It can be very difficult to massage trigger points in your back, shoulders, back of legs, or buttock. The main problem is simply reaching them – how do you go about putting pressure on a point in the middle of your back? However, it is possible to self treat these areas. And fortunately, there are now many tools available to do this. You can find the best of Australia’s portable self-massage gun for instant pain relief.

Firstly you can use some very simple, household items for trigger point massage. A tennis ball is very handy for treating large muscles like the latissimus dorsi and gluteal muscles. A smaller, harder ball like a lacrosse ball can be used for more accuracy. 

Australias portable self massage gun

To perform massage with a ball, you lean up against a wall, place the ball between you and the wall – placing it as accurately as you can on the point of tension. Then roll slowly and gently back and forth until you find the exact point where the trigger is. Gently apply pressure, using ischemic compression to switch off the trigger point.

Alternately, you can lie down with the ball in between you and the floor. This is very effective because there's a greater chance your muscles will be relaxed. Relaxed muscles mean you can put pressure deeper into the muscle and have a more effective treatment.

Ischemic compression is a technique where you reduce the blood supply to the muscle for a short period of time. This serves to interrupt the reflex arc or message going from the nerve to the muscle telling it to stay in spasm. This message is the root cause of myofascial triggers. Once the message is interrupted, the spasm can be relaxed, effectively deactivating the trigger.

For specific massages, there are many tools available. There are foam rollers, pegboards, and Thera cane. All of these tools work well. They all use the same basic concept – apply ischemic pressure to the trigger point until it relaxes.