I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage before, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
But that was probably with regards to going to the doctor or eating your fruits and veggies when you were a kid. Unfortunately, I don’t hear of many people heeding this wisdom when it comes to their bodies and self-care! Much like eating right, drinking enough water, and getting enough sleep are sure–fire ways to prevent illness and feel great, massage is an excellent tool to both prevent injury and speed up recovery.
What is massage and why do we need it?
For decades, massage was seen by the public exclusively as a luxury to just relax and get some temporary relief. However, it is now better understood as a necessary function of self-care, alongside regular exercise, stretching, and physical therapy.
As rock climbers, there are many taxing and strenuous things that you put your body through every time you go to the gym or crag. The repetitive and fine muscle movements required for climbing often lead to ailments like shoulder impingement, tennis or golfer’s elbow, or tension headaches caused by the constant neck strain of looking up while climbing. These things may seem like minor inconveniences at times, but as we all know, small injuries can add up quickly and result in greater trauma and even forced time off.
Self-treatment
There are many nifty ways to mitigate these issues yourself. For example, using your elbows as self-massage tools will help fight off a lot of overuse injuries in your forearms. Simply set your arm on a counter, or if you’re in a pinch, on top of your leg. Once you have your forearm level, take the opposite elbow and use it to massage the areas giving you trouble, whether that’s the flexors on the anterior forearm or extensors on the posterior. You would be surprised how many muscles in your arms and hands you can hit just with your own elbow. The elbow is preferable to using your hands and thumbs, as you are essentially working one small muscle to fix another when using your hands, and the result is most likely a net zero… Fixing one tweak isn’t worth giving yourself a new one!
Another great self-massage tool is a lacrosse or tennis ball. These can achieve the same results as the elbows, but in harder-to-reach places like your hip flexors, glutes, lats, and almost anywhere else imaginable. For climbers, I especially love these tools for the hips, which undergo lots of straining to reach far-away footholds, heel hook, and high step. Be aware of the ball you are using, as a smaller and/or denser the ball will produce a greater intensity of pressure, which can make tight muscles tighter. I wouldn’t suggest using a golf ball to hit a particularly sensitive spot right off the bat, but rather build up to that over time to avoid damaging your tissue.
Another great spot to do self-massage with a tennis or lacrosse ball is on the bottoms of the feet. We all know how comfortable climbing shoes are, right? They clamp down and shorten the many small muscles of the feet, which can manifest over time in negative effects like cramping. It’s important to take preemptive steps like massaging and stretching your feet pre- and post-climbing to avoid such pitfalls.
I use many of these self-care tactics myself, and while they keep the tension at bay, there are certain areas like the muscles under your shoulder blades and between your ribs that are either too tedious to get to yourself or just simply too painful at times. I know that personally, I hate working my subscapularis muscle in my back myself. Even though I know how to find and release it, I’d rather have someone else work it so I can focus on breathing through the discomfort.
One final tip to take with you when working on yourself is how to understand when the pressure or duration is too much. Through all the stretching, massaging, and rolling you do, pay attention to your breath, as well as the tension in your muscles. I’ve always found that if you can’t breathe through the stretch/pressure or you find yourself tensing up, it’s too much pressure and you’re ultimately doing more harm than good. Through persistence and practice using these tools, you’ll be able to develop a better self-care routine and continue doing what you love pain free. Of course, if you need any additional help beyond the care you can provide for yourself, that’s what we’re here for at Rogue Rehabilitation!
Schedule an appointment with Josh or any of Rogue Rehab’s practitioners and learn more about what they offer here.
By Josh Welborn
Josh is a student, financial advisor, former Team USA athlete, and owner of Body Mechanic Massage.
