Computer Causing You Neck & Back Pain? DIY Muscle Treats & Treatments

Tightness in these muscles can be eased by rolling out tension with 2 tennis balls in a sock! Here’s how.

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This series of posts was created for people who use a computer all day - from a chronic pain & rehab health professional [more about my work in Post 1.]

POST 4: Tennis Balls Massage Roller in a Sock

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In 20 years doing deep trigger point massage & neuro-muscular therapy I have never seen a person without trouble in the upper back and neck. This includes people who don’t visit my clinic. I’m talking about most humans.

Glad to hear you’re not alone? That’s nice. You might be even gladder when you say hello to my little friends…

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This is one of THE BEST things for treating your back pain at home - makes your eyes roll to the back of your head in ecstasy!

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If your spine is doing something like this...

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…at the computer for some, most, or all of the live long day, scroll down for how to help with this. You may also want to check out my last three posts in this series on how to improve your computer desk set-up. Post 1 Post 2 Post 3

These are common muscles that get tight on most humans, especially computer users:

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We have four layers of muscles in our backs: the surface muscles, and three layers of muscles underneath them.

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ASSEMBLE YOUR TENNIS BALL ROLLER:

Push the tennis balls right down into the toe of the sock. Use one of the spare single socks that came out of the drier. Of course it went in there alone, without a match.

Tie a tight knot in the sock so that the balls DO NOT HAVE A GAP.

If there’s a space between the tennis balls, they’ll wander around your spine asymmetrically, which can be damaging. Symmetry is our safety watch word. I am a symmetry watchdog! lol

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Most people’s favourite application is to use them standing up. Start by positioning the balls in the centre of your back- horizontally on the thick muscles that run down your spine.

This treats the upper and lower back muscles by pushing against a wall for pressure (this is the ecstasy one).

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You can also roll them between the wall and the muscles of your lower back:

The pressure and force comes from your leg muscles as you roll and press against the wall. Your upper body should be as relaxed as possible. Keep it flat against the wall, don’t twist your spine.

In the upper, middle & lower back, the tennis balls are targeting these muscles:

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You can also use them for your neck muscles on the floor or on the bed. DO NOT roll and press against them when using them for your neck on the floor or bed. Rolling and pressing is only for when using them standing and pressing against the wall. Your head is heavy enough to release the muscles as you rest on them for a couple of minutes at a time. Then you can move them a couple of centimeters down and rest on the next section of your neck. This is the best way for neck application of the best tool toy ever.

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Depending on the angles of your neck, you may find it helpful to put a small towel or pillow under your head to adjust and support your head or shoulders.

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This will injure your neck. Also, your core muscles, iliopsoas, lumbar & QL muscles can get locked and seized. And your liver can slide into to your nostrils (not usually though).

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Don’t hover and hold your neck and head. Stand against a wall and relax your upper body.

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This is just...WHAAAAAAAT?????? Maybe she’s trying to use the tennis ball to untwist her bra or something? I can’t see why anyone would use the balls in this way. And this will twist your back, so don’t do it, even if your bra is twisted or if your ribs are itchy.

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Wrong for 2 reasons:

1. Don’t use one tennis ball at a time- it twists your body.
2. Don’t press your neck against a wall. It forces your neck muscles into the wrong angles

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This is seventeen kinds of stupid.

So that’s it for now on how to use the tennis balls in a sock on the upper body.

If you want to take the self-treatment tool investment to the next level, I have a few clients who say the below Thera-canes are really good.

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The next posts will be about relaxing jaw tension to target headaches, neck & jaw pain, and how to gently re-train your back muscles to relax and straighten while you sit, stand & walk.

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Images are my own except for those cited.

Looking forward to your comments!