Sitting for long periods can increase back muscle tension.
Back pain can be debilitating, but ways to manage it exist in almost any setting, whether on the road, at work or at home. When muscles get tense, they tend to stay that way and when overstressed, muscles can tear and inflame, creating painful conditions that may take days or weeks to overcome. With self-massaging bathemthe muscles heal more quickly.
Massage Balls
There are massage balls with cylindrically shaped knobs covering the surface that intensify the benefits of massage. Typically made from plastic, they are a little larger than tennis balls. These balls are useful at home and at work and pack easily when traveling since they weigh little and help reduce the discomfort generated from sitting in vehicles or airplanes for hours. In a pinch, placing a ball about the size of a tennis ball or softball between your back and a wall can relax back muscles. This action puts pressure on the muscles and helps release the tension that the muscles hold.
Portable Chair Massagers
Electric chair massagers rest on chairs and have vibrating motors that massage your back. An elastic strap hooks around the chair and attaches the back of the massager to the chair. Some of the chair massagers have heat settings and variable power speeds. Manufacturers often supply an adapter for using the massager in a car, helping drivers or passengers avoid back muscle fatigue or tension on long trips. These massagers often have options that let you choose the area of the back to massage, including shoulders, lower back, midback or the hip muscles.
Hand-Held Massagers
Hand-held massagers use electricity or batteries to power the wand that may have different settings for intensity. Some of these also have adjustable heat settings. The massagers are light enough for most people to comfortably hold while massaging a back muscle. The hand-held massagers deliver vibrations into the muscle tissue that cause the blood to flow more easily into the muscles, providing oxygen and carrying away the poisons that often get stored in tight muscles.
Trigger-Point Massagers
Trigger-point massagers use small balls made from wood or plastic fixed at both ends of a metal rod bent in the shape of an "S" to allow people to massage their own backs without having to stretch their arms, which creates tension in the shoulders. Trigger-point massagers do not use electricity or batteries. Massaging trigger points involves putting sufficient pressure on a muscle long enough for it to release the tension. Using trigger-point massage techniques induces muscles to eventually remember to stay relaxed, according to their muscle memory, reducing the pain associated with tight muscles.
Inversion Tables
Inversion tables can relax all the muscles in the body at once. An inversion table anchors the feet, and the table tips back so that all the muscles stretch at once. Not only do the muscles relax, but the spine stretches, providing relief for people suffering from spinal compression. Users can select the degree of inversion by setting the maximum angle on the table.
Tags: back muscle, chair massagers, electricity batteries, heat settings, made from, massagers electricity