My Favorite Inexpensive Easy To Use Recovery Tools

As a massage therapist I have several tools that I use on myself after workouts and between workouts that help with recovery, injury prevention and help healing injuries.  There are so many tools you can use on yourself to help with recovery.   Some can be used for injuries and some can be used as a preventative. Some can even be used before workouts as part of a warm up. 

Gua sha - Gua sha is the practice of using a tool to apply pressure and scrape the skin to relieve pain and tension. The name gua sha — pronounced gwahshah — comes from the Chinese word for scraping.  I have several Gua sha tools but the one I use the most is the Jade.  It's great because its small, not too painful and inexpensive.  You need to use a little bit of lubricant when using this.  I use it mostly on my foot and ankle when I start to get a little bit of pain from running.  I don't wait until anything gets really bad and I start using it at the first sign of any pain after or during running. If my feet are starting to hurt and I use this I always use it in conjunction with massaging my calves because many times if you have problems with your feet then your calves are probably really tight.  Gua sha has stainless steel tools that are really great too but they are a little sharper (more painful to use) and more expensive.  

The Body Buffer - This is something I came across at the Boston Marathon Expo.  It looks just like a car buffer but you use it on your body!   I love to use this on my legs, feet and hips.  It feels great on the back but it can't be done by yourself on your back.  It is great to warm up and use on your legs before a run and feels great after your run.  You can use it with or without lubricant because it has two different covers.  If I'm using it on an area that is bothering me I'll use it with my CBD ointment and the buffer will push the ointment into the skin far better than you could ever do with your hands.  

Acucurve Cane - If you're having trouble or pain in your upper back then you know its hard to work on that area by yourself.  There are however a few things you can use for relief until you can get an appointment with your massage therapist.  

The Acucurve Cane is great to use if you have a spot in the upper back that is painful......the dreaded knot!   You can also try using a lacrosse ball and leaning up against a wall with the ball between you and the wall.

The Stick - this is a great tool to use for quads and calves.  It is pretty simple and easy to use and provides great benefits to loosen up tight quads, IT Band and calves.  There are many versions of this but the first one of its kind is called the stick.  It's a pretty simple design but its easy to use on yourself and its inexpensive especially the knock offs which are just as good.

Foam rolling is great and there are so many types of rollers.  At an expo I came across the Enzo roller.  I really like this particular roller better than any other rollers I've used.  You can adjust the distance of the rolls and this works really great on the upper and mid back.

Many of these items are inexpensive and easy to use and can help you with your recovery from long workouts and training.  They will also help with injury prevention and rehabilitating an injury.

Enzo Roller
The Stick
Gua Sha Jade
Accucuve Cane
The Body Buffer

Train Hard.  Have Fun.  Recover Well.

Coach Cyndee