youtube.com to see a demonstration of how to use this wonderful tool.

Next is the Thera Cane. The Thera Cane is a hooked plastic stick in the shape of a cane with different sized knobby bits branching out from it. Similar to the T-Spheres, the Thera Cane allows you to find and place pressure on trigger points and adhesions (some that you may not be able to reach otherwise) with control over angle and depth of pressure applied. The Thera Cane comes with an explanatory brochure relaying directions and suggestions about the tool’s placement and body positions.

www.theracane.com

There is a branch of bodywork called CranioSacral Therapy. Simply put, an important goal of this discipline to regulate and manage the pulse of cerebrospinal fluid. This is the fluid contained within the spinal cord which is then protected by the bones that make up the spine, and bookended by the cranium superiorly and the sacrum down below. Just like the circulation of blood through arteries and veins has a pulse, so does cerebrospinal fluid. The practitioner manipulates primarily the bones of the skull and the sacrum to affect changes in that rhythm. The next two tools were developed by practitioners of this therapy. The first is called the Still Point Inducer. It’s to be placed at the base of the skull, right where you can feel the two bumps on either side of the spine. You would place the tool on the floor or another hard surface (not the bed) and lie down with the tool placed as described. As you relax into the tool, you will feel a kind of wave-like pulse and then at some point you will likely feel a brief suspension of that pulse. This is a point of reset and regulation. The still point inducer is fantastic for many who suffer from migraines. Go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGCRpUgJWfo to see a demonstration of how to use the Still Point Inducer.

The Sacro Wedgy is the second tool developed from within the craniosacral therapy discipline. In its efforts to regulate the craniosacral pulse, this neat tool does another great and wonderful thing. It opens up the iliosacral joints, the joints found on either side of the body between the sacrum and the ilium. This is one of the places around which adhesions can form, or bones can be jammed or out of alignment, putting pressure on nerves and resulting in sciatica and other fun maladies. To use the Sacro Wedgy, you would again be lying down on a fairly hard surface with the tool right under the sacrum. The tool is a rubbery block in the shape of the sacrum. It comes with a separate piece of foam to lift your sacrum even higher off the ground and give the joint more space to play with, should that be appropriate. This tool is great for most cases of sciatica, some low back issues and some leg pain issues. The Sacro Wedgy comes in two shapes and sizes, one designed for a woman's build and the other for a man's. The box also contains detailed instructions on it's proper use. www.sacrowedgy.com.

The next two products do essentially the same thing in a slightly different manner. Healthytoes is a pair of toe separators made for the whole foot (meaning there will be a separator between each set of toes) to be worn in increasingly longer time increments as the body gets used to the effects. What any toe separator does is to stretch and strengthen the structures in and around the joints of the toes and the metatarsal bones of the foot. In doing this, musculature will change over time to adapt to the forced new positioning. As the musculature of the foot changes so will postural muscles all the way up the body in a chain reaction. A simple illustration of that might be of the flat footed person who experiences knee, then hip, and then back problems. That person lacks an adequate arch in the foot and so is without essential support that a healthier arch would have provided to the knee, hip and back. My Happy Feet Socks are socks designed to do the same thing as Healthytoes. The advantage of the socks is that they are gentler. The material is softer and the bits separating the toes are a little less bulky. They can be slept in as well. My suggestion would be to start off with the socks and graduate to Healthytoes. There are also baby steps you can take with each of these tools alone, and that is to start with the separators up towards the tips of the toes and gradually move them down to the webby part of the foot as you get more comfortable. These products are excellent for foot issues such as bunions and hammertoes as well as leg and lower back issues. Remember that we are all a chain of events, so as mentioned before, addressing your feet will affect your posture as well. The site for Healthytoes is www.healthytoes.com, and the socks can be found at www.my-happyfeet.com.

A few more quick notes before I leave you to ponder which tools are best for you. The first is a word of caution. Always be careful using these tools on yourself or anyone else. Be careful not to bruise muscle, and trust that you know the difference between a ‘good’ pain - leading to relief, and a bad one - heading towards possible injury. Of course always consult a doctor if pain persists, or you have questions about the nature of an ache or pain.

Another is a book recommendation for my pregnant readers. (And by the way pregnant readers, I would probably stay away from any of the above tools until after you’ve given birth for safety’s sake, or consult your doctor first.) There is a wonderful book called Mother Massage, by Elaine Stillerman. The book teaches your partner how to massage you during this time, includes a section for him/her so he/she doesn’t feel left out, and ends with a chapter on infant massage. It’s fun to give this book as a gift for friends and family who are expecting.

And lastly, for your information, the toe separators and T-Spheres can also be purchased at Fluid Fitness or Pilates Center of Long Island.  Please see my other hub for information on these exercise studios. 

Enjoy and be well!