Massage has been proven to help with back pain by many studies.  In addition, if you've had back pain before and gotten a massage, you know how beneficial it is.  The problem is, what to do between massages?  Massages from an experienced professional can become costly if done every week, much less the minimum recommendation of every two weeks.  The goal then is to learn how to do self massage to hold you over between your massage appointments.

Yes, the very common, delightfully wonderful tennis ball. This and a tube sock will become your new best friends. Honestly. Here's how.

How to give yourself a back massage with a tennis ball:

1. Take your tennis ball and place into a clean tube sock.
2. Find a wall or solid door that you can lean against without anything getting in the way
3. Facing away from the wall, drop the tennis ball (using the tube sock) behind you. Note - the tube sock is great for positioning the tennis ball for high back pain. For lower back pain, just place the tennis ball behind you.
4. Next, lean back onto the tennis ball. Is the tennis ball on top of a sore spot? If not, step away for the wall and reposition yourself until the tennis ball is directly over a sore spot.
5. Once you have the best position for the tennis ball, apply pressure by leaning back into the tennis ball. Be careful here - you don't want to apply so much pressure that you leave a bruise.
6. Techniques you can use are direct pressing (compression) or rolling sideways for a kneading effect.
7. Repeat this all over your back to eliminate pain.

Another great use for a tennis ball is giving yourself a massage for sciatica pain.

1. Sitting down on a firm surface, such as a chair with out wheels.
2. Place the tennis ball under your bottom, on the side that is having the sciatica pain.
3. By varying the angle that you are sitting on the tennis ball with vary the impact the tennis ball with have your bottom.
4. If you find that the tennis ball is too firm, place a knot in the tube sock and use that instead. There will be more 'give' with this.

The first time in using this technique, go easy on yourself. Do not put so much pressure that you will leave a bruise. Pain is a great indicator if you need to go more easy on yourself. Only with experimenting and practicing on yourself will you find the right pain 'threshhold' where you get maximum benefit and do no harm.

And as always, check with your doctor if in doubt.

Good luck and enjoy!

Tina from A-Team Massage Orlando