The Body Back Buddy is amazing! It is one of the most versatile self trigger pointing tools you will ever own! Have you ever tried to spiky ball the top of your shoulder? Really really difficult right?! Even harder if you have an injury or pain to maneuver your body over a spiky ball or foam roller. Here are 3 areas that are much easier to treat with the Body Back Buddy.
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Top of shoulder
As mentioned above, it is really tough to get into this upper trapezius trigger point at home. If you own golf clubs your in luck as you can loop your 9 iron over the shoulder onto the trigger point and gently pull down for 60 seconds or less until you feel
the pain ease off. If you don’t have golf clubs then the Body Back Buddy is a great tool to have. You loop the pointed end of the S over the shoulder onto the trigger point and then use the handle and the bottom of the S to gently pull down and forward. If your clothes are too slippery put a slip mat over your shoulder or use the Body Back Buddy on bare skin. Once you find the exact centre of the sore spot hold it for 60 seconds or less until it releases. This is great for people who experience headaches related to this upper trapezius trigger point which usually refers to the base of the skull and into the temporal area. -
Back of neck
The only other tool that can get into this area are the peanut shaped balls such as the BakBall but you have to be able to get down on the floor and lie on your
back, and because the neck area doesn’t have much weight in it, it’s hard to get it to work effectively. With the Body Back Buddy you simply put the 2 close together knobs at the back of the neck over the area to be treated then hold the end of the S and gently pull forward and down. You can try moving it up or down until you find the exact right spot. This is great for people who work at computers or people who are doing a lot of upper body work at the gym, also good for people in gymnastics or acrobatics. -
Lower back
The Quadratus Lumborum (QL) or lower back flank muscles are very hard to self trigger point with any other tool. The nearest would be a spiky ball or lacrosse
ball but even then you are probably more releasing the overlying erector spinae muscle. The beauty of the Body Back Buddy is that it’s more like a therapists thumb, you can maneuver it under the border of other muscles to hit just the right spot! To get the QL spot hold the Body Back Buddy with the point on the spot and the S coming across your body in front of you. Push inwards with the hand closest to the side being treated and pull away from your body with the other. There should be no strain or struggle. If this is not enough pressure you can place the area of the Body Back Buddy you are pushing on against a wall with a slip mat and gently push into the wall while pulling the other end, just make sure to hold and guide to avoid slipping!Other areas you can self treat…
There are over 11 points you can get into with the Body Back Buddy including the bottom of the foot, the glute, the thigh and the ones mentioned above. Once you get more confident you can also try the pec and the lat muscles. Keep an eye out for upcoming workshops on how to get the most out of your Body Back Buddy! As usual we would love to hear your success stories, please feel free to comment here or write us an email at [email protected]