Moderate Pressure May Be the Goldilocks Pressure

Have you been pressing away with that tennis ball or lacrosse ball until you're bruised, thinking no pain, no gain? Well, you might want to consider the research that suggests moderate pressure is the best pressure for pain relief: Massage Therapy Research Review, Field 2014 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5467308/

As a massage therapist of 30 years, I was intrigued when I came across this research because it confirmed my experience in the massage room with thousands of clients--most get a better pain relief response with medium pressure.

How do you achieve medium pressure when doing self-massage? Here's one technique that I learned in neuromuscular massage school. Think of a scale from 1 to 10. One is a little pain. Ten is a lot of pain. Apply pressure with a foam roller, tennis ball, lacrosse ball or massage tool to the point where you feel you're at 5. If the pain doesn't dissipate has you hold the pressure on the area, lighten your pressure to a 4.

Here's a video I did for massage therapists to help them find the best pain-relief pressure for the client: 

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If you have questions, email me ([email protected]) or leave a comment below.