Are you foam rolling?
If you're not, you should be. Here's why...
A foam roller is possibly the best at home self care tool there is. They are about $20.00 and they sell them at Target, Wal-Mart, on Amazon etc.
Foam rollers come in a few different varieties but basically they are a dense foam or rubber cylinder about 20"-30" long. Some have knobs or grooves on them and some are smooth, but basically they are all the same.
Here are some of the benefits of foam rolling.
Thoracic Extension - The Thoracic spine consist of 12 of the 24 vertebrae in your spine and makes up the mid back. This is the area of the spine that experiences lots of stress and strain from sitting. If you look at the picture above, you can see that laying on the foam roller induces extension of the mid back.
Myofascial Release - Rolling on tight muscles goes a long way to loosen tight areas and increase local blood flow to the painful/tight area. This application can be used throughout the body to achieve the same goal.
Other areas that benefit from foam rolling...
Hamstrings
IT Band
Calves and achilles tendons
Quads
Best thing to do is just go get a foam roller and start using it. I always tell people to put it somewhere where you'll see it or it won't get used.
Happy foam rolling,
Dr. Hanson